Review: Taco Bell - Mini Taco Salad

Taco Bell's Mini Taco Salad is part of the chain's Luxe Value Menu. It features seasoned beef, Creamy Chipotle Sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, and refried beans in a crispy tortilla bowl.

It cost me $2.79.

The salad came in a paper clamshell box. The salad was small and fit neatly in my hand. I stifled the impulse to take a bite as the shell seemed fairly brittle and likely to break, spilling its contents. The shell is made from the same flour-corn tortilla as a Mexican Pizza. It had a lighter, more delicate crunch than the chain's corn tortilla shells.

There was more Creamy Chipotle Sauce on top than was necessary, and I recommend mixing it in before you dig in. It has quite a potent smoky, spicy profile on its own.

For a salad, even a mini one, there was a laughable amount of lettuce. There was less lettuce than you'd find in a Taco Bell taco. Along with the tomatoes, it was pretty fresh, though.

The seasoned beef was also a light touch but added a welcome, seasoned meatiness.

The most plentiful ingredient was actually the beans, which lined the bottom of the shell. They had a nice, seasoned, savory flavor and provided some chip-and-bean-dip action at the end.

Overall, I liked Taco Bell's Mini Taco Salad a good deal. If you've been missing the chain's tostada, you can consider this a return of it, only with more variety and flavor.

Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Mini Taco Salad
Calories - 280
Fat - 15g (Saturated Fat - 4g)
Sodium - 490mg
Carbs - 27g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 9g