Taco Bell Spent 4 Years Creating The New Big Cheez-it Crunchwrap Supreme — and It Was Worth The Wait

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During a recent visit to Taco Bell's headquarters in Irvine, California, I learned more about the development of the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada.

Chef Nola Krieg, who's been part of Taco Bell's food innovation team for 10 years, told us that Taco Bell first tried to turn the iconic Cheez-It cracker into a toasted cheddar taco shell, but it just didn't work. The cracker was far too brittle.

Then, a new idea hit.

"Let's just make it a bigger cracker," Krieg recalled.

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The Taco Bell team tinkered with different Cheez-It sizes, including one 25 times bigger than the classic cracker — but it was far too large.

"So we landed on a Cheez-It 16 times the size, and they've been working on this product for four years," Krieg said.

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Taco Bell's test kitchen worked to ensure the texture and amount of salt in the cracker would pair well with the beef. The chain also had to develop new packaging to protect the fragile Cheez-It crackers — no one likes a broken tostada!

All the hard work paid off.

Both menu items were an instant hit when Taco Bell tested them for a limited time in July 2022 at a single location in Irvine, not far from the chain's headquarters. The Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada sold out in four days.

But did they live up to the hype? Let's give them a try!

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The $3.99 Big Cheez-It Tostada features the Big Cheez-It cracker topped with seasoned beef, diced tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, and reduced-fat sour cream.

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Biting into a Cheez-It cracker as big as your hand is such a fun and playful concept, and I love that Taco Bell isn't afraid to give us a little whimsy in these cynical times.

The cracker stays true to the taste of your classic Cheez-It, but I found the toppings to be a bit basic. The veggies were a little limp and lackluster, and I thought the tostada needed a dash of sauce.

I recommend adding purple cabbage and pico de gallo — two new ingredients at Taco Bell thanks to its very good Cantina Chicken Menu — and one of the chain's delicious sauces (perhaps avocado ranch or creamy jalapeño) to really amp up the flavor.

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Taco Bell swaps out a classic tostada shell for the massive Cheez-It in its Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme.

The $5.49 menu item also features seasoned beef, lettuce, diced tomatoes, warm nacho-cheese sauce, and reduced-fat sour cream, all wrapped inside a grilled tortilla.

Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

As a huge Cheez-It fan and a Crunchwrap Supreme loyalist (it's my go-to Taco Bell order without fail), I was extremely excited to try the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme.

Still, it didn't rank in the top five of my list when I tried 15 new menu items at Live Más Live — Taco Bell's first-ever superfan convention — back in February. The Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme was the last dish I tried that day, and it just didn't blow me away.

But I recently gave it a second chance (with a fresh palate) and had a completely different experience. The massive cracker added a delicious burst of cheesiness, which was perfectly distributed throughout the Crunchwrap thanks to the well-designed cracker.

Drizzling some Taco Bell hot sauce on top brought a kick of heat and depth to the overall flavor, creating an unquestionably fun and exciting menu item.