Taco Bell’s Cravings Value Menu Has 10 Items for $3 or Less—Here’s a Food Editor’s Ranking

• What It Is: a warm flour tortilla filled with mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, melted and rolled
• Price: $1

If I were the parent of a picky eater, this is what I would get them at the drive-thru. There’s nothing wrong with it—it’s just very plain and small (no wonder it’s the lowest priced item on of the value menu). It also turns a bit stiff after sitting for a few minutes, so I’d advise eating it ASAP if you’re all about the cheese pull. I’d also recommend a side of guacamole, sour cream, red sauce or nacho cheese for dipping.

• What It Is: a warm flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, a blend of mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses and warm nacho cheese sauce, grilled
• Price: $2

Let’s not mince words: This is a quesadilla that’s folded into a triangular stack instead of sliced. While tasty and filling, its flavor was a bit tame and one-note to me, maybe because I’m used to the standard quesadilla that’s layered with creamy jalapeño sauce. In its absence, I felt it could’ve really used some heat. Nothing a packet of Fire sauce couldn’t fix.

• What It Is: a warm flour tortilla filled with seasoned potatoes, creamy chipotle sauce, lettuce and shredded cheddar cheese
• Price: $1.50

Everyone has at least one vegetarian (or vegetarian-ish) friend who swears by Taco Bell’s potatoes. And they’re not wrong—the seasoned spuds are consistently crisp, savory and tender. Here, the potatoes seemed to be almost steamed by the warm tortilla, so they were softer than I’d hoped. But what spoiled it for me was the creamy chipotle sauce. Like when I tasted every Taco Bell sauce and dip (for science, duh), I felt it tasted like spicy bacon bits with an artificial-tasting smokiness I couldn’t shake. If it had sour cream or a different sauce, I think I would’ve liked this taco a lot more.

• What It Is: a warm, pillowy flatbread filled with grilled, marinated white meat chicken, creamy chipotle sauce and a blend of mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses
• Price: $2

Gah, that creamy chipotle sauce was out to get me, although I enjoyed it more with the chicken than the potatoes. I also liked the doughy chew of the flatbread (however, it proved to be more fragile, crumbly and easily smushed than the flour tortillas, at least at the edges and folds). As for the fillings, they were desperate for lettuce and tomato for a bit of freshness and textural variety.

• What It Is: a warm flour tortilla filled with refried beans, seasoned rice, warm nacho cheese sauce and creamy jalapeño sauce
• Price: $1.50

True life: I love Taco Bell’s refried beans. Chalk it up to the bean burrito being the first thing I ever ate there, but they slap every damn time. They’re savory, gently spiced, starchy and super rich. That said, they were paired with multiple wet, soft ingredients here, so the burrito’s texture was decidedly mushy (save for grains of rice, although they were a touch overdone for my liking anyway). If this had some crispy lettuce or tortilla strips, its consistency would be more diverse (and, consequently for me, more appetizing).

• What It Is: warm, crispy tortilla chips topped with seasoned beef, refried beans, warm nacho cheese sauce, red sauce, guacamole and reduced-fat sour cream
• Price: $3

Between the red sauce, sour cream and refried beans, this value gem had all my favorite toppings. The guac was the weak spot for me; it was more like a spread than real guacamole and very vegetal without a vibrant kiss of lime. Also, eating Taco Bell nachos (or any nachos, really) is a race against time. The chips start to lose their crunch the moment they’re topped, so it’s key to dig in as soon as you get them. I would’ve loved some slaw and fresh produce on here for temperature and texture contrast, but it was surprisingly filling for just under $3. (Heck, I’d argue it’s big enough to share.)

• What It Is: seasoned potatoes topped with warm nacho cheese sauce and reduced-fat sour cream
• Price: $3

I’ve been a Fiesta Potatoes stan for years. The potatoes are always crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and evenly seasoned with savory, garlic-and-oniony, slightly spicy ingredients. The nacho cheese was giving arcade snack bar with a gentle kick of heat, but I wasn’t mad about it. What made this side was hands-down the sour cream. Just eat them ASAP—the potatoes toughen and the cheese hardens as they sit.

• What It Is: a crunchy taco shell filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, crunchy fiesta strips and shredded cheddar cheese, wrapped in a flour tortilla with a layer of warm nacho cheese sauce
• Price: $2

Remember the Double Decker Taco (may she rest in peace)? This is basically as close as you can get to the discontinued menu item, except it subs nacho cheese for refried beans as the “glue” between taco shells and has tortilla strips to boot. Texturally, this Taco Bell Cravings menu item was a slam dunk. Even after a car ride home, the inner taco shell was still crispy, as were the tortilla strips inside. I do think I would’ve liked it more with beans instead of nacho cheese (or with a smear of sour cream), but I had no complaints about the seasoned beef, well-applied shredded cheddar or cool greens.

• What It Is: a flour tortilla filled with grilled, marinated white meat chicken, seasoned rice, red sauce, a blend of mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses and reduced-fat sour cream
• Price: $2.50

Full disclosure: I’m not a big fan of Taco Bell’s rice, mostly because of the texture. But the red sauce, aka my favorite Taco Bell sauce of all time, evened things out. It was earthy, bright, tomatoey and medium spicy. It brought out the slight smokiness in the chicken and offered plenty of enticing color. Again, something crisp like lettuce, raw onion or tortilla strips would’ve been nice, but the flavor was there. And TBH, for less than $3, this thing was hefty.

• What It Is: a flour tortilla filled with double seasoned beef, seasoned rice, warm nacho cheese sauce, crunchy fiesta strips, a blend of mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses and reduced-fat sour cream
• Price: $3

If you’re all about meat, cheese and sauce, this is the pick for you. The tang of the sour cream made all the difference for me, as it offered contrast to the savory beef’s juices, the mildly spicy cheese sauce and the corn-y tortilla strips. It would’ve been better if I’d eaten it immediately instead of driving home first (the strips would’ve still been crunchy!), but all in all, this is a solid Cravings menu pick and my top choice of the lot.