A discontinued freezer-aisle novelty is having an unlikely second act, and this time it's coming from a fast-food drive-thru. Since Sept. 1, Taco Bell locations nationwide have been selling the Salt & Straw Churro Ice Cream Taco for $3.99 — the latest riff on the "Tacolate," the chain's viral homage to Klondike's beloved Choco Taco, which Klondike pulled from shelves in 2022 citing production problems.
The pairing began last fall, when Taco Bell teamed up with Portland ice cream maker Salt & Straw on a $65 six-pack sold through specialty shops and shipped nationwide — hand-pressed waffle cone shells filled with cinnamon-ancho chili ice cream, dipped in single-origin chocolate and topped with toasted brown rice, plus two custom dipping sauces. Salt & Straw co-founder Tyler Malek designed the original recipe "in collaboration with Taco Bell's culinary innovators," according to Food Network, and it drew enough online buzz to sell out at participating stores within its first run.
This month's version brings the collaboration to a mass-market price point and every Taco Bell counter in the country, swapping the original cinnamon-ancho ice cream for a churro flavor while keeping the crunchy shell and chocolate coating. A companion item, the Salt & Straw Choco-Waffle Chiller — a frozen vanilla drink blended with churro crumbles and waffle cone pieces, capped with a crackable chocolate shell — is rolling out only at Taco Bell's Live Más Café locations in Southern California, Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas, according to a report on the launch.
For Taco Bell, the move follows a familiar playbook in an increasingly crowded fast-food dessert market: revive a beloved discontinued product, attach a buzzy independent partner, and let nostalgia do the marketing. The original Choco Taco dates to the early 1980s and briefly appeared on Taco Bell's own menu until 2015 before Klondike took over distribution and eventually killed it — a decision that, judging by the online mourning that followed, the company may be quietly walking back one collaboration at a time.
Both items are billed as limited-time offerings "while supplies last," a phrase that, given the original run's sellout, fans are already treating as a countdown clock.