He’s spilling the refried beans.
A “bored” employee at Taco Bell took time to reveal a series of secrets about life behind the counter at one of America’s most popular fast food restaurants.
Turns out, there’s a whole lot we didn’t know about living más.
The insider, who said he was a manager at an undisclosed franchise, recently took to Reddit to share his expertise — and found himself being peppered with questions.
One commenter wanted to know, for example, why the “already tiny cup of nacho cheese” is only half full when they get it.
“Considering what nachos cost at this point I feel like I should get a full cup of cheese,” the person added.
The employee explained that the portion for nacho cheese is just two pumps, but if a customer gets a smaller portion, “it’s probably because Taco Bell doesn’t really give us good pumps so we usually just guess how much 2 full pumps should be.”
“In high stress situations it’s a little difficult to fill nacho cheese cups,” they continued. “The pumps that we get don’t always give a full ‘pump’ so we end up having to guess.”
Another frequent customer shared their favorite to-go order, and wondered if the very specific request was upsetting the people who made it for him.
The order consisted of: Cheesy Gordita Crunch; Beefy 5 layer burrito (remove beans + nacho cheese, add potatoes and spicy ranch, grilled style); 2x Chicken chalupa (remove tomatoes, add spicy ranch); Chicken enchilada burrito (remove rice + red sauce, add potatoes and spicy ranch, grilled style).
On a scale of one to ten, the employee said they’d probably hate that order at a six — but not to take it personally.
“The reason is because grilling things takes an extra step in the process. It takes 17 seconds to grill something which adds up when you have a lot of orders,” they explained.
If you are going to add customizations to your order, the employee urges customers to ask for all the ingredients you want removed first.
“It helps the line people, for example if you ask for a quesadilla, no sauce, extra cheese, we won’t put the sauce on there but if we hear quesadilla extra cheese…no sauce, we might have already put the sauce on there and it creates a lot of waste,” they explained.
The real ire, the taco titan revealed, might be saved for the people who figure out that the creamy Jalapeño sauce the chain is known for can be ordered in bulk through the app.
That detail came after someone asked if Taco Bell was prohibited from selling bags of the Jalapeño sauce, noting that they’ve seen other people on Reddit get them, but they’re “too afraid to ask.”
“You can order it in Sides,” the employee shared, referring to the app. “Not kidding — you can get it for like 3 bucks, ask for 30 sides, just know they will hate you.”
“Don’t tell them I sent you either,” they quipped.
Other users were curious as to what the pro thought was currently the best value on the menu.
“I’m on a budget and trying to keep it no more than $8-$12. I’m kind of unfamiliar with the menu so what do you suggest getting so I can get more bang for my buck?,” they asked.
The employee suggested a Luxe Craving box, saying that “the 7 dollar box is the most bang for your buck meal we got [right now].”
Other nuggets of wisdom included the way ingredients like black beans arrive at the store — cooked but dry — and the way they’re rehydrated before being consumed. Meats come in big plastic bags, which are put in hot water to be warmed up.
And why refried beans on seemingly everything?
“I think they are cheap and the store can profit more,” the employee admitted.
Finally — Taco Bell recently added chicken nuggets to their menu — and curious minds wanted to know if they were worth the hype.
“Have you have the nuggets? What do you think. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!” one customer wanted to know.
The employee responded, “Me and all my coworkers loved them.”
