Review: Frank’s RedHot Diablo Crispy Chicken Soft Taco and Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito from Taco Bell

Bottom Line: The Frank’s RedHot Diablo Crispy Chicken Soft Taco and Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito from Taco Bell both offer a little heat and a nice twist on the regular menu.

The Bell keeps cranking out new menu items, some remixing what they already have in the kitchen while others introduce new ingredients. These seem to be coming out almost every week, so it’s hard to keep up with everything. But I made a recent trip to sample the new Frank’s RedHot menu and also the Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito, which is a variation of a past favorite. Following is my rundown on those.

Frank’s RedHot Diablo Sauce: This new item is a collaboration with the popular Louisiana-style sauce maker and is at the heart of the Frank’s RedHot Menu. Here’s the description from the website:

The new Frank’s RedHot® Diablo sauce fuses the Perfect Blend of Flavor and Heat™ of Frank’s RedHot® with Taco Bell’s smoky Diablo kick and spicy ranch, creating a creamy and balanced new companion for Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken.

It has a strong hot sauce tang, veering toward sour. The creaminess tempers that somewhat, though a little more sweetness might have been appreciated. Still, it has a good flavor and a nice kick of heat, going a little above Medium on my scale. I can see where this pairs well with the crispy chicken, but it could add a nice kick to just about any of Taco Bell’s menu items.  I would like them to keep this one around, but I don’t expect it to remain past its limited engagement.

Frank’s RedHot Diablo Crispy Chicken Soft Taco: I went with this item from the new menu because it seemed like it would give a good pairing of the sauce without an overload of other ingredients. It includes a crispy chicken strip, purple cabbage, lettuce, pico de gallo, cheddar cheese, and the Frank’s RedHot Diablo sauce in a soft flour tortilla.

The chicken holds its crunch quite well and delivers good flavor. The pico, cabbage, and lettuce add a nice freshness, and there’s a touch of sharpness from the cheese. Sadly, the Frank’s RedHot gets lost in the mix as they didn’t add much, though there’s still a bit of a kick, getting just above Mild on my scale. I ordered an extra cup of the sauce, though, and when I added more of that, the taco got close to Medium heat.

Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito: This is yet another collaboration with Frito-Lay and it includes the all-new Flamin’ Hot Rice along with nacho cheese sauce, seasoned beef, creamy chipotle sauce, Fritos Flamin’ Hot chips, reduced-fat sour cream, and a three-cheese blend stuffed in a tortilla with a layer of melty grilled cheese on the outside. (I had them leave off the sour cream because it seemed like sauce overload.)

The beef is the main flavor that comes through at first, followed by the herbiness of the rice. The grilled cheese on the outside of the tortilla adds some sharpness, while the chips inside are mostly disintegrated and offer no crunch. The cheese sauce and chipotle sauce blend together so that neither really stands out (and I was glad I left off the sour cream). Through the middle of the burrito, I got more rice as the beef seemed to be concentrated on the ends. But overall, the convergence of flavors worked okay. There’s some sting, getting it above Mild on my scale but not quite to Medium.

Calorie-wise, the Crispy Chicken Taco clocks in at 250 calories, which isn’t bad for a drive-thru item. However, that burrito really has some heft and packs in 730 calories! So don’t go adding Nacho Fries to your order (330 calories for the medium size) or you’ll be shopping for the next size up in pants!

At $3.49 for the taco and $6.49 for the burrito, plus 60 cents for the extra cup of sauce, you’re looking at over ten bucks, which is getting pricey for fast food these days. But if you were to get just the burrito (which is more than enough for a meal) or two tacos, you can keep your costs down. Both the burrito and the Frank’s RedHot menu are limited-time items—and at Taco Bell, sometimes that means very limited—so you’ll want to try them sooner rather than later if they sound tempting.

Nutrition Info:

Frank’s RedHot Diablo Crispy Chicken Soft Taco

Calories: 250
Fat: 11g (3g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 11g
Carbs: 27g
Sodium: 710mg

Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito

Calories: 730
Fat: 41g (17g Sat/0.5 Trans)
Protein: 26g
Carbs: 65g
Sodium: 1570mg