Taco Bell keeps finding new ways to put chicken onto its menu.
The fast-food Mexican chain on Tuesday revealed two new chicken items that will hit its restaurants, at least officially, on Thursday: The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider and the Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla.
Both hit different groups of customers. The slider provides the company with another “snackable” item for its menu while the rolled quesadilla bolsters the chain’s higher-end Cantina Chicken offering.
But they also do something else: Give the company more items to sell to chicken-hungry consumers.
Chicken, which has been on the chain’s menu since the 1980s, has become far more crucial in recent years and a major source of innovation for the brand. Sales of chicken at Taco Bell are up 50% over the past two years, a company spokesperson said. And 40% of orders now feature some sort of chicken item on the menu.
Taco Bell will now have 20 items featuring chicken, including the Cantina Chicken Menu and the Crispy Chicken Nuggets.
“The response to Crispy Chicken Nuggets and Cantina Chicken showed us just how ready fans are for us to keep innovating,” Liz Matthews, global chief food innovation officer with Taco Bell, said in a statement. “So we’re having fun with it, playing with form, flavor and texture to bring new energy into the formats our fans already love.”
Taco Bell is hardly alone in pushing chicken, which is the most popular protein in the U.S. For restaurant chains it has the added benefit of being cheaper than beef—especially these days, when beef is in the midst of a multi-year inflationary cycle. Demand for chicken also continues to grow.
The Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla.
For the Mexican chain, which has prided itself on its menu creativity, chicken provides a format with almost endless possibilities. Several of the items Taco Bell revealed at its recent Live Mas Live event feature chicken. And now the chain is pushing two new items.
The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider, which will be available for a limited time, is made from the chain’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets and a three-cheese blend, folded into a warm tortilla in the style of the Crunchwrap Surpreme. It also includes pico de gallo and either a Creamy Chipotle or a Jalapeno Honey Mustard Sauce.
The slider is available on its own for $2.49 but is also included in the $9 Discovery Luxe Cravings Box, which also includes a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos, Chips and Nacho Cheese sauce and a medium drink.
The product is part of a growing number of smaller, snackable items Taco Bell is introducing these days. That helps the chain satisfy younger consumers who snack more frequently rather than eat three full meals. It may also help with GLP-1 users who are simply not eating as much.
Because it’s Taco Bell in 2026 there’s also a product “drop.” Members of the chain’s loyalty program will be able to secure “junk journal stationary kits” inspired by the chicken slider on April 7 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Time.
The Rolled Quesadilla is a permanent menu item and follows the Steak and Poblano Rolled Quesadilla that hit menus last fall. The chicken version features double the chicken of the original Cantina Chicken Quesadilla, along with a three-cheese blend and the Creamy Chipotle sauce. It is then wrapped in a flour tortilla and grilled. It is available for $6.69.
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