Taco Bell Volcano Taco

The Volcano Taco arrived in 2008. It was a crunchy taco in a red shell, filled with ground beef, lettuce and Lava Sauce, which Today describes as a spicy nacho cheese sauce. The Volcano name was older than the taco. Taco Bell had first used it in 1995, on a Volcano Burrito that was a promotional tie-in with the movie Congo.

The taco did well enough that Taco Bell built a menu around it. In May 2009, Nation's Restaurant News reported that the chain was adding a Volcano Double Beef Burrito, with twice the ground beef of a regular burrito plus Lava Sauce, Mexican rice and crunchy red strips, at a recommended price of $2.99. The taco's recommended price was $1.19. David Ovens, Taco Bell's chief marketing officer, said the Volcano Taco "became an instant hit."

Nation's Restaurant News reported in 2023 that the Volcano Menu had not appeared in restaurants since 2013, though a Taco Bell representative told The Takeout that its most recent revival had been in 2016. A Change.org petition titled "Bring Back Volcano Menu" went up in 2018 and collected more than 1,800 signatures, and in the summer of 2023 Taco Bell brought back the taco, a Volcano Burrito and the sauce, starting June 27 for its rewards members and June 29 for everyone else. The taco now cost $2.49, and Lava Sauce could be added to any item for a dollar. The Takeout reported that Taco Bell would not reveal what exactly the sauce is. In January 2026 the chain brought back its Volcano Quesarito with a new Volcano Sauce, described as part of the Lava Sauce family.