Taco Bell cuts 5 menu items, including Mexican Pizza

The fast food chain has been creating a new “streamlined menu” to make room for new entries.

LOS ANGELES - Taco Bell announced on Sept. 3 that it will be eliminating five menu items as part of the final edits for its new streamlined menu.

Starting Nov. 5, Taco Bell will no longer be serving the Mexican Pizza, pico de gallo and three menu items that include shredded chicken at any location. The company said that the decision comes with a dedication to create a faster and “more seamless” restaurant experience.

“We’re constantly evaluating ways to provide a more efficient restaurant experience, and have already begun to see progress from streamlining our menu,” said Mike Grams, Taco Bell president and global COO, in a statement. “While we know fans may be understandably sad to see some of their favorites go, this evolution of our menu truly paves the way for fresh new ideas.”

“The creativity and innovation in our kitchen hasn’t slowed down at all, and we look forward to rolling out new fan favorites,” Grams said.

The fast food chain said there were several reasons why it will say goodbye to the five menu items. For example, getting rid of the Mexican Pizza aligns with the company’s environmental commitment. Currently, the packaging for the Mexican Pizza uses over 7 million pounds of paperboard material per year in the U.S., according to the statement.

Taco Bell will be replacing pico de gallo with freshly diced tomatoes. The elimination of shredded chicken means three menu items — the shredded chicken soft taco, shredded chicken burrito, and shredded chicken quesadilla melt — will also be cut in the new fall menu.

In the place of these menu items, Taco Bell will be introducing a tropical frozen beverage named “Dragonfruit Freeze” and a chicken chipotle melt. The company also plans to introduce a new green sauce at select markets and will test the Quesalupa in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“With these changes, we look forward to providing our guests with a more seamless Taco Bell restaurant experience, and even more exciting new innovations to come,” the statement said.

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