Taco Bell Breakfast Tots Review: A Tasty Start To The Day
Calling all Chicago-based BellHeads: Taco Bell announced the arrival of a limited-time-only breakfast menu item at participating locations in the Windy City. Chicagoans looking for a delicious way to kickstart their day can rise and shine with Taco Bell's new Breakfast Tots. This is the first time that the fast food powerhouse has offered a breakfast item featuring potato tots, and considering how beloved potato tots are, we're confident many folks will be pretty excited about this.
Taco Bell recently invited us to taste-test their new Breakfast Tots at their headquarters in Irvine, CA. We skipped breakfast that morning to avoid ruining our appetites and headed to the brand's corporate office, where we were welcomed with freshly prepared servings of the Breakfast Tots prepared by the culinary whizzes at Taco Bell's Innovation Kitchen. Read on to find out what we thought of their new menu item, whether this limited-time offering is worth waking up for, or if you'll be better off hitting the snooze button.
What's in Taco Bell's Breakfast Tots?
Taco Bell's new Breakfast Tots boasts layers of savory goodness in one dish: potatoes, eggs, meat, and cheese. The base layer features crispy golden potato tots seasoned with zesty Mexican spices. Nestled over the top are layers of fluffy scrambled eggs with crisp bacon or sausage. A blend of mozzarella, pepper jack, and cheddar cheeses blankets the top for a warm, melty topping that adds a fatty, mouthwatering punch.
This limited-time-only breakfast item plays on different textures from each layered component. Creamy grated potato centers and soft, scrambled eggs balance the crunchy crust of the fried potato tots. Bits of cooked bacon or sausage add crisp notes that keep your taste buds interested, while the gooey, melty cheese blend coats the tongue and adds just the right amount of chew to each warm bite. Every way you look at it, Taco Bell's Breakfast Tots are a tasty way to start your day.
When are they available, and for how long?
Taco Bell's Breakfast Tots will be available in select locations in Chicago, IL, for a limited time, starting November 16th, while supplies last. The Breakfast Tots are scheduled to be a temporary menu item that may or may not last, depending on how well it sells in test locations across Chicago. So, if you're in the area and want to try the new Breakfast Tots, stop at, drive through, or order delivery from a participating Taco Bell location sooner rather than later so you can try this exciting new breakfast item.
Fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and cheese are a tasty combination for most breakfast eaters. But if you're a hardcore meat lover, you'll be pleased to know that the Breakfast Tots will be available for purchase with either bacon or sausage. The ideal morning delight is available for $3.49 to $4.49, depending on the choice of protein.
How does this offering compare to other Taco Bell items?
Taco Bell has a fascinating history with potato tots. Years ago, Taco Bell did have potato tots on its menu and called them "Mexi-nuggets" or "Border Fries," depending on the location. The now-discontinued item featured crunchy potato tots coated in Mexican seasoning and could be ordered with a side of Nacho Cheese sauce for dipping. Who knew Taco Bell had once experimented with potato tots on the menu? Well, apparently, many people did, as a Change.org petition was created to bring back the Mexi-nuggets. From what it sounds like, these potato tots were pretty darn tasty and life-changing. So maybe the Breakfast Tots are Taco Bell's way of testing the waters again.
As far as what the Breakfast Tots most closely resemble on the current Taco Bell menu, the Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes are it, featuring crispy seasoned potato bites topped with creamy sour cream and oeey, gooey Nacho cheese sauce. However, that may be a stretch because we all know that potato tots are not the same as seasoned potato chunks, but either way, they both feature potatoes.
What is the nutrition breakdown?
An order of Breakfast Tots with either bacon or sausage has 580 calories. Compared to other Taco Bell breakfast items, this is similar to the Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito, which has 570 calories, but much more than the Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito, which has 340 to 350 calories. Both the bacon and sausage Breakfast Tots have 9 grams of saturated fat and 120 grams of cholesterol per serving. But if you're watching sodium intake, be aware that the bacon Breakfast Tots contain 1280 grams of sodium, while the sausage Breakfast Tots has 1170 grams.
Select stores in Chicago are testing Nacho Tots, which are available all day (for $1.99); they will not be available in all participating stores. If you're lucky enough to be at one of those select stores, you'll want to know that the Nacho Tots with Nacho Cheese sauce clock in at 310 calories, the same as a regular-size Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Sauce. In comparison, a regular-size Nacho Fries with Nacho Cheese sauce has 330 calories. The Nacho Tots also have 20 grams of fat and 810 mg of sodium per serving.
Our Verdict? Dig in.
We love potato tots. Serve us those bite-sized nuggets of grated potatoes with anything, and there's a good chance we'll love it. That said, Taco Bell was halfway to scoring a perfect ten on the taste test before we even dug in.
We were excitedly busting at the seams to try the new Breakfast Tots. What could be better than hot, crispy potato tots, soft scrambled eggs, savory meat, and melty cheese? As it turns out, not much. The golden tots were just like we hoped they'd be — crackly on the outside with a hot, creamy potato center. The scrambled eggs were soft and much fluffier than we expected (a good thing). The blend of mozzarella, pepper Jack, and Cheddar cheese was gooey and tasty, while the crispy bacon bits were evenly scattered over the top for salty, savory notes.
The culinary experts at Taco Bell's Innovation Kitchen recommended we try the Breakfast Tots with their Breakfast Salsa, so we ripped the bright yellow packet open and drizzled some on top — we're glad we did. The fiery tomato- and vinegar-based sauce tied all the components together, and the added heat complemented all the flavors without being too spicy. Our verdict? We should eat potato tots for breakfast more often, and Taco Bell's new Breakfast Tots are a delicious way to do that. Más, por favor!