Taco Bell Menu Items Even The Staff Won't Eat

Steak has been a major player in several of Taco Bell's signature dishes, from the burritos to the nachos. The Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito was so beloved that it was recently brought back onto the chain's menu. However, if certain employees are to be believed, the steak might be best avoided. "If the steak isn't switched out regular, and if it's old, it gets really really nasty," says one former Taco Bell manager on Reddit. "Steak is only good fresh otherwise it's a HARD pass."

In an AMA on Reddit, a user who claimed to be a former assistant manager threw shade on the steak. "Worst thing has got to be anything with steak," they said. "Steak doesn't sell as much compared to chicken and beef so it'll just sit there for hours, plus it's not like actual steak." 

This isn't the first time that the chain's meat has come under fire for its supposed lack of quality. Back in 2011, the Alabama law firm of Beasley Allen took Taco Bell to court, claiming that its beef was comprised of more filler than actual meat. Although Taco Bell was vindicated, it still has had to weather claims of mystery meat filling its taco shells. 

A burrito rolled up with spicy chili and gooey, runny cheese, the Chili Cheese Burrito has long been a popular item for Taco Bell cravers everywhere. After it was suddenly discontinued at many locations during the '90s, the burrito is still technically available at select locations, mostly as a secret menu item. Unfortunately for diners who are seeking out a zesty kick of '90s nostalgia, they may want to look elsewhere. For one thing, the cheddar cheese contains an anti-caking agent: cellulose, one of the most common sources of which is wood pulp. That said, you may not want to freak out immediately. That's because cellulose is a common food additive that's been around for generations and is okay to consume in small amounts, at least as far as the FDA is concerned.

Moreover, if you decide to make a late-night Taco Bell run (as so many of us do), then you may be rolling the dice when it comes to the quality of what's in your burrito. By the time you roll up to the drive-thru, that chili in your meal may be well past its prime, at least when it comes to taste. "Most Taco Bells just let the chili sit in the pans for hours before doing anything with it," one alleged employee wrote on Reddit, "but best bet is to go around 11 am or 4 pm because those are big prep times and then chili will be made fresh and tasty." 

Taco Bell and breakfast have long had a contentious relationship. Back in 2014, Taco Bell debuted the Waffle Taco, which featured sausage and eggs stuffed into a waffle taco shell and coated with syrup. Although it was a social media sensation, the waffle taco was never a big seller and was yanked from the menu within a year.

Since then, Taco Bell has revamped its approach to the morning meal, preferring to keep things simple with breakfast burritos and Crunchwraps. The company even recruited actor and comedian Pete Davidson for an ad campaign where he issued an apology for overthinking breakfast. However, starting the day at Taco Bell still doesn't sit right with some of the chain's employees. Writing on Reddit, one user who claimed to be a shift manager was pretty blunt in their assessment of the chain's morning lineup. "To be honest I don't like anything on the breakfast menu," he wrote. "The preparation and the ingredients that go on the items just make it disgusting to me." 

Another Reddit user and employee also painted a grim picture of how breakfast a Taco Bell is prepared. "The eggs come in a big plastic bag akin to the beef," they said. "It starts out as a solid block of yellow egg substance. you put it the thermalizer and when you take it out you basically mash the bag to break up the egg." It's hardly the stuff of a homemade scramble.

Many people look at chicken as a better meal option than red meat, with its low fat and high protein contents and a plethora of vitamins, including B6 and B12. At Taco Bell, shredded chicken might be considered a great go-to for people looking for something a little leaner, as well as those with certain dietary restrictions. However, as of November 2020, shredded chicken was removed from the Taco Bell menu. For some employees, that may be just as well. 

According to TikTok user @momofstacy, the shredded chicken was worse than the oft-questioned seasoned beef. "The shredded chicken — run. Run the opposite way from the shredded chicken," they warned. "The shredded chicken is all of the bits of the chicken that you don't want to eat, and I promise you, eventually, you're gonna get a bone." 

On the other side of the coin, an alleged former Taco Bell employee writing on Reddit had nothing but good things to say about the shredded chicken. "Dude why did they take away the shredded chicken???" they wrote. "I used to work there and every day I had shredded chicken burritos."  As with many discontinued menu items, there's always a chance that the shredded chicken could make a comeback at Taco Bell. If that should happen, however, it's up to you which former employee's word to take.

When it comes to Mexican dining, whether at a fast food joint or elsewhere, guacamole is pretty much a prerequisite. In theory, it should be a layup for any establishment. We're talking about a relatively simple mixture of avocados, tomatoes, onion, and a little seasoning, after all. It should be a no-brainer to get right. However, Taco Bell has been called out before for its sub-par guac, with one user on Reddit blasting it hard, saying, "It doesn't even taste like guacamole. And the texture....yuck. It's like yogurt." 

Late last year, Taco Bell revamped the recipe for its guacamole. Now, the chain says that it's made fresh daily on the premises with Haas avocados. However, a review on The Takeout was less than favorable, noting that, despite the franchise's promise of freshness, the upgraded guacamole still harbored a taste that suggested to the reviewer that it had come from a plastic bag. Even more damning was a 2023 Reddit AMA with an alleged Taco Bell employee who also called out the side dish for its lack of quality. "I would NEVER do the guac though," the user wrote, "it's usually like the least used ingredient and is usually left out in a warm environment."

Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza is one of the chain's most popular items, as proven by the fact that, over three months in 2022, more than 20 million pizzas were sold by Taco Bell nationwide, leading to an 8% boost in sales and a 10% spike in loyalty membership sign-ups. Mexican Pizza frenzy was so great during that period that Taco Bell was forced to temporarily pull the item from its menu because the chain simply could not keep the ingredients in stock. This naturally inspired enterprising chefs to concoct copycat recipes to tide them over.

Unfortunately for Mexican Pizza lovers, an alleged Taco Bell employee wrote on Reddit that this particular item is a real no-no. "The shells are super gross imo," they said, "and they're probably the items people will mess up the most." Another poster who claimed to work for Taco Bell and who was writing in a different Reddit thread shared their own tale of Mexican Pizza woe. "I remember at least once a shift someone would open the steamer to put a pizza in and there's already one sitting in there," they wrote. "They're just so easy to forget. Always check your bag folks."