What Did Taco Bell Discontinue? The Complete List of Removed Menu Items
Taco Bell discontinued dozens of items over the years, but the biggest wave came on August 13, 2020, when twelve fan favorites were cut in a single day. The biggest taco bell discontinued items include Nachos Supreme, the 7-Layer Burrito, the Mexican Pizza, and shredded chicken. Here’s the thing, though. Some of them actually came back.
I went digging through years of menu announcements because, honestly, Taco Bell fans have one of the longest memories in fast food. People still talk about a burrito that died in 2013 like it was a family member. So let’s settle it once and for all: what did Taco Bell discontinue, when did it happen, and could any of it ever return?
The 2020 Menu Purge: What Taco Bell Removed on August 13
The short answer is twelve items, gone in one day, August 13, 2020. It was the biggest single-day menu cut in Taco Bell history, and it happened right in the middle of the pandemic.
Taco Bell said it was clearing space on the menu to create a faster, more efficient drive-thru experience. After months of running simplified operations, the chain decided its menu board had gotten too crowded. Safety and speed were the official reasons. Fans heard a different message: their favorites were sacrificed for throughput.
Here’s everything that got the axe that day:
| Item Removed | What It Was |
|---|---|
| Grilled Steak Soft Taco | Steak, lettuce and cheddar in a soft tortilla |
| 7-Layer Burrito | Beans, rice, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes |
| Quesarito | Burrito wrapped in a cheese quesadilla, moved to app and online only |
| Nachos Supreme | Loaded nachos with seasoned beef, beans, cheese sauce and sour cream |
| Beefy Fritos Burrito | Beef, rice, Fritos corn chips and cheese sauce, a value-menu legend |
| Spicy Tostada | Crisp shell with beans, sauce and chipotle sauce |
| Triple Layer Nachos | Chips with beans, red sauce and cheese sauce |
| Spicy Potato Soft Taco | Spicy potato bites in a soft taco |
| Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes | Crispy potato bites with nacho cheese and sour cream |
| Loaded Grillers | Cheesy Potato and Beefy Nacho grillers |
| Chips & Dips | Side of chips with dip options |
| Mini Skillet Bowl | Breakfast bowl with eggs, potatoes and sausage |
It wasn’t all bad news. Taco Bell softened the blow by adding the $5 Grande Nachos Box and a $1 Beef Burrito on the Cravings Value Menu. But petitions sprang up overnight, and fans were not exactly sending thank-you notes.
Why Did Taco Bell Discontinue the Mexican Pizza?
The Mexican Pizza was cut on November 5, 2020, along with shredded chicken and pico de gallo, and it triggered the loudest fan backlash of any discontinued item.
If you’ve ever wondered why Taco Bell killed something people clearly loved, this one is wild. The chain said the Mexican Pizza’s packaging alone accounted for more than 7 million pounds of paperboard a year in the US. Killing it was framed as a sustainability win. Fans framed it as a personal attack.
The November 2020 cuts also took out every shredded chicken protein option, which meant goodbye to the Shredded Chicken Soft Taco, the Shredded Chicken Burrito, and the Shredded Chicken Quesadilla Melt. Pico de gallo was swapped out for plain diced tomatoes, which barely registered as a difference to anyone but the purists.
Here’s where the story gets good, though. The outcry was so relentless that Taco Bell brought the Mexican Pizza back in 2022, and this time it stuck. It is still on the menu today, a rare full resurrection in fast food history.
More Discontinued Taco Bell Items From 2024 and 2025
The cuts didn’t stop in 2020. Taco Bell has kept trimming and rotating its menu every year since, and 2024 and 2025 added plenty of new discontinued Taco Bell items to the list.
In January 2024, the chain overhauled its Cravings Value Menu to focus on bigger, meal-sized items. That killed four items for good: the chipotle ranch grilled chicken burrito, the beefy melt burrito, the fiesta veggie burrito, and the classic combo. Cinnamon twists survived but got moved to the drinks and sweets section.
Then came March 2024, when the new Cantina Chicken menu launched on March 21. Making room for it meant cutting the Crispanada, the cheesy gordita crunch box, the deluxe cravings box, the bell breakfast box, the breakfast crunchwrap, and several combo meals. The double berry freeze and the power bowl also got chopped.
In 2025, the Cheesy Street Chalupas, which had been a social media favorite, were pulled from most menus by mid-year. The Loaded Beef Nachos vanished by late 2025, the Cantina Chicken Quesadilla Combo quietly disappeared from many locations, and the limited-time Steak Garlic Cantina items were gone once the promo window closed.
Taco Bell Discontinued Items That Made a Comeback
Yes, several discontinued Taco Bell items came back, and the chain has turned nostalgia into a full-blown marketing strategy.
It started with the Mexican Pizza’s triumphant 2022 return. Then Taco Bell launched the Decades Menu in 2024, resurrecting the Tostada, the Green Burrito, the Meximelt, the Beef Gordita Supreme, and the Caramel Apple Empanada. The Y2K menu followed in 2025 with hits from the 90s and 2000s.
Most recently, in August 2026, the chain launched its #TBTB throwback menu, bringing back the Meximelt and the Caramel Apple Empanada yet again, alongside the Beefy Crunch Burrito and the Naked Chicken Chalupa. The Caramel Apple Empanada has now appeared on all three nostalgia menus. Some empanada, right?
The pattern is pretty clear at this point. Taco Bell cuts items to keep kitchens fast and ingredient lists short, then cashes in by reviving them as limited-time events that drive lines around the block. It’s honestly a genius loop, as long as you’re not the one mourning the Beefy Fritos Burrito.
Why Does Taco Bell Keep Discontinuing Fan Favorites?
Most discontinued Taco Bell items were pulled for one of three reasons: speed, ingredients, and novelty.
A smaller menu means faster drive-thru times and fewer mistakes. It also means fewer unique ingredients to stock, prep, and track. When an item shares most of its ingredients with other products, it lives or dies by its sales numbers alone.
And then there’s the marketing angle. Scarcity creates hype. When Taco Bell removes something fans love, the eventual comeback generates way more buzz than if it had never left. Discontinuing items isn’t just cost-cutting, it’s part of the business model.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Taco Bell discontinue in 2020?
Taco Bell removed 12 items on August 13, 2020: Grilled Steak Soft Taco, 7-Layer Burrito, Quesarito (app only), Nachos Supreme, Beefy Fritos Burrito, Spicy Tostada, Triple Layer Nachos, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes, Loaded Grillers, Chips & Dips, and the Mini Skillet Bowl. On November 5, 2020, the Mexican Pizza, shredded chicken, and pico de gallo were also cut.
Is the Mexican Pizza still discontinued?
No, the Mexican Pizza came back in 2022 after massive fan backlash and is still on the menu today. It’s one of the rare discontinued items Taco Bell fully revived as a permanent menu item.
Can you still order discontinued Taco Bell items?
Sometimes. Many discontinued items can be rebuilt with the app’s customization options, like a 7-Layer Burrito made from a bean burrito with added rice, guacamole, and sour cream. Taco Bell also revives old favorites as limited-time items, so watch for Decades and throwback menus.
What items did Taco Bell discontinue in 2025?
In 2025, Taco Bell removed the Cheesy Street Chalupas, the Loaded Beef Nachos, the Cantina Chicken Quesadilla Combo, and the limited-time Steak Garlic Cantina items once their promotional runs ended.
