Taco Bell is releasing a new chalupa with cheddar cheese baked into the shell

Taco Bell is shaking things up again at its restaurants across the U.S. and this time, it’s all about the cheese!

The fast food chain is unafraid to try some crazy and unusual ways to mix up their menu. Remember the fried chicken taco shell from 2017!? Well, Taco Bell is once again experimenting with iconic shells. This time, the classic chalupa gets an upgrade to the new Toasted Cheddar Chalupa.

The updated recipe bakes cheddar cheese right into the chalupa shell, giving it an extra layer of savory flavor. The newest Taco Bell menu item will be available nationwide starting Sept. 12 and it promises to drive cheese lovers crazy.

In fact, Taco Bell called this new menu item “craveable innovation to the next level” and it’s easy to see why.

“At Taco Bell, we get excited by the ‘what if’s’ we can dream up and bring to life for our fans – and the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is an example of just that,” said Liz Matthews, chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell Corp, in a press release. “We know cheese makes everything better, and baking aged cheddar into the shell of an already iconic product is a game-changer our fans will love.”

In addition to the cheese-packed shell, the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa has your choice of seasoned beef, chicken or steak as the meal’s foundation. Then it gets loaded up with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, reduced-fat sour cream and, of course, more cheddar cheese!

The Toasted Cheddar Chalupa will sell for $2.49 individually and also be available in the Taco Bell $5 Box, which comes with two Crunchy Tacos and a medium-sized drink.

While Taco Bell does update its menu from time to time, the release of the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is the largest debut of a new product since the Naked Chicken Chalupa back in 2017.

If you’re looking for a way to enjoy some Mexican-inspired cuisine, but don’t want to go all the way to a Taco Bell, you can try making this taco bubble-up bake at home. Or you could try your hand at making some tasty cheeseburger quesadillas for a hungry crowd!

Looking for some other ways to enjoy delicious cheddar cheese? You can try making these delicious cheddar cheese shortbread crackers at home, or these bacon-cheddar hasselback biscuit bites.