Taco Bell’s annual Live Más Live was not only star-studded, it also came with the reveal of more than a dozen new menu items.
For Live Más Live’s third year, the beloved fast food chain upped the stakes. The brand that’s enabled us all to think outside the bun made its way from its headquarters in Irvine, Calif., all the way to Hollywood, tapping some of Taco Bell’s biggest fans to announce some of the crazy creations the beautiful minds in their test kitchen are making a reality.
BOSSIP’s Rebecah Jacobs was on the scene at the historic Hollywood Palladium for the star-studded event, getting a front-row seat to all of the delightful chaos.
Hosted by Long Beach native Vince Staples, the rapper kept the evening light with his signature deadpan comedy. Other celebrity guests included Anderson .Paak and his bob, Doja Cat, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams, and more.
Ego Nwodim hosted her own game show during the presentation, during which Ashley Park, Lil Jon, and Devon Walker guessed which menu items were “made,” and which were “made up.” Luckily for them—and for us—Taco Bell’s Chief Food Innovation Officer and Head Chef Liz Matthews took the stage to reveal that almost all of the food and drinks pictured were real.
It’s impossible to get the full scope of the celebration without seeing it for yourself! Live Más LIVE: A Night at The Palladium is now streaming exclusively on NBCUniversal’s Peacock, taking Taco Bell’s most ambitious innovation showcase from the Hollywood stage to fans nationwide.
20 Bold Innovations Were Unveiled
Nacho Fries: After years of sell-out runs and passionate fan pleas, Nacho Fries are officially joining menus permanently later this year. The iconic, boldly seasoned fries have earned permanent status—a historic moment for one of the brand’s cult favorites.
Flamin’ Hot® Nacho Fries: It’s your beloved Nacho Fries, now paired with Flamin’ Hot Nacho Cheese sauce for a fiery kick in every dip. The classic nacho cheese gets an extra layer of bold Flamin’ Hot flavor, making each bite a craveable, spicy experience.
Crispy Chicken is expanding with an all-new series of dusted nuggets. Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets: Taco Bell’s signature crispy, all-whitemeat chicken nuggets get dusted—not dunked—in fiery Diablo seasoning. Yeah, Diablo sauce is now a dust, delivering its unmistakable smokey heat in a way fans have never tasted before.
Doritos® Cool Ranch® Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets with Doritos® Cool Ranch® dipping sauce: After Diablo Dust, fans can cool off with the next iteration of dusted nuggets coated in Doritos Cool Ranch seasoning and paired with a Doritos Cool Ranch dipping sauce for a flavor-on-flavor moment that’s unapologetically bold.
Hit the flip for more new menu items:
Flamin’ Hot® Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets: Rounding out Taco Bell’s new series of dusted nuggets is a bold and fiery Flamin’ Hot seasoning, delivering an amped-up crunch with a slow-building heat that will put Taco Bell’s stamp on hot chicken.
Mountain Dew Baja Midnight™ Pie: Following the Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie’s longanticipated debut last Friendsgiving season, the brand is bringing the passionfruit flavors of Mountain Dew Baja Midnight to a pie offering a sweet, citrusy flavor reminiscent of key lime pie or sorbet.
Crème Brulee Crunchwrap Slider: The iconic hexagon does it all and closed the show! Creamy vanilla filling. Crispy cinnamon sugar tostada. Grilled with a caramelized cinnamon sugar crust for a crackable, spoon-worthy finish, and wrapped in a warm tortilla, the show’s grand finale reveal is the dessert fusion of your dreams.
Category-defying new forms and formats that prove innovation hits different at Taco Bell:
Cheesy G Sliders: Two soft, pillowy flatbreads wrapped around freshly fried daily whitecorn shells, layered with mozzarella, pepperjack and cheddar cheeses, lettuce, pico de gallo and creamy chipotle sauce. Available with grilled marinated steak or slow-roasted chicken.
Cantina Chicken Mexican Pizza with Jalapeño Citrus Salsa: Slow-roasted chicken and black beans layered between crispy tortillas, topped with green chile sauce, a three-cheese blend, cabbage, and pico de gallo—served with a new Jalapeño Citrus Salsa and an Avocado Verde Salsa.
Mexican Pizza Empanadas: Three or six bite-sized, crispy empanadas filled with seasoned beef, a melty 3-cheese blend, and a bold and flavorful sauce. Served with Mexican Pizza sauce on the side for dipping.
Flamin’ Hot® Mini Taco Salad: A new take on a classic, featuring seasoned beef, Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and refried beans in a crispy, golden tortilla bowl rimmed with Flamin’ Hot seasoning.
And don’t forget the decadent dessert lineup reimagining sweet indulgence with bold flavors and craveable twists:
Milk Bar® Birthday Cake Empanada: A crispy, golden empanada filled with birthday cake batter, topped with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles—a collab that turns any dessert into a party.
Chocolate Fudge & Caramel Empanadas: The first item from Live Más LIVE that is available now nationwide—this set of dessert empanadas comes with one chocolate fudge and one caramel empanada per order for the ultimate dessert duo.
Strawberry & Cream Mexican Pizza Bite: A tostada with a scoop of cheesecake filling, filled with chopped strawberries macerated with cinnamon sugar, and topped with white chocolate shavings.
Plus, we’ve got a boundary-pushing beverage lineup that delivers indulgence and bold sips for every mood
and moment:
Mountain Dew Baja Midnight™ Zero: Just like its Mountain Dew Baja Midnight counterpart, the drink blends passionfruit flavor with the iconic tropical lime taste of Mountain Dew Baja Blast now with zero sugar.
Strawberry Horchata Refresca: Inspired by traditional Mexican horchata, this creamy, sweet drink is perfectly spiced with cinnamon and vanilla, swirled with juicy strawberry syrup, topped with real freeze-dried strawberry pieces and served ice-cold.
Cold Brew with Purple Horchata Cold Foam: Bold and smooth cold brew topped with signature purple cold foam—cool and creamy with a hint of warm cinnamon and vanilla.
Salt & Straw® Tacolate Chiller: All the flavors fans loved from the original Tacolate, an overnight sensation when it debuted in 2025, are now blended and served as a sippable Chiller. It’s the perfect evolution of Salt & Straw’s take on the nostalgic ice cream taco.
Beyond national menu rollouts, Taco Bell brings innovation to life through bold, immersive experiences that let fans explore their favorite flavors in entirely new ways, like:
Fire Queso Sauce Packet: An edible sauce packet that transforms the iconic hot sauce packed into a fully edible and crispy Fire Queso experience that allows for even more flavor combos and discoveries.
Mountain Dew® Baja Blast® Under Eye Patches: For the Baja Blast die-hard, infused with caffeine and a refreshing boost of citrus, these patches energize skin and deliver cooling hydration.
Queso Cracked Cantina Bowl (purple hammer not included): Get cracking into a new kind of bowl at Taco Bell with seasoned rice, slow-roasted chicken, black beans, lettuce, purple cabbage, reduced-fat sour cream, pico de gallo, cotija dip, and topped off with chile lime seasoning, that features a cheddar cheese top layer, by transforming it into crispy, cheese chips for this new elevated bowl.
Firecracker Burrito: A red flour tortilla shell is filled with seasoned rice, Nacho Cheese sauce, seasoned beef, Fiesta tortilla strips, Creamy Chipotle sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, and a sprinkling of cayenne poppin’ crystals for a flavor and texture experience that is sure to surprise.
For more on the new menu items and the show-stopping moments that introduced them, the biggest night in Taco Bell innovation is now streaming nationwide. Watch Live Más LIVE: A Night at The Palladium exclusively on Peacock and join Taco Bell Rewards in the app to unlock exclusive offers.
