Taco Bell is adding 'meal-sized' menu items for $3 or less as consumers hunt for fast food bargains

Fast food chain Taco Bell shakes up value menu by removing items and replacing them with meal-sized foods as consumers hunt for bargains.

• Taco Bell is revamping its Cravings Value Menu with six new items for $3 or less.
• Five items, including the popular Beefy Melt Burrito, have been cut from the new value menu.
• The chain said the revamped 10-item value menu features "more satiating, meal-sized items."

Taco Bell is overhauling its Cravings Value Menu by adding six new "meal-sized" items to the menu, which features items under $3. To make room for the new additions, Taco Bell is booting five items from the current value menu.

The chipotle ranch grilled chicken burrito, the beefy melt burrito, the cinnamon twists, the fiesta veggie burrito, and the classic combo will no longer be on the Cravings Value Menu as of January 11. However, only the chipotle ranch grilled chicken burrito and the fiesta veggie burrito are completely off of Taco Bell's menu, the others will be available off the value menu, the chain told Business Insider.

In a press release, the chain said the refreshed 10-item value menu features "more satiating, meal-sized items." The menu update comes as customers seek more value, but have found rising prices at fast food chains. McDonald's, for example,is losing visits from lower-income diners, and has raised prices by 20% over a two-year period.

One of the new beefier items is the cheesy double beef burrito, whose makeup is similar to the beefy melt burrito but with more meat. The $2.79 value burrito contains beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, tortilla strips, a three-cheese blend, and reduced-fat sour cream.

Taco Bell said four "classic" value items will remain on the menu, including the cheesy roll-up ($1.19), the spicy potato soft taco ($1.29), the cheesy bean & rice burrito ($1.49), and the cheesy fiesta potatoes ($2.49).

The five other items debuting January 11 on the value menu include:

• Double-stacked taco ($1.99): This taco is a crunchy taco shell filled with beef, fiesta strips, lettuce, and cheddar cheese. It is wrapped in a soft tortilla filled with nacho cheese sauce.

• Stacker ($2.19): A tortilla filled with beef, nacho cheese sauce, and a three-cheese blend.

• 3-cheese chicken flatbread melt ($2.29): A flatbread stuffed with grilled chicken, creamy chipotle sauce, and a three-cheese blend.

• Chicken enchilada burrito ($2.49):  A burrito with grilled chicken, rice, red sauce, three-cheese blend, and reduced-fat sour cream.

• Loaded beef nachos ($2.99) Chips topped with beef, beans, nacho cheese sauce, red sauce, reduced fat sour cream, and guacamole.

  Taco Bell said the 3-cheese chicken flatbread melt, the cheesy double beef burrito, and the loaded beef nachos are completely new additions to the national menu.

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