Taco Bell’s Live Mas Live — an exciting, action-packed, fan-focused event packed with company announcements, entertainment, awards and mind-blowing, belly-expanding amounts of food — returned for its second year on Tuesday, March 4. And while last year’s bonanza took place in a tented space in Las Vegas in the run-up to the Big Game, Live Mas 2025, which was originally scheduled for Los Angeles, but rescheduled due to the area’s devastating fires, finally touched down in Brooklyn, New York.

More than 400 people were in attendance – including the brand’s fans, partners, content creators, media types and others – and they had come from far and wide to see the sights, hear the news, sample the goods and soak in the spirit of Taco Bell. The festivities, which were hosted by actress and Taco Bell aficionado Ashley Park and streamed live online, included the dispersal of the fan-honoring second annual Bell Awards, including a “Menu Hack of the Year” award collected by Mormon mom influencer Taylor Frankie Paul for her viral “Dirty Baja Blast” recipe.

Among the announcements for what lies ahead in 2025: Taco Bell plans to bring twice as many limited-time items to its menus this year, “doubling down on craveable Mexican-inspired flavors and remixed fan favorites,” the brand says.

In addition to its currently available Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churro collab, the brand is planning menu and merch partnerships with golf apparel brand Bad Birdie, chili-infused honey powerhouse Mike’s Hot Honey, Zab’s hot sauce, Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha maker Bushwick Kitchen and skateboard legend Tony Hawk.

Having recently introduced the new Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders and Caliente Cantina Chicken at Taco Bell locations nationwide, the brand says it has tee-ed up plenty more, including a Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa, Grilled Cheese Burrito with Shredded Beef, Crispy Chicken, Flamin’ Hot Burrito, Rolled Poblano Quesadilla, Quesocrisp Taco and a purply-blue spin on Baja Blast it’s calling Mountain Dew Baja Midnight.

Chef Lawrence “LT” Smith’s Southwest Hot CHX Crunchwrap Supreme, developed through the brand’s culinary chef collaboration program TBX, launched at Live Mas Live last year, is currently being tested in Cincinnati. And this year TBX continues with a partnership with LA-based Chef Bricia Lopez to bring “a new type of carne asada to the masses.”

Taco Bell also offered attendees a chance to enjoy a version of its new beverage-focused Live Mas Cafe, which currently has one location in San Diego, featuring Mexican-inspired drinks including Churro Chillers, Agua Refrescas and Latte Chillers, all made by hand by “Bellristas.”

Here’s everything I tasted at the event:

Carne Asada Poblano Quesadilla: The first item I tasted was also my favorite. “Marinated steak … plus poblano peppers rolled into one amazing quesadilla,” according to the official description, it was spicy and toothsome, a perfect savory, cheesy-meaty blend. I could see making a special trip to a Taco Bell for one (or two) of these bad boys. While Taco Bell leaned into chicken (“slow-roasted chicken,” is an alternate Poblano Quesadilla protein option) last year, this year it’s all about Carne Asada. Based on this item, seems like a good move.

Mini Cantina Chicken Roasted Corn Bowl: This bowl-style entree was lettuce-y, corny, chicken-y and a little too bland for my taste.

Quesocrisp Taco: A taco shell made out of fried cheese, this brand-new Taco Bell innovation is a total winner, with a crispy, salty, potato-chip like vibe that will likely prove addictive. I had a hard time holding back as I was trying to pace myself, with so much to taste. I think there was chicken inside it, but honestly, I might have been a little too distracted by the taco shell made out of cheese to notice the filling or anything else.

Ube Strawberry Cookie: This individually wrapped “crisp and chewy sugar cookie stuffed with rich vanilla ube cream featuring strawberry pieces in the cookie and filling plus a flurry of sprinkles,” is currently being perfected in Taco Bell’s test kitchen. Purple and pretty, it’s kind of like a super sweet whoopie pie, with a creamy middle and a sparkling sugar crunch. A bit too sweet for me, but probably great for anyone with a serious sweet tooth.

Flamin’ Hot Burrito: This new burrito, which features nacho cheese sauce, Flamin’ Hot Fritos, sour cream, seasoned beef and Flamin’ Hot Rice, may sound great in theory, but all I tasted was (not very hot) hot sauce, rice and tortilla. Disappointing.

Mountain Baja Dew Midnight: This purply-blue, Taco Bell-exclusive carbonated beverage tastes of passionfruit and Baja Blast tropical lime. I found it refreshing; sweet, but not cloying; and good for washing down Mexican-inspired meals.

At the Live Mas Cafe: I sampled a yummy, green-tea-based Strawberry Passionfruit Aqua Fresca, topped with freeze-dried strawberries; a pink, super-fruity Dragonfruit Berry Limonata, with freeze-dried dragon fruit; a decadent Mexican Mocha Iced Latte, with whipped cream and drizzled chocolate syrup; and a canned dulce de leche cold brew. All very tasty.

Also on offer were two new releases currently available at Taco Bell for a limited time: those cute little Steak and Queso Cruchwrap Sliders and the aforementioned crispy Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros, which are filled with birthday cake frosting and covered in brightly colored sugar and sprinkles.

And then there were the sauces. So many sauces — six, according to my notes — with a long wait to try them, so by the time I dipped my Crispy Chicken Nuggets and Nacho Fries in them, it was hard to tell what was what. They were Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo, Zab’s Hot Ranch (“smokey,” “spicy,” with a “pop of citrus”), Weak Knees Fire (with a “lingering slow burn”) Caliente (made with spicy red jalapeños), Hatch Chile Buttermilk Ranch and PAG sauce (Puya, Arbor, Guajilo). I can tell you that they were all good. Every single one. But I can’t tell you anything about the purportedly hottest among them — the new Purple Chile Sauce, made with three different chiles, Ají Panca, Habanero and Ghost Pepper — which you had to sign a waiver to taste. It’s not that I was too chicken to dip my nuggets into that sauce, I was just full.

Some of the items offered for tasting are still in the testing phase, as are several other items announced at the event: Crispy Fajitas (“Tempura battered crispy bell pepper, onions and jalapeños paired with white habanero ranch for dipping”), Queso Fundido Rolled Chicken Taquitos (“Crispy taquitos stuffed with chicken with a green chili queso fundido for dipping”).

Short Rib Chile Relleno Burrito (“Anaheim green chile stuffed with melted cheese and short rib beef”), Brisket Taco (“A taco featuring slow-roasted brisket, shredded cheese and purple cabbage”), Poutine Fries (“A bed of seasoned fries topped with slow-roasted pork, savory gravy and cheese curds”), Mexican Pizza Empanada (“Everything fans love about the cult classic Mexican Pizza inside of a flakey crispy empanada”), Mini Taco Salad (“A bite-sized version of the taco salad that was on Taco Bell menus from 1984 to 2017 with added salsa verde and lime”), Tacodilla (”An oversized taco shell made with a corn flour tortilla filled with carne asada, melted cheese, guajillo pepper sauce and grilled to perfection, inspired by traditional Mexican street food”), and the item that elicited the most ooohs and aaahs from the crowd, a Salted Caramel & Toffee Cream Empanada Bite (“A twist on the beloved Caramel Apple Empanada featuring salted caramel and toffee cream”).

Others are slated for release in 2025. The year will also see more Taco Bell Luxe Cravings Boxes; the limited-time introduction of the Caliente Cantina Chicken Menu (“a bold new twist on its fan-favorite slow-roasted Cantina Chicken”); a return of the popular Decades Menu, this time with menu items from the early 2000s and 2010s, including Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos and Double Decker Taco; a new Grilled Cheese Burrito with Shredded Beef; and a Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa, with cheddar baked into the shell, cheese toasted onto the outside and a new Chile Lime Crema Sauce.

Also, soon fans will be able to share their go-to Taco Bell menu customizations, “Fan Style,” with other users in the Taco Bell app and get recognized and rewarded.

And great news for all the Crispy Chicken Nuggets lovers out there. (Best for last!) The fan-favorite nuggets, introduced for a limited time in December 2024, are coming back this year – and also in different forms: Look for Crispy Chicken Burritos and Tacos.

Taco Bell fans, 2025 is looking up.

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