Whether it’s a fast-food chain, sit-down restaurant, or your local Mexican-American eatery, there are many places where you can order a plate of nachos. When it comes to chain restaurants specifically, not all of the places you can chow down on a platter of tortilla chips piled with toppings like avocado, tomatoes, and melted cheese are equal. To prevent you from an unsavory meal, we went out to rank the best and worst nachos at chain restaurants — and the worst option might be surprising. It’s Taco Bell.
Now, we know there’s a loyal fan base that might not be pleased with this ranking, but our writer had solid reasons for the choice. Taco Bell’s Nachos BellGrande is the variation of the dish that took the worst spot, with its smaller loaded beef nachos ranked just one spot higher. For the Nachos BellGrande specifically, our writer thought the price was one of the biggest issues. That’s because the fast-food nachos were more than double the price of the smaller offering. We found the pricing issue to be true in Queens, New York, where the loaded beef nachos are just $2.99 — and it’s a jump to $7.39 for the Nachos BellGrande.
More reasons to avoid Taco Bell’s Nachos Bellgrande
In addition to the price, our writer also had an issue with the cheese sauce, which was “just okay.” Our review also suggests adding sliced jalapeños for heat, although the addition didn’t improve the nachos enough to land it a higher spot in the ranking. And don’t swap the ground beef for chicken like our writer, because the poultry was flavorless and dry. Out of fairness, we know other reviews of fast-food nachos put Taco Bell at the top of the list, and we enjoy its other menu offerings, but taste is always subjective after all. At least the tortilla chips weren’t soggy, a common issue with nachos that aren’t prepared properly.
There are some other ways you can upgrade Taco Bell’s Nachos BellGrande for a potentially better experience. Guacamole is a good addition to any type of nachos, and costs just $1.29 extra in Queens, New York (cheap for the creamy spread compared to other chains). There’s also a creamy jalapeño sauce if you want to add heat to the dish. More conventional toppings to add crunch, flavor, or freshness include shredded lettuce, cheese, diced onions (for free), and pico de gallo. And if breakfast is more of your thing, here’s our ranking of Taco Bell’s morning menu including its stellar hash browns.
