Taco Bell broke hearts across the country last week when it revealed nine items were being removed from the menu, including two of its beloved Doritos Locos Tacos.
But before the dust of a Cool Ranch shell could settle, Taco Bell revealed a new menu item — and it's cheesier than ever.
Taco Bell has announced it's giving the classic chalupa what it calls a "next-level cheesy glow up" with the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa, which has cheddar cheese baked right into its fried flatbread shell.
Six-month aged cheddar cheese has been toasted onto the chalupa's shell to "create a crispy blanket of flavor and texture" and unlock a "whole new cheese experience," according to a press release obtained by Insider.
"At Taco Bell, we get excited by the 'what if's' we can dream up and bring to life for our fans — and the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is an example of just that," said Liz Matthews, the chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell Corp.
"We know cheese makes everything better, and baking aged cheddar into the shell of an already iconic product is a game changer our fans will love," she added.
The Toasted Cheddar Chalupa can be filled with seasoned beef, chicken, or steak — as with the classic chalupa — and will also come with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheddar cheese, and reduced-fat sour cream.
Taco Bell's new cheesy chalupa is available nationwide starting September 12. It will retail for $2.49, but can also be purchased in a $5 box that comes with two Crunchy Tacos and a medium soda.
Read more: Taco Bell is dropping 9 items from its menu, including the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco
This will be Taco Bell's biggest international release since it debuted the Naked Chicken Chalupa in 2017.
The Toasted Cheddar Chalupa will also be available in Aruba, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and Puerto Rico.
This is hardly the first time Taco Bell has given a new twist to its classic chalupa, which was first introduced to stores in 1999.
The following year, Taco Bell introduced the Baja Chalupa, which featured a "zesty pepper jack sauce" and "fiesta salsa." In 2017, the chain launched both the Double Chalupa and the Naked Chicken Chalupa, the latter of which features a shell made out of chicken.
Taco Bell also has plans to test a new Bacon Club Toasted Cheddar Chalupa in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The menu item — which the fast-food chain calls a "cheesy Taco Bell twist on a club sandwich" — will feature the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa shell along with grilled chicken, avocado ranch sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits. It will be released on September 12 and retail for $3.29.
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