Taco Bell Debuts the Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa

Your midnight snack just got a whole lot cheesier.

Taco Bell is elevating the long-lost Cheddar Chalupa with a new menu item to fill that void — the all-new Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa. It’s a “saucy” mix of last year’s Cheesy Street Chalupas and the original Toasted Cheddar Chalupa, according to the brand’s announcement.

“The street taco is a cultural staple built on bold flavor and quality ingredients, and the Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas honor that tradition while bringing in a unique Taco Bell touch that packs even more flavor into every bite,” said Luis Restrepo, Taco Bell’s vice president of product innovation, in the announcement.

Enter: A fried, cheese-coated tortilla filled with marinated steak, onions, cilantro, and a generous drizzle of Chile Lime Crema. This creamy, zesty dip contains lime, chile peppers, garlic, parmesan, and Romao, as described by the brand. 

“Fans immediately fell in love with the crispy, cheesy bite of the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa in 2019, and now we’re elevating that street-inspired flavor experience and that’s exactly the kind of comeback our fans have been waiting for,” Restrepo says. 

You can start grabbing the Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas today, but don’t get too attached: like all good things, they’re only set to be available for a limited time. They’ll come in a two-pack for $5.49, with the choice of grilled Cantina chicken or marinated steak. Otherwise, you could snag this deep-fried delight in the $9 Discovery Luxe Box, which includes two of those bad boys, one Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco, one crunchy taco, cinnamon twists, and a medium fountain drink. 

What exactly is a Chalupa? Quite simply, it’s a fried tortilla molded into a folded shape, making it the perfect vessel for steak and other toppings. It’s a menu item that “mysteriously marries chewy and crispy,” in the brand’s words. The Chalupa Supreme, a deep-fried taco sans that crispy cheese exterior, is available year-round.

If all that sounds familiar, you must have a good memory: The Tex-Mex chain first launched the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa in 2019, and it was undoubtedly a hit with the late-night crowd. (Folks on social media have been practically begging the brand for its return since it was discontinued.) The chain began testing the latest batch of Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas in Houston last August, which surely must have proven successful. Earlier this month, Taco Bell revealed the nationwide rollout of the Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa — alongside a host of other delicious offerings — at its annual Live Más event.

Street tacos are a classic way to usher in the first warm days of spring — and while we can’t say Taco Bell’s version is exactly traditional, it does sound dang good.