Review: Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Taco Bell's Crispy Chicken Nuggets feature white-meat chicken bites marinated in jalapeno buttermilk," breaded with a mix of breadcrumbs and tortilla chips, and then deep-fried.

A 10-piece order included two dipping sauces and cost me $7.49. I went with the new Bell Sauce and Hidden Valley Fire Ranch.

There was quite a bit of variance in the size of the nuggets. The smallest piece was about half the size of the largest piece:

The breading was fairly thick with an almost knobby texture to it. I could see bits of tortilla chips sporadically embedded in it and some odd dark patches on the surface. It was lightly crispy but super crunchy when a piece of chip was encountered. The chicken inside was moist and decently tender. There was a lightly seasoned flavor to the nuggets and just a hint of spicy heat. Quality-wise, it's about the same level as frozen breaded chicken bites heated in the air fryer.

The new Bell Sauce offered a sweet tomato flavor and a distinct pepper note to go with a fair amount of spices, a mild heat, and a creamy, tangy mayo base.

The Hidden Valley Fire Ranch is a mixture of Hidden Valley Ranch and Fire Sauce. It was more run-of-the-mill versus the Bell Sauce. It offered the creamier buttermilk tang and herbiness of Hidden Valley ranch with an additional hit of tang and a moderate heat from Taco Bell's Fire Sauce.

I found both sauces enjoyable but preferred the Bell Sauce as it was more complex and interesting.

At the end of the day, Taco Bell's Crispy Chicken Nuggets made for a decent but middling fast-food chicken nugget offering but with some added novelty from the new sauces.

Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Nuggets (10 pieces)
Calories - 670
Fat - 33g (Saturated Fat - 3.5g)
Sodium - 1840mg
Carbs - 20g (Sugar - 0g)
Protein - 72g