Review: Taco Bell - Cantina Steak Burrito

Taco Bell's Cantina Steak Burrito was recently updated with new, thick-cut marinated steak. In addition to the steak, the burrito features Latin rice, black beans, romaine lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, corn and pepper salsa, and creamy cilantro dressing.

My local Taco Bell has them on the menu for $4.99 each.

You might notice the grill marks on my Cantina Steak Burrito; that doesn't come standard, but you can request it on any burrito on the Taco Bell menu. I like the extra crispiness it adds to the tortilla.

The Cantina Steak Burrito is pretty much the Cantina Bowl, but wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

The steak is an improvement over the previous version. In feel, it's not as squishy or rubbery and has some meat texture to it. Where the old steak was seasoned similar to Taco Bell's ground beef, the new one offers more of a departure with a different set of spices and the slight hint of heat.

While lettuce might be fine in a salad wrap where it's mostly accompanied by cold ingredients, it doesn't work so well in a burrito with warm steak, beans, and rice. It wilts and/or steams pretty fast, which is not so great and that's what happened here.

The rice and beans worked out well and each offered a different flavor: a bit cilantro lime for the rice and an earthiness from the beans.

I saw the guacamole, but it got a bit lost in the shuffle tastewise inside the burrito. The same thing occurred with the cilantro dressing.

I would have liked more of the corn salsa and less of the pico de gallo. The corn salsa and pico de gallo were a bit unevenly distributed, which resulted in some very tangy bites.

Overall, I didn't like the Cantina Steak Burrito as much as the Cantina Bowl. It was a little too busy with ingredients and sometimes overwhelmed by its stronger flavors (mostly tanginess). The Cantina line was created with the bowl in mind and it shows a bit with the burrito, which is shoehorned into a more portable alternative.

Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Cantina Steak Burrito (458g)
Calories - 780 (from Fat - 250)
Fat - 28g (Saturated Fat - 7g)
Sodium - 1900mg
Carbs - 98g (Sugar - 7g)
Protein - 33g