Honey, Taco Bell shrunk the Chrunchwrap (and added steak)

It’s not often a fast-food chain creates something truly revolutionary. Taco Bell captured this magic when it launched the Crunchwrap Supreme two decades ago.

There have been times in my life where I was obsessed with the Crunchwrap Supreme. Once, during a lengthy drive back to our apartment from a wedding in North Carolina, we stopped at a Taco Bell to get lunch. I got a Crunchwrap. Caitlin got a Crunchwrap. And then we bought a third Crunchwrap just in case we still had that Crunchwrap hunger after each finishing our own. (The third Crunchwrap wound up going uneaten, its lingering aroma from the backseat serving as a Tell-Tale Heart of our misguided fast-food ambitions.)

Taco Bell has never been content to be happy with their menu offerings. They’re constantly looking to innovate. Can a shell be a Dorito? Can a Cheez-It be bigger? What if the entire thing was made of chicken?

For their latest creation, the food scientists over at Taco Bell have shrunken down the Crunchwrap Supreme, swapping out the standard Taco Bell beef for the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders. (I was going to make a joke about Taco Bell pulling a Rick Moranis, but I was too depressed to learn that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids came out in 1989 ... not the 1990s.)

I do my best to catch new items for Snackology when they first debut. In the case of the Crunchwrap Sliders, I’m a week or two behind. But after a friend texted that “the steak Crunchwrap Sliders are delicious” in our group chat last week, I haven’t stopped thinking about them. So after eating salads for lunch all week, I made the journey to Taco Bell to pick up lunch on Friday ...

Where I found it

Crunchwraps, whether in Supreme or Slider format, are exclusive to Taco Bell.

What I paid

You can get two Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders (plus the Green Chile Queso!) for $4.99.

My thoughts

I’m not going to waste your time — the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders are awesome.

Taco Bell advertises that this limited item is made up of “grilled, marinated steak, a mini tostada shell, creamy chipotle sauce, freshly prepared pico de gallo and cheddar cheese” — and these Crunchwrap Sliders absolutely deliver on that promise.

There are times when the ingredients in a Taco Bell item squish together (I’m looking at you Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme), but that’s definitely not the case here. That grilled, marinated steak? Fantastic. I’m probably going to seek out other Taco Bell items with it in the future now.

Had Taco Bell introduced the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders and skipped the “queso” part of its name, it would’ve been a hit. (A confusingly named item, but a hit nonetheless.) But Taco Bell paired the Crunchwrap Sliders with the new Green Chile Queso.

The Crunchwrap Sliders are even better when they’re dipped in this queso. It has just enough heat to complement a Cruchwrap-wrapped steak bite.

My only complaint about the Crunchwrap Sliders is that they’re “fun-sized.” I want more of them, whether it’s in a bigger format or in an increased quantity. (Maybe three? Triples makes it safe. Triples is best.)

And, yes, I absolutely paired the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders with a can of Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Baja Blast from my stash. (My go-to Taco Bell has weirdly stopped offering the Zero Sugar version of the iconic drink on the Taco Bell app.)

Final verdict: BUY

The highest compliment I can give anything over here at Snackology is, when upon finishing a sandwich or dessert or candy, my immediate next thought is, How soon can I get this again?

I hadn’t even finished dipping my last bite of my second Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Slider and I was already plotting when I could get them again.