Review: Taco Bell - Bacon Ranch Tortada

The Bacon Ranch Tortada is one of the latest limited-time items at Taco Bell.  It's a cross between a torta (sandwich) and a tostada hence the name "Tortada."  The Bacon Ranch Tortada is basically a panini-pressed flour tortilla folded into a square filled with pieces of marinated chicken breast with rib meat, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, diced bacon, and an avocado ranch sauce.  It's priced at $3.29 which puts it at the upper end of Taco Bell's menu.

How was it?  It is very reminiscent of a Crunchwrap Surpreme but with different flavors.  The first thing I thought as I bit into the Bacon Ranch Tortada was: "Mmmmm... Bacon!"  Unlike most fast food items brought down by paper-thin, bacon with weak flavor, I got a nice smoky bacon flavor biting in the Tortada.  It had lots of little bits of bacon through out the tortilla.

I liked that the tortilla had a slight crunchiness to it from the panini-style press since Taco Bell's flour tortillas are usually just soft.  I couldn't really taste the avocado in the avocado ranch dressing but the dressing didn't overwhelm the Tortada as ranch can sometimes do.

The lettuce and tomatoes were largely superfluous and a bit lost in the mix.  They didn't lend their flavors very well, if at all.  Adding more lettuce and tomatoes would have given the Tortada a bit more variety.  Mostly, I just tasted bacon (mmmm... bacon!), and seasoned chicken with a little bit of ranch flavor.  Overall, I quite like it, although with all the bacon and marinated chicken, it might be too salty for some.  Thumbs up for bacon and chicken together!

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Nutritional Info (261g)
Calories - 570 (from Fat - 210)
Fat - 24g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 1870mg
Carbs - 57g (Sugar - 5g)
Protein - 33g