Review: Taco Bell - Double Crispy Chicken Quesadilla

Taco Bell's Double Crispy Chicken Quesadilla features their new tortilla-crusted fried chicken strips folded and grilled inside of a large flour tortilla along with a three cheese blend and creamy jalapeno sauce.

I picked one up for $4.29.

If you, like me, believe there's such a thing as too much chicken in a quesadilla, then the Double Crispy Chicken Quesadilla has too much meat compared to the cheese that's there. The chicken was not even cut or torn up and except for the very edges, there was lots of chicken in every bite. It felt like I had ordered chicken strips rather than a quesadilla.

The chicken itself had a nice flavor with a surprising amount of heat for mainstream fast food; it's actually spicier than a lot of "spicy" fast food items I've tried. I've mentioned before that the crispy chicken is a formed strip rather than a cut one but I wonder if it's a combination of the two (that would also explain the flakiness that some of you have been reporting). It was pretty juicy.

The breading held up pretty well in the quesadilla; there was still some crunch despite the moist heat from the cheese and sauce. Taco Bell needs to poke some holes in their quesadilla packaging though; the chicken might have been even crispier and the flour tortilla would have been at least slightly crispy if the bag didn't trap all the moisture. If was a short drive home but I could see water condensing through the clear plastic window.

Relegated to sideshow status, the cheese was thoroughly melted and mild with a nice bit of stretch to it. The sauce was hard to make out but offers a light savory depth with very little heat (there was more spicy heat in the chicken).

Overall, Taco Bell's Double Crispy Chicken Quesadilla was plenty of chicken and not enough cheese for me. I would have been happier just getting three or four pieces of their new crispy chicken with some sauce or two pieces and a plain quesadilla.

Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Double Crispy Chicken Quesadilla (235g)
Calories - 720 (from Fat - 380)
Fat - 42g (Saturated Fat - 13g)
Sodium - 1660mg
Carbs - 53g (Sugar - 3g)
Protein - 33g