When I was invited to Taco Bell’s Live Mas Live, I assumed it would be big: After all, the event was being held just days before the Big Game in Las Vegas, a city where everything from the neon signs to the casino hotels to the stage shows to the never-ending string of stretch limos sliding down the Strip are larger than life. In Las Vegas, as certain NFL teams would likely attest, it’s definitely go big or go home.

Not only that, Taco Bell is the brand that, a few years back, brought me to a Palm Springs hotel it had dramatically made over in its own image, dubbing it the Taco Bell Hotel, and then used as the backdrop for a giant party.

So I wasn’t surprised that the event, which took place in a series of fancy tents on February 9, packed musical performances, executive presentations about forthcoming menu options and even fan awards into a compact ceremony. I also wasn’t surprised that attendees had a chance to try a bunch of the new, upcoming menu items. What I was surprised by was just how many menu items Taco Bell unveiled at one time: pretty much every new item it planned to debut for the rest of 2024. And there were a lot.

“It definitely is a lot,” Taco Bell Chief Food Innovation Officer Liz Matthews agreed in a conversation with Food Network at the event. Matthews noted that it especially felt that way because we were taking in at once all the new menu items that would be rolled out over the course of an entire year. “But we’ve been planning it. We’ve been working on it. And we’re just really excited to have a big year.”

Here’s a rundown of all the new items Taco Bell introduced at the event, which will roll out over the course of 2024:

Cheesy Chicken Crispanada: Not only is this the first of the new Taco Bell items to hit the chain’s menus nationwide — it landed on Thursday, February 15 — it’s also the first one I tried, and it definitely hit the spot. It’s basically Taco Bell’s spin on an empanada. It features a super crispy pastry-dough crust filled with braised chicken marinated in garlic, tomato and onion, and a melted blend of pepper jack, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Maybe a touch oily, it was nevertheless wonderfully warm and savory — and the spicy ranch sauce served on the side was a tasty touch. I could probably have eaten several more, but I had to pace myself.

Taco Bell Salt & Straw Ice Cream Chocolate Taco (With Dips): Oh my god. Taco Bell’s take on the late lamented Choco Taco — created in partnership with Portland-based ice cream company Salt & Straw — makes so much sense and is so good. It features cinnamon ancho ice cream; hand-pressed, chocolate-dipped waffle cones; and toasted brown rice. Taco Bell served it with packets of topping sauces, including Cinnamon Wild Berry and Chocolate Chili, as well as a little cup of Cheesecake dipping sauce. I can’t pick a favorite sauce — they were all really good. But when this launches this summer, I can see this becoming a habit. Nostalgic, yummy and sweet.

Beekeeper Cold Brew Coffee and Taco Bell Beekeeper Horchata: To introduce its new collaboration with Beekeeper Coffee, Taco Bell stocked a couple of refrigerators with cans of the brand’s cold brew in mocha, vanilla, caramel and black coffee. All the flavors have been sweetened with a drop of honey, which is Beekeeper’s signature. I snagged a can of the mocha cold brew and it gave me a nice boost. The two brands are also partnering to create a limited-edition Horchata cold brew latte, inspired by the cinnamon-flavored Mexican beverage, but I didn’t manage to taste it.

Sweet Vanilla Churro Chiller and Mexican Chocolate Churro Chiller: If you ever wondered why Taco Bell didn’t have shakes, a fast food staple, you’re not alone. Matthews says even she has wondered. Regardless, following a limited-time-only test at two Southern California locations in December 2023, the chain will add a full line of elevated, shake-like beverages it’s calling “chillers.” They’ll be available in Mexican Chocolate, Dulce de Leche Coffee, Wild Strawberry and Sweet Vanilla flavors. I had a chance to try the chocolate (sweet vanilla cream swirled with Mexican chocolate sauce, topped with cold foam and capped off with churro crumbles,) and vanilla (sweet vanilla cream with swirls of purple vanilla sauce, topped with cold foam and churro crumbles) iterations and they are not only cool, creamy, sweet and satisfying, they’re also super pretty. As a chocolate fan, I especially loved the Mexican Chocolate Churro Chiller, but for visual appeal, nothing beat the purple vanilla swirls on the Sweet Vanilla Churro Chiller.

Cheesy Street Chalupas with Steak: These puffy, mozzarella-and-pepper-jack-cheese-stuffed chalupas come filled with either grilled steak or slow-roasted chicken, as well as cilantro, diced onion and jalapeno ranch sauce. Originally tested at select Taco Bell locations in Indianapolis in October 2023, they’re served two per order. The steak chalupa I tried was meaty and flavorful.

The Cantina Chicken Menu: Both Matthews and Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery each say that the Cantina Chicken Menu is the thing they are most proud of amongst the coming year’s new offerings. Montgomery calls the new menu a “game changer” that “pushes the brand in a whole new direction.” The menu, which will arrive at Taco Bell Cantina locations, is all about “bold new flavors,” the brand says. It introduces a new oven-roasted, shredded, Mexican-chili-spiced chicken, and integrates new ingredients including purple cabbage, pico de gallo and a white corn taco shell, as well as a salsa: Avocado Verde Salsa, which comes in a green packet.

The ingredients will be featured in five menu items, including the Cantina Chicken Burrito, Cantina Chicken Taco (soft or crispy), Cantina Chicken Quesadilla and Cantina Chicken Bowl, which Taco Bell is hoping people will enjoy for lunch, afternoon snack time or, really, any time of day. I tried the Cantina Crispy Chicken Taco (“slow-roasted chicken, fresh white-corn tortilla shell, creamy jalapeno sauce, melted and toasted three-cheese blend”), Cantina Chicken Soft Taco (“slow-roasted chicken, avocado ranch sauce, purple cabbage, real shredded cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, crisp lettuce”), Cantina Chicken Burrito (“slow-roasted chicken, avocado ranch sauce, chipotle sauce, purple cabbage, real shredded cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, crisp lettuce, flour tortilla”) and the Cantina Avocado Verse Salsa. Matthews and Montgomery were right; they were all really good. The purple cabbage was an especially welcome feature.

Tajin Taco: Taco Bell is bringing the taste of Tajin to its menus. The spicy-sweet Mexican blend of chili peppers, lime and sea salt provides a new twist to classics on the new Tajin Crunchy Taco, Tajin Twists and Tajin Strawberry Freeze. I had a chance to try the Tajin Crunchy Taco (a Tajin-seasoned taco shell, seasoned beef, spicy ranch, lettuce, cheese mango pico de gallo) and the Tajin Twists (Taco Bell Twists sprinkled with Tajin cotija blend). If you like the seasoning, as I do, you’ll love the taco. I’m not so into Taco Bell Twists, though, so even the Tajin sprinkling couldn’t convince me to finish a whole order of them. You may feel different.

Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme: A Crunchwrap featuring a “Big A** Cheez-It,” which is literally a giant Cheez-It – 16 times bigger than a regular Cheez-It. What’s not to like? Not one thing. This new menu item, which consists of a flour tortilla, seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, in addition to the aforementioned mega Cheez-it tastes exactly as you’d imagine, very Cheez-It forward, except I’d imagined the Cheez-It would make it crunchy, which it did not. (Maybe the one I tried had wilted after sitting out a while?)

Disha Hot Sauce With Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco With Steak: At Live Mas Live, Taco Bell served its delightfully cheesy-on-the-outside Grilled Cheese dipping taco (crispy corn tortilla, grilled steak, sour cream, melted and toasted three-cheese blend) with its new Omar Apollo’s Family Recipe Hot Sauce (roasted Chile de Arbol, tomatillo, jalapeno, habanero, onion, cilantro, lime). Musician Omar Apollo, who performed his song “Evergreen” at the event, has partnered with the brand to bring his family’s hot sauce, Disha Hot, which features a “secret recipe that has been passed down for generations,” to Taco Bell sauce packets. It can be enjoyed on any menu item.

Mtn Dew Baja Blast Gelato: When Taco Bell introduced a gelato that tasted like its signature Baja Blast beverage in 2023 in a test run at a single location in Irvine, California, people went nuts for it, and it sold out in a snap. This summer, as part of its Baja Blast 20th year anniversary celebration, Taco Bell will make the tropical lime flavor gelato available nationwide. (Montgomery calls it “crazy” good.) I’m not a fruity gelato person — or generally attracted to bright-green foods — but the gelato was fun to try. I’d say it wasn’t bad.

Mtn Dew Baja Blast Twists: Taco Bell Twists with bright-green, sweet Mtn Dew Baja Blast-flavored sprinkles? They are exactly as you’d imagine.

Mtn Dew Baja Blast Pie: This arrestingly-hued cream pie looked otherworldly — sort of like an alien key lime pie. People will for sure buy this as a matter of visual curiosity. The taste was another matter though. In the end, I was compelled to conclude that pie should not taste like Baja Blast. Perhaps you will disagree.

In sum, the experience was an insane amount of Taco Bell eating. But that isn’t even all the 2024 menu additions the brand announced. We can also look forward to Dulce de Leche Cinnabon Delights, Secret Aardvark Serrabanero sauce on Nacho Fries and Crunchwrap Supreme innovations thought up by the first three chefs to participate in Taco Bell’s new TBX program, to integrate the ideas of up-and-coming culinary minds into its menus. Their ideas will debut this year at select locations.

So much Mas, so little time.

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