Review: Taco Bell's Two New Chicken Dishes Are Fire (And They'll Set Your Mouth Ablaze As Proof)

Taco Bell's seemingly endless parade of new menu items to open the year is showing no signs of slowing down. First announced at the company's Live Más Live event in March, the Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets have finally arrived. The nuggets aren't the only chicken item to fly onto the menu, though, as Taco Bell is also teaming up with Zab's Hot Sauce for a new nacho fry experience that leans into everyone's favorite white meat.

The Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets take Taco Bell's Diablo Sauce and turn it into a fiery Diablo Dust that coats an order of five or 10 tortilla chip breaded nuggets. With three heat-centric dipping sauces – Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch, Bell Sauce, and Jalapeño Honey Mustard — there are plenty of ways to enjoy these spicy new nuggets.

If you want to keep the heat rolling, the Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries are also a new limited-time option. Topped with a sweet and spicy ranch that mixes Zab's "St. Augustine Style" Sauce with Taco Bell's Spicy Ranch, the nacho fries feature layers of slow-roasted chicken, warm nacho cheese, a three-cheese blend, and pico de gallo on a bed of seasoned fries.

Both new items are only around for a limited time, so I stopped by my local Taco Bell on the day they hit the menu (April 16) to try them out. Read on to find out if the new items really do bring the heat or if they fall flat.

I ordered the new items through the Taco Bell app and picked them up in-store. I brought the food home and, after a quick photoshoot, dove in. My evaluation was based on taste, texture, scent, and value.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Taco Bell loves rolling out the limited-time-only items, and these two are no different. You can snag a five-piece order of Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, plus a choice of one sauce, for $4.49 or make it a full meal with 10-pieces and a choice of two sauces for $7.49. If you're like me, it feels wrong to grab two out of three available sauces, so if you want to add an additional sauce to your order, it's only 25 cents. The Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets can also be rolled into a deluxe combo, featuring a five-piece order with one sauce, a Chalupa Supreme, a Crunchy Taco, an order of Regular Nacho Fries, plus a medium fountain drink, all for $10.99.

The Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries are more straightforward, with an order priced at $5.49. If you need more spice in your life, 500 Taco Bell Rewards Members will have the chance to score a limited-edition merch kit through the brand's "Tuesday Drops" on April 21, featuring exclusive Zab's-inspired merch and a bottle of Zab's "St. Augustine Style" Sauce.

Taco Bell does chicken nuggets really, really well. Every time I have a nugget from the fast food Mexican chain, I'm expecting the other shoe to drop, but I've yet to be disappointed. My 10-piece order included seven really large nuggets and three that were on the smaller side, but would easily be standard if they came from McDonald's. The chicken inside was all tender and juicy, but the real key to Taco Bell's chicken nuggets is the tortilla chip breading. It's thick, but not so much so that it masks the meat below. Plus, the breading adds a ton of great flavor and texture to every bite.

Of course, these aren't standard nuggets; they're Diablo-dusted. My seasoning was in a perfectly even layer across every nugget and it is fantastic. Spicy, but not overpowering, you'll feel the burn without feeling like your taste buds are burnt out. These nuggets are a 10/10 and the dipping sauces push that grade even higher.

Of the three featured sauces, the Jalapeño Honey Mustard is my favorite. The light sweetness of the honey mustard pairs perfectly with the nuggets' spice, creating a multidimensional flavor experience. The Diablo Ranch is next. I enjoy the ranch flavor with any good nugget, though there is a bit of redundancy with the double Diablo here. Finally, the Bell Sauce is like a Mexican-inspired barbecue sauce. It's solid, but it gets lost amid the nuggets' flavor.

Chicken nuggets and french fries; exactly the culinary corners you expect Taco Bell to succeed, right? Like the nuggets, Taco Bell's fries are always a bit of a revelation to me. They're expertly seasoned, perfectly thick, and act as an ideal base for the bevy of toppings in an order of Nacho Fries.

The Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries aren't the first time Taco Bell has put a spicy ranch on fries, but these are really well executed. I found my fries completely covered in nacho and shredded cheese, chicken, pico de gallo, and the new Zab's Spicy Ranch. Not only was each bite topping filled, but I had a forkful of extras after the fries were gone. The chicken is tender and quite tasty, but the sauce is a revelation. It's so sweet and creamy that it'll take a moment to notice the spicy tingle spreading through your mouth and down the back of your throat. Paired with the savory nacho cheese, this is a combination that Taco Bell could toss on any menu item, and I'd be thrilled.

Finish reading these last few sentences and then run to Taco Bell. The Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets make a great meal on their own, and don't forget the dipping sauces. However, I'd suggest a double feature. Pair the nuggets with Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries and let yourself enjoy the back-and-forth of fiery nuggets and sweet-and-spicy nacho fries. Your taste buds will thank you.