The Best Ways To Spend $10 At Taco Bell

Taco Bell is the largest Mexican chain restaurant in the United States, and it's remained surprisingly affordable in a time when the price of eating out has been rising at an alarming rate. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, prices for restaurants and other food service purchases went up 3.4 percent from June 2025 to June 2026. Thankfully, $10 can still go a long way at Taco Bell.

One of the things that keeps Taco Bell so affordable is that the same ingredients are used across multiple items, but many ingredients can be swapped out and customized. Although Taco Bell does have some existing combos for less than $10, many are close to $12 before tax. Instead of looking at those, we compiled our own list of DIY combos and upgrades that cost less than $10 before tax. Note: All prices are based on the Asheville, NC market. Prices may be higher or lower in other locations.

You never know when a Taco Bell craving might hit (it's a big part of one of the company's ad campaigns for that very reason), but if the hunger bell tolls between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., you can take advantage of the company's Happier Hour promotion. You'll get a medium fountain drink or regular freeze for just $1. Then, turn Happier Hour into Happiest Hour by adding two tacos, a side, and a dessert, all under $10 before tax.

Our favorite way to make this combo is to order one crunchy taco ($1.99), one soft taco ($1.99), cheesy fiesta potatoes ($2.79), an order of cinnamon twists ($1.79), and a medium Mountain Dew Baja Blast ($1) for a pre-tax total of $9.56!

If you'd prefer a medium Refresca during Happier Hour, that'll cost you $2 instead of $1, but you can swap your side for something less expensive, like black beans and rice ($1.89) to still come out under $10.

While making your own combinations is often the most effective way to stretch your dollars at Taco Bell, we have to admit that the company's Build-Your-Own Luxe Cravings Box is a virtually unmatched deal, if you optimize it correctly. The DIY deal is online-only, which means you'll need to get it for either delivery or in-store pickup via the app or website. If that isn't a deal breaker for you, here's how we suggest you put it all together.

The $7 box comes with a main item, classic item, side item, and a drink, which you choose from a pre-selected group of offerings. For your main, go for the Crunchwrap Supreme, which is regularly almost $7 on its own ($6.89). Add a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos taco (regularly $2.89) as your classic item. For your side and drink, round things out with chips and nacho cheese (regularly $2.99), and a medium Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Even during Happier Hour with a $1 Baja Blast, the regular price for this combination would be $13.97, but in our market it's just $7! Save the extra $3 for a rainy day.

Taco Bell is arguably the best fast food restaurant for vegetarians thanks to an entire vegetarian section of the menu, as well as the customizability of other items. Unlike a lot of fast food chains whose vegetarian options are just the regular choices without meat, Taco Bell has options like black beans, refried beans, and potatoes, which are filling and nutritious.

The stars of our preferred vegetarian feast are a black bean Chalupa Supreme ($5.29) and a spicy potato soft taco ($1.69). Add a side of chips and guacamole ($2.99), and you've got a combination that's affordable and delicious, at just $9.97 before tax. 

When ordering vegetarian items at Taco Bell, look for the certification symbol from the American Vegetarian Association (a green diamond with a white V inside it). These items are lacto-ovo certified, which means they're suitable for vegetarian diets that include dairy and eggs, but aren't suitable for vegan diets. It's important to know, however, that Taco Bell notes that staff may use the same oil to fry meat and vegetarian items.

If tacos are your vibe, you might be surprised to learn that Taco Bell isn't the most affordable place to get fast food tacos (it's actually Jack in the Box). That said, Taco Bell tacos are iconic — reportedly, Dolly Parton's go-to is a soft taco supreme — and you can still scratch your Taco Tuesday itch without breaking the bank. 

For what we're calling a Basic Taco Tuesday, stick with the classics: Dolly's favorite soft taco supreme ($2.99), a crunchy taco supreme ($2.99), a regular soft taco ($1.99), and a regular crunchy taco ($1.99). That'll keep you just under budget at $9.96. Of course, you could stick with all crunchy or all soft tacos, but variety is the spice of life. 

While you could get five regular tacos (soft or crunchy) within budget, we're of the mindset that the added diced tomatoes and sour cream that take a taco from regular to supreme at Taco Bell are worth the extra money. 

If going basic doesn't fit with your Taco Tuesday mood, you could always go for a Loco Taco Tuesday. We're talking, of course, about the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos taco, with a Doritos-flavored crunchy shell. Introduced nationwide in 2012, Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos tacos have stood the test of time. While some of the other Doritos varieties, like Cool Ranch, Fiery, and Flamin' Hot, have come and gone, the Nacho Cheese version is still one of the company's best sellers.

For $10, you can afford to grab two, one supreme taco ($3.89) and one regular ($3.29), along with a spicy potato soft taco ($1.69) from the Luxe Value Menu to add a bit of heat to your day. If you order during Happier Hour, you can even add your favorite medium fountain drink for $1, bringing your order to $9.87 before tax.

Taco Bell launched its Cantina Chicken menu nationwide in 2024 to offer what it called at the time "elevated" and "premium" ingredients. Among those ingredients are slow-roasted chicken, shredded purple cabbage, and Avocado Verde Salsa. While the Cantina Chicken menu items tend to be a bit pricier than some of Taco Bell's other offerings, you can still Cantina on a budget.

To start, get one Cantina Chicken soft taco ($3.39) and one Cantina Chicken crispy taco ($3.39). Both contain the menu's signature slow-roasted chicken and are served with the Avocado Verde Salsa. While there's nothing else officially on the Cantina Chicken menu that can keep you under budget, you can cheat a little bit. To round out your feast, give a Cantina upgrade to Taco Bell's most affordable item, the Cheesy Roll Up. One of these cheesy treats with the very same slow-roasted chicken added in is $3.19, which brings your pre-tax total to $9.97.

The Beefy 5-Layer burrito from Taco Bell catches a lot of flak online for being messy and bland, despite being something of a quintessential add-on for a lot of menu promotions over the years. That said, don't completely remove it from your Taco Bell roster. 

The Beefy 5-Layer burrito has a flour tortilla covered in nacho cheese, then another flour tortilla on top of that with seasoned beef, refried beans, sour cream, and shredded cheese, all wrapped up together. You can order one of those ($4.99) along with a side of cheesy fiesta potatoes ($2.79), and you're going to want to open up your burrito and put the potatoes right inside!

The distribution of ingredients seems to be a typical issue with the Beefy 5-Layer burrito, but this solves that issue while adding more oomph. When you open the burrito up to add the potatoes, you can redistribute everything evenly with a spoon. We know you wouldn't get Taco Bell if you wanted to assemble your own food for the night, but you're working with a $10 budget here, so you gotta do what you gotta do. Plus, there's enough left over for some cinnamon twists ($1.79) for a subtotal of $9.57.

If you've ever sought something filling and cheap from Taco Bell (and who hasn't?), you've probably tried the cheesy bean and rice burritos. They're inexpensive and delicious, at just $1.69 each, and it's easy to upgrade them and make them even more fabulous. Adding steak, for instance, is an extra $1.70. That alone adds a lot of flavor (not to mention protein), but many people don't realize that it's free to upgrade your burritos to grilled at Taco Bell! Grilling gives them an extra punch of flavor and texture. 

For two grilled cheesy bean and rice burritos with steak, the total before tax is just $6.78, which leaves you a little room to add dessert. Add a Cinnabon Delights two-pack and your total before tax comes to $9.37. Or, if you want a dessert and a drink, opt for cinnamon twists instead, and go during Happier Hour when you can add a medium drink for $1, bringing your pre-tax total to just $9.57!

In some of the combinations we've suggested, we've paired a deluxe item with an item that's, well, more pared down. Not this combo, and that's why we're calling it All the Hits.

Start with an appetizer of chips with nacho supreme dip for $2.49. This dip isn't your average nacho cheese sauce — it also includes seasoned beef, beans, sour cream, pico de gallo, and a blend of three shredded cheeses. It's basically an order of mini nachos; you'll just need to assemble them yourself. Or don't. You'll be able to make sure you get delicious toppings on every chip when you're dipping them!

For the main event, get the perennial favorite crunchy taco supreme ($2.99) and the highly underrated 3 cheese chicken flatbread melt ($2.29) with a side of black beans and rice ($1.89). It's a meal that offers plenty of variety for $9.66 before tax.

If it's calories per dollar you're in the market for, you can't do much better than the Nachos BellGrande. Introduced in the 1980s, the Nachos BellGrande are a Taco Bell menu staple, despite changing slightly over the years. In their current iteration, tortilla chips are topped with seasoned beef, refried beans, diced tomatoes, melty nacho cheese, and sour cream, and they clock in at 730 calories for $7.69.

That's already a hefty meal for a small price, but we recommend you add a few more fresh elements for texture and flavor. Specifically, add jalapeño peppers for heat ($0.50), onions for more crunch ($0.25), and guacamole for all the creamy richness and bright flavors it offers ($1). At the end of the day, you're looking at $9.44 before tax for nachos that would give the best local bar nachos a run for their money.