SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Taco Bell adds new taco twist: The Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco, which hits the menu Aug. 3

What do SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centeryou get when you cross a taco with a grilled cheese sandwich? The Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco, which hits Taco Bell's menu on Thursday, Aug. 3.

The restaurant chain's newest limited edition menu item has slow-braised, shredded beef topped with a creamy jalapeño sauce and a three-cheese blend (cheddar, mozzarella and pepper jack), packed in a fried taco shell with the same cheese blend grilled on the outside of the corn shell. The taco comes with two dipping sauces, a zesty red sauce and nacho cheese. 

The new dish was inspired by birria, a slow-cooked Mexican meat stew.

"By combining slow-braised shredded beef with the two dipping sauces, our fans can enjoy a new range of flavors they may have never had from Taco Bell before,” said Taco Bell's global chief food innovation officer Liz Matthews in a statement announcing the dish. “This Mexican-inspired dish represents an evolution of what fans typically expect from Taco Bell. We’re excited to bring this menu item nationwide after an incredibly successful test in 2022.”

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Another limited-time dish at Taco Bell next week: Beefy Crunch Burrito

The new Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco arrives on the menu the same day as the Beefy Crunch Burrito returns to the menu in August.

Taco Bell Rewards Members can begin ordering the burrito it two days earlier, on August 1, by using the Taco Bell app.

The Beefy Crunch Burrito – made with seasoned beef and rice, nacho cheese sauce, reduced-fat sour cream and Fritos Flamin’ Hot Flavored Corn Chips – was first introduced in 2010, then taken off the menu in 2011 and has had several limited runs over the past decade. It hasn't hasn't been available since 2018, but the dish prevailed over Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos in Taco Bell's fan vote for a return to the menu.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.

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