Review: Taco Bell - XXL Chalupa

Taco Bell's new XXL Chalupa features a kitchen sink selection of an XXL Chalupa flatbread (roughly double the size of a regular), Fiesta salsa (tomatoes, onions, and cilantro), reduced fat sour cream, Taco Bell's three cheese blend (mozzarella, monterey jack, and American), lettuce, nacho cheese sauce, red tortilla strips, and seasoned ground beef. Pricing stands at $2.79 for one.

If you eat at Taco Bell occasionally, there are really no surprises with the XXL Chalupa. It tastes like... well, it tastes like Taco Bell. Same ingredients. Different iterations. The only real differences from item to item is the texture of the starch: crunchy, soft, fried, etc. And maybe one ingredient here, one there. What it comes down to is the XXL Chalupa tastes like a Chalupa but bigger, and meatier.

I must have ordered mine shortly after they fried up some Chalupa shells; the shell seemed freshly made and had a nice, thin, crisp crust that gave way to a warm, pillowy soft crumb. They fold the long ends up to fit it in the box, forming a boat for the filling. It helps to keep all the beef, cheese, sour cream, etc. from falling out as long as you don't tilt it too far. Everything was mostly fine except for a tad too much sour cream (the Sister would love it though).

While $2.79 might seem expensive for Taco Bell (hey, that's what happens when you position yourself as the value-leader of the fast food industry), I would point out that a regular Chalupa costs $1.89 and an XXL Chalupa feels twice as big. Basically, if you feel like eating a Chalupa but are extra hungry, go for the XXL version. If you want to get fancy, you can also upgrade to steak or chicken.

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Nutritional Info - XXL Beef Chalupa (266g)
Calories - 650 (from Fat - 350)
Fat - 39g (Saturated Fat - 9g)
Sodium - 1300mg
Carbs - 53g (Sugar - 6g)
Protein - 23g