Taco Bell’s nostalgia machine has reached the millennium. The Decades Y2K menu launched nationwide on September 9, 2025 — the Y2K chapter of the chain’s Decades series — and it ran through October 15, 2025. Two of the five are still easy to find — the Chili Cheese Burrito remains in current menu listings, and the Caramel Apple Empanada returned in August 2026 with the next Decades chapter — while the other three are back in the vault. It brings back five genuine turn-of-the-century artifacts, including the Chili Cheese Burrito’s first national run since the Y2K era and two items that were gone from 2019 until the revival. Here is what is on it, what it costs now, and what else is new at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell has been mining its own archive since the Decades series began in 2024 with menus from the ’60s through the ’00s, one era at a time. Y2K is the sweet spot: old enough to be retro, young enough that its fans are now the parents in the drive-thru. The full current Taco Bell board lives on our Taco Bell menu page — this post is about the five returning items.
The Y2K Menu: All Five Items
| Item | Price | The Story |
|---|---|---|
| Chili Cheese Burrito | $2.99 | The headliner. A cult item that survived only in scattered regional markets for two decades — now national again for the run. |
| Double Decker Taco | $2.49 | A crunchy taco nested in a soft flour tortilla spread with refried beans. A ’90s–2000s staple, back at a value price. |
| 7-Layer Burrito | Varies | The vegetarian classic — rice, beans, three cheeses, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream — returning for the Y2K chapter. |
| Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco | Varies | Discontinued in 2019 and petitioned for ever since. The Cool Ranch shell rides again. |
| Caramel Apple Empanada | $2.99 | The fried apple-caramel hand pie, also gone since 2019. Dessert was never the same. |
Two prices on the table read “Varies” deliberately: launch coverage confirmed the $2.99 / $2.49 figures for the Chili Cheese Burrito, Double Decker Taco and empanada, while the 7-Layer Burrito and Cool Ranch taco launched without a single national price — Taco Bell prices are set locally, and we would rather print “varies” than invent a number.
Why Y2K Is the Perfect Nostalgia Play
The Decades series has been Taco Bell’s most reliable limited-time engine: each chapter sells memory at value prices, and the Y2K set is engineered with unusual care — three of the five items carry sub-$3 confirmed prices, and the two returns-from-2019 items (Cool Ranch, the empanada) arrive with ready-made petition campaigns behind them. Expect the Cool Ranch taco to be the sellout risk; it was the line’s most-mourned discontinuation.
Also New at Taco Bell
The Y2K menu did not land alone, and Taco Bell’s 2026 has kept the same energy: a full Crispy Chicken line (nuggets, strips and a crispy taco/burrito pair, expanded nationally in June 2026, with a Diablo Dusted nugget variant), Dirty Sodas built on Baja Blast and Baja Midnight at $3.29, a Refresca freeze line, and the Triple Double Crunchwrap as the current limited-time specialty. The pattern is deliberate — the archive and the test kitchen are now the same department.
How Long Does the Y2K Menu Last?
The Y2K chapter ran September 9 to October 15, 2025. Two items outlived it: the Chili Cheese Burrito is still in current menu listings, and the Caramel Apple Empanada returned in August 2026 as part of the next Decades chapter (the 2016-themed #TBTB menu). The Double Decker Taco, 7-Layer Burrito and Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco are vault items again until the next revival. The permanent board — every taco, burrito and box at typical prices — is on our Taco Bell menu page.
Taco Bell Y2K Menu FAQs
When did the Taco Bell Y2K menu come out?
September 9, 2025, at participating Taco Bell restaurants nationwide, with Rewards-member early access to the Caramel Apple Empanada from September 2–8, 2025. It is the Y2K chapter of the Decades series, which has revived one era of Taco Bell’s menu at a time since 2024. The run ended on October 15, 2025.
How much is the Chili Cheese Burrito?
$2.99 at launch pricing — its first nationwide appearance in roughly two decades. Like all Taco Bell prices it can vary by location.
Is the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco really back?
Yes — it returns on the Y2K menu after being discontinued in 2019. No national launch price was published for it, so expect local pricing.
What else is new at Taco Bell in October 2026?
The Crispy Chicken line expanded nationally in June 2026 (nuggets, strips, a crispy taco and burrito), joined by Dirty Sodas, the Refresca freeze line and limited-time specialties like the Triple Double Crunchwrap.
How long will the Y2K menu be available?
The Y2K run ended on October 15, 2025. The Chili Cheese Burrito remains in current listings and the Caramel Apple Empanada returned with the 2016 Decades menu in August 2026; the other three items are discontinued again.
Conclusion
Five artifacts, launch prices all under $3, and the Chili Cheese Burrito’s first national run of the social-media era: the Y2K chapter is the strongest Decades drop yet. Two of its five items are still orderable today — the rest are waiting for the next revival — the McDonald’s new items page shows the other side of the nostalgia wars, where the newest arrival is a plastic Halloween bucket.
Launch details from Taco Bell’s Decades Y2K newsroom announcement (August 2025); availability and prices re-checked October 23, 2026. Prices vary by location; availability is limited-time and by restaurant. Taco Bell is a trademark of Taco Bell Corp.; this site is not affiliated with Taco Bell.
