Review: Diablo Ranch Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider from Taco Bell

Bottom Line: The Diablo Ranch Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider from Taco Bell may not be very big, but it does deliver on flavor and it brings some heat.

Amidst Taco Bell’s ever-rotating menu of “new” items, they recently took several ingredients already in the kitchen to put together the Diablo Ranch Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider (which may be on the small side but is a mouthful to say in the drive-thru). Here is the description of that from the website:

A warm flour tortilla filled with all-white-meat, marinated chicken seasoned with bold Mexican spices and tossed in a crunchy tortilla chip coating, freshly prepared pico de gallo, a blend of mozzarella, pepperjack, and cheddar cheeses, and a Hidden Valley® Diablo Ranch Sauce folded into our signature Crunchwrap form and grilled to go.

This is basically a smaller version of their signature Crunchwrap, and their Crispy Chicken Nuggets are the featured item inside the tortilla. Here is the rundown:

Crispy Chicken Nuggets: There are two of these stuffed inside the tortilla, and they manage to keep their crunch despite the sauce and other ingredients. The meat is tender and tasty, and these work well as the main protein.

Three Cheese Blend: They add plenty of this, and it delivers a nice sharpness, going well with the chicken.

Pico de Gallo: This is a good addition as it brings a nice freshness to the Crunchwrap as well as a bit of a pungent pop from the onion.

Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch Sauce: This pulls everything together, bringing some creaminess and tang along with a nice kick of heat.

Warm Flour Tortilla: It’s a pretty standard tortilla, but it’s not too chewy, and toasting it adds some flavor.

As for the heat, that Diablo Ranch brings some burn, and I would put this close to Medium on my scale. When you first look at this Crunchwrap “slider,” it seems to be somewhat puny, but it is surprisingly filling. I will say that the first of these I got had some assembly issues, with most of the non-chicken ingredients on one side. But the second had a better distribution, and this makes for a good light meal or a snack.

As for the calories, one of these comes in at 320, which is not bad for the drive-thru. That might tide you over if you have the mid-afternoon munchies, or you can pair this up with one of their regular tacos (170 cals) for a lunch that won’t have you worrying too much about expanding your belt size.

At $3.99 for one in my area, that is a bit pricey for what you get, but not too bad in these days when fast food is no longer cheap food. This is another limited-time item, and with Taco Bell, you can blink and it is gone. (They may run out in the time it takes to say the name of the thing!) So you will want to try the Crunchwrap Slider pretty soon if it sounds tempting. They have everything they need in the kitchen to make it, but good luck getting them to go off-menu once the promotion has expired.

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 320
Fat: 13g (3.5g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 35g
Sodium: 860mg