Updated 2018! Taco Bell is a massive Mexican fast food franchise with more than 7000 locations worldwide. It is a U.S. company, but they also have restaurants in Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, and beyond. They only have one main allergen database, that we could find. It is possible that menu items and allergens may differ across the countries. Many years ago, Taco Bell introduced “Fresco Style,” which means no cheese, sour cream, or sauce – a great option for dairy-free diners and anyone watching their calories!
No Dairy (Milk-Based) Ingredients (see disclaimer below)
- Breakfast & Breakfast Components – Hashbrown, Eggs, Potato Bites, Sausage Crumbles, Bacon, Flour Tortilla
- Burritos & Tacos – Fresco Bean Burrito, Fresco Chicken Burrito Supreme, Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme, Fresco Beef Crunchy Taco, Fresco Beef Soft Taco, Fresco Shredded Chicken Soft Taco, Fresco Steak Soft Taco
- Sides – Black Beans, Black Beans & Rice, Chips & Guacamole, Chips and Pico de Gallo, Chips and Salsa, Seasoned Rice, Seasoned Fries (Without Cheese Sauce)
- Sauces – Diablo Border Sauce, Fire Border Sauce, Hot Border Sauce, Mild Border Sauce, Breakfast Salsa , Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Sweets – Cinnamon Twists
- Freezes – Skittles, Watermelon, Mtn Dew, Beach Berry, Berry Sangria, Mtn Dew Baja Blast, Blue Raspberry, Lemonade, Margarita, Orange Cream Pop, Pepsi, Pina Colada, Red Cherry
Other Allergen Notes: Peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish are not used in Taco Bell’s regular menu items, but they may be produced in common manufacturing facilities with these ingredients. Their allergen database online also covers eggs, gluten, wheat, soy, and MSG.
More Details from Taco Bell
Allergen Disclaimer from Taco Bell: Like most restaurants, we prepare and serve products containing egg, milk, soy, wheat or other allergens. The Food Allergy & Sensitivity information on this site is based on standard product formulations and is current as of the last update. While a particular ingredient may not contain these allergens, our products may be prepared on the same equipment and in the same kitchen area as those that do. We cannot guarantee that cross contact with allergens will not occur.
Restaurant Website: www.tacobell.com
Allergen Information: www.tacobell.com/food/nutrition/allergen-info
Last Updated: August 4, 2018
6 Comments
Just as a heads up, Taco Bell’s beef has lactic acid in it, which is a form of milk. So please if you have dairy sensitivity DO NOT order any beef products! The chicken is perfectly ok, but the beef has lactic acid in it. Below, I have pasted the ingredients in Taco Bell’s beef from their website.
To the editors of this website: Please update this page with this information. This is a great source of information, and I want to make sure that everyone is aware of the presence of lactic acid in Taco Bell’s beef.
Seasoned Beef
Beef, water, seasoning [cellulose, chili pepper, maltodextrin, salt, oats (contains wheat), soy lecithin, spices, tomato powder, sugar, onion powder, citric acid, natural flavors (including smoke flavor), torula yeast, cocoa, disodium inosinate & guanylate, dextrose, lactic acid, modified corn starch], salt, sodium phosphates. Contains: Soy, Wheat
Link: https://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredients
Hi Jeff, fortunately, lactic acid is rarely, if ever, derived from dairy. And in this case Taco Bell is confirming that it is not derived from dairy. Though the name is confusing, lactic acid is usually fermented form other carbohydrates and isn’t dairy itself. You can see this post we have on dairy ingredients for more information -> https://www.godairyfree.org/dairy-free-grocery-shopping-guide/dairy-ingredient-list-2
Just wondering if the chalupa is dairy free? My son wants to try it..who has a dairy allergy. I don’t see it listed on your allergy site. Thank you..
If it isn’t on this list, then it wasn’t listed as dairy-free as dairy-free at our time of review.
We just left the Taco Bell in Wilsonville, Oregon. Ordered a tostado woth fresa sauce and reiterated ” no cheese”! Guess what–it came with the fresca sauce, topped with cheese.
You can easily order almost anything without dairy, provided you know what is in it. The kids working there have no idea, but I have always had a positive experience once I explain my allergy. I check ingredients beforehand and know what to tell them to leave out. They have always been very diligent and usually walk back to the prep line to be sure its prepared right.
Also, watch out for the avacado ranch dressing, it isn’t listed on the cashier’s screen for every item that actually contains it. They usually have the two separate so you can still get the yummy avacado. Anything that lists “ranch dressing” is on their keyboard as “avacado ranch”, it really helps them if you know that.
I’ve been to several locations across the south and always felt safe with the food I received.