Taco Bell's New Chalupa Has a Shell Made From Fried Chicken

Taco Bell will introduce a new menu item on January 26 called the Naked Chicken Chalupa. The item has a friend chicken shell instead of a taco shell. It is shaped just like a regular taco although the chicken shell is thicker than a normal taco shell.

The shell is made using white-meat chicken. The item will cost $2.99. The interior contains shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and an avocado ranch sauce. Taco Bell says in the announcement: "The shell is the chicken. The chicken is the shell."

The Naked Chicken Chalupa is back on the menu for a hot second. Get it ASAP before it disappears again. pic.twitter.com/ovnos9VSPb

— Taco Bell (@tacobell) December 28, 2018

Taco Bell has been testing the item for the past couple years. A Buzzfeed post from 2015 shows how the make the fried chicken shells. The 5.5-inch chicken sells arrive at Taco Bell season and breaded. They get fried in a unique taco shell shaped rack.

Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Marisa Thalberg told Buzzfeed, "Think of all the crazy firsts that have existed in time and civilization. Dare we say even the creation of the wheel probably seemed a little odd at first until someone said, 'Ah, that’s really a good thing!'"

Business Insider notes that some fast food outlets have tried using chicken as the bun, such as KFC's Double Down.