We Tried The Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos But Didn't Discover A New Breakfast Favorite
It's no secret Dunkin' has been eager to push its boundaries beyond donuts, muffins, and basic breakfast sandwiches for some time. Of course, while the fast food coffee chain has made several attempts to stray outside its culinary comfort zone through the years (the less said about the Chicken Parmesan Flatbread sandwich, the better), we always assumed there was some sort of limit to what it was willing to offer. Yet we may need to reevaluate that position, at least in light of its most recently-announced (and head-scratching) menu addition: breakfast tacos.
If you're anything like us, your initial reaction to discovering this new Dunkin' item (first released on March 22, 2023) was to simply ask why? Why did the world need a breakfast taco available for purchase from Dunkin' of all places? Frankly, we can't say. Then again, whether or not there's any logic behind the Massachusetts-founded restaurant's decision to try its hand at the Tex-Mex game is largely irrelevant — because Dunkin's Breakfast Tacos exist either way.
Now, while Dunkin's chief marketing officer Jill McVicar Nelson described the new Breakfast Tacos as "one of the tastiest savory items we've launched" in a press release, we were a bit skeptical. So, we tried the new Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos. If you're curious about this strange new item, keep reading to learn all there is to know — and learn why we wouldn't recommend sampling this strange new Dunkin' product.
What's in the Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos?
To be perfectly honest, we were relatively impressed with Dunkin's seeming restraint regarding the ingredients used in its new Breakfast Tacos. Should we have expected the restaurant's newest culinary concoction to be overloaded with unnecessary components? Maybe not. But we were still pleased to see fewer listed ingredients housed inside the item's flour tortilla than we initially guessed (which is true no matter which version one chooses to order).
Currently, there are two Breakfast Taco varieties sold by Dunkin', each of which features scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, (purportedly) fire-roasted corn, and a lime crema sauce. In fact, outside of a single ingredient — bacon — the two Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos are identical. In that sense, while we subscribe to the theory that everything's better with bacon, we appreciate the company's willingness to offer a Breakfast Taco sans pork product for any interested customers.
It's unclear whether any additional Breakfast Taco varieties are in the restaurant chain's plans. But if the item proves particularly popular, it seems fair to believe other versions (presumably featuring other protein options) could be offered in Dunkin's future.
How much do the Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos cost?
In all honesty, we can't say with any sort of confidence or authority how much Dunkin's new Breakfast Tacos will cost a person upon purchase. At least, we can't guarantee the price will be the same from location to location in every corner of the U.S. After all, this is a staggeringly enormous nation — one that features an incredible amount of economic disparity from region to region.
Along those lines, we can report the new Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos cost $2.99 with bacon (and $2.79 without bacon) at a Lowell, Massachusetts-based location. Now, does this mean a person purchasing a Dunkin' Breakfast Taco in Detroit, Michigan, or Tallahassee, Florida, will pay that exact price for the same items we purchased? Not necessarily.
Still, while there's a decent chance the new Breakfast Tacos aren't sold for a uniform price coast to coast, it's unlikely to be much more (or less) than we paid in Massachusetts. In other words, regardless of your location, we'd expect the new Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos won't cost more than $4 each.
How long are the Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos available and where?
We have to admit we found it odd that Dunkin announced its new Breakfast Tacos the same day the item was launched. We understand there's no exact science when it comes to marketing, of course, and recognize there's no perfect plan a company can (or should) follow to generate hype around a new product. But the lack of any preliminary buildup before the item's launch was undoubtedly unexpected — as is the relative uncertainty surrounding the new Breakfast Tacos' likely length of time on the Dunkin' menu.
Now, while the Dunkin' press release announcing its new Breakfast Tacos made no mention of how long we should expect it to be available, we can be sure the item is designated as a "limited time product" internally. After all, the Breakfast Tacos are listed as such on the company's nutritional information sheet — meaning it's currently unlikely the item remains a permanent fixture.
Of course, while we don't know precisely how long the item will be available, we do know it appears to be available for purchase at any Dunkin' location across the U.S. (at least while supplies last).
What's the nutrition info for the Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos?
Since the nutritional information for a food item isn't always readily available to the public (perhaps to avoid revealing a product's unhealthy nature, among other reasons), we can appreciate those instances where tapping into our inner-Nancy Drew isn't required. In that sense, then, Dunkin' earned our kudos regarding its newest menu addition, as the nutritional information for its new Breakfast Tacos is fairly easy to locate.
Now, while the nutritional differences between Dunkin's two Breakfast Taco varieties are relatively minute, the addition of bacon means it's not entirely negligible. With bacon, the new Breakfast Taco contains 220 calories, 12 grams of fat, 630 mg of sodium, as well as 10 grams of protein. By comparison, the Breakfast Taco without bacon has fewer calories, fat, and sodium — although it also contains two less grams of protein per taco.
Considering Dunkin's new Breakfast Taco may work more as a snack than a full-blown meal, it's not exactly a killer nutritionally. It may not win any awards in that area, but it won't cause a health-conscious person to cringe, either.
How does it compare to other Dunkin' products?
Have you ever tasted a Dunkin' Wake-Up Wrap? If you haven't, consider grabbing one the next time you visit Dunkin'. Of course, if you have tried the restaurant chain's mainstay tortilla-based product, you have a basic idea of what to expect from its new Breakfast Tacos. In fact, we think it's extremely easy to envision someone mistaking the new Breakfast Taco for a standard Wake-Up wrap from afar – although the contrast between products becomes glaringly apparent up close.
After all, the utilization of the same tortilla as the Wake-Up Wrap — as well as the incorporation of eggs and cheese (albeit in very different formats) — is where the similarities end flavor-wise. While the Wake-Up Wrap features a fried egg half-patty and a slice of melted cheese (with or without an optional protein), the new Breakfast Taco has scrambled eggs and shredded cheese — along with roasted corn salsa, and a lime crema sauce.
Frankly, then, when it comes to taste? There's no real comparison between any existing Dunkin' product, and its newest Breakfast Tacos — for better or worse.
Verdict: Stick with the experts and avoid the Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos
We've noted before that we're not in the negativity business when it comes to culinary reviews ... yet we are in the honesty business. So while we'd love nothing more than to give the new Dunkin' Breakfast Tacos a glowing review (we run on Dunkin', just like the rest of America), we have no choice but to report this new product is a swing and a miss from the fast food coffee chain.
Now, we can admit Dunkin's bacon-topped Breakfast Taco was fine for the most part — although that's largely because the bacon dominated the item's overall flavor profile. In fact, that meaty saltiness was sorely lacking on the no-bacon version, since the so-called "fire-roasted" corn took center stage in its absence. Unfortunately, that meant enduring a burst of onion powder-like flavor with each bite (we assume the seasoning was used in the corn's preparation), making the meatless Breakfast Taco barely edible.
Frankly, Dunkin' does so many foods well, that we have to ask (again): why bother with a breakfast taco? We wish we had the answer — just as we wish we never had to taste this relative abomination of a product. If you're feeling adventurous, go ahead and grab a new Dunkin' Breakfast Taco. As for us, we'll do the smart thing the next time we're craving a fast food breakfast taco, and head to Taco Bell.