The taco will be available at participating restaurants in Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C., beginning on March 11, with a nationwide rollout planned for later this year.

Taco Bell is the latest quick-serve restaurant (QSR) to enter the chicken sandwich wars with the debut of its Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco.

The chicken is marinated in jalapeño buttermilk and fried with a crunchy tortilla chip coating, served in a puffy bread that’s shaped as a taco and topped in a creamy chipotle sauce. There will also be a spicy version with an additional topping of jalapeño slices.

The taco will be available at participating restaurants in Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C., beginning on March 11 for $2.49, with a nationwide rollout planned for later this year.

The chicken sandwich wars essentially began in 2019 with the infamous Popeye’s chicken sandwich, and numerous QSRs have announced new chicken sandwiches in 2021 already.

McDonald’s will add three new chicken sandwiches to its menu on Feb. 24. The new lineup builds upon other McDonald’s chicken offers — like Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken sandwich — as well as limited-time offerings like Spicy Chicken McNuggets, Chicken McGriddles and the McChicken Biscuit sandwich.

Wendy’s debuted a Jalapeño Popper Sandwich on Feb. 17, Chick-fil-A added a spicy grilled chicken sandwich on Jan. 25, and Shake Shack launched a Korean-inspired chicken sandwich on Jan. 5, to name a few.

Foodservice, Industry News