Taco Bell is pushing Crispy Chicken into a new diablo-level dimension. Starting April 16 for a limited time, the brand is leveling up its fan-favorite Crispy Chicken Nuggets with the all-new Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets – a fiery remix powered by the first-ever transformation of Taco Bell’s cult-favorite Diablo Sauce into a bold new format: Diablo Dust.
Sauce packets have long been the unsung heroes of Taco Bell fandom, inspiring taste tests and passionate debates. When Diablo Sauce debuted on national menus in May 2015, it quickly earned fan-favorite status. Nearly 11 years later, Taco Bell is reimagining spice in a new format by coating its beloved crispy, tortilla chip-breaded, all-white meat Crispy Chicken Nuggets with a layer of Diablo Dust. Fans first caught a glimpse of the spicy innovation at Live Más LIVE: A Night at The Palladium, where the brand previewed the next evolution of its growing Crispy Chicken lineup.
“Diablo Sauce has a cult following, it’s that lingering heat with a hint of lime. Turning that iconic flavor into a dust reimagines how that heat hits,” said Liz Matthews, Taco Bell’s Global Chief Food Innovation Officer. “By coating our nuggets with Diablo Dust, we’re unlocking a new level of intensity and opening the doors for even more creative, dusted flavor experiences with our Crispy Chicken. This is just the beginning!”
A New Dimension of Flavor
Diablo Dust takes everything fans love about the iconic hot sauce and transforms it into a bold, clinging heat that coats every ridge of the nugget’s crunchy tortilla chip breading, building into a tongue-tingling heat with every bite. Underneath it all: premium all-white meat chicken seasoned with bold Mexican spices, providing a crispy foundation that carries Diablo Dust flavor from first bite to finish. With Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Taco Bell proves the next generation of menu classics is built by pushing flavor even further.
Fans can also choose their own adventure with sauces to cool down or turn up the heat with every bite. For those craving a more classic experience, à la carte Crispy Chicken Nuggets also return to menus for a limited time.
- 5-piece Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets: Fire up the senses for $4.49* and a choice of one sauce
- 10-piece Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets: Dig into even more Diablo heat for $7.49* and a choice of two sauces
- 10-piece Crispy Chicken Nuggets Combo (Digital Only): Load up with 10-piece Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Regular Nacho Fries, a large fountain drink and a choice of two sauces – available only in-app for $9.99*
- Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets Deluxe Combo: Go all-in with 5-piece Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets and your choice of one sauce, plus a Chalupa Supreme, Crunchy Taco, Regular Nacho Fries and a medium fountain drink – only $10.99*
- Sauces: Dial in your perfect pairing with Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch, Bell Sauce or Jalapeno Honey Mustard
Building a Classic, the Taco Bell Way
Since entering the crispy chicken category in December 2024, each drop across nuggets, tacos and burritos has redefined what crispy chicken can be at Taco Bell. Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets mark the latest evolution in that journey, proving the roadmap is only heating up as the brand continues to innovate, with more sauce-to-dust twists still to come in 2026. Beyond the menu, Taco Bell continues to drive impact through its TerraCycle® partnership, helping collect hundreds of thousands of used sauce packets and single-use containers for future recycling. After dipping and dunking in their sauce of choice, fans can mail in their used, empty sauce containers to TerraCycle® throughout the month of April to earn 80 bonus Taco Bell rewards points**.
Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets ignites menus for a limited time starting April 16 at participating Taco Bell locations nationwide. To spice it up even further, Taco Bell is rewarding its biggest fans with a special Tuesday Drop, available exclusively on the Tuesday Drops page in the Taco Bell app. On May 5 at 2 PM PT, the first 30,000 Taco Bell Rewards Members can score a 5-piece order of Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets for $1***.
