Taco Bell is gearing up to unveil a revolutionary fast food treat this year. If you’re one of those people who can’t decide between fried chicken and tacos, then this one’s for you.
Starting Jan. 26, the fast food giant will be serving a new dish called the Naked Chicken Chalupa nationwide. According to Business Insider, the new item is made up of shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a creamy avocado ranch sauce encased in a fried chicken shell made with white chicken meat.
Taco Bell’s official Twitter account has been promoting the menu item’s nationwide debut, posting on the micro-blogging site a message which reads, “The shell is the chicken. The chicken is the shell. The #NakedChickenChalupa will be exposed January 26.”
The Naked Chicken Chalupa follows another innovative Taco Bell product which was released last year—the Quesalupa. The dish is comprised of meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream packed into a pepper jack cheese-filled flour tortilla.
Kotaku reports that the Chalupa is already being served in California and Colorado since 2015 and 2016 respectively. Since 2015, the Naked Chicken Chalupa has been in its test phase, as Taco Bell reportedly wanted to gauge diner’s reactions to the dish before it makes its national debut.
As to how the shells are made for the Chalupa, Buzzfeed reports that the 5.5-inch, 4-ounce chicken shells arrive at restaurants seasoned and breaded. A contraption, which is also used to shape the Waffle Taco, is used to fry it into a taco shape.
Last year, Taco Bell senior manager of marketing Kat Garcia told Buzzfeed that they have been getting positive feedback from their testers regarding the Chalupa.
“We were getting feedback like, ‘It’s so healthy. It’s so fresh,’” said Garcia. “That really surprised us because it’s fried chicken.”
The Naked Chicken Chalupa will cost $2.99 at Taco Bell outlets nationwide. It is expected that if the dish is well-received, more innovative taco ideas will be released by the fast food chain in the future.
For more, check out Jobs & Hire's report on how Starbucks has joined the fight against food waste.
