The restaurants feature a menu inspired by Mexican cuisine. Here, you’ll find options ranging from nachos, burritos, and tacos.
The beauty of Taco Bell is you can modify and adjust the spiciness and flavor of each item to your personal preferences and dietary requirements.
However, like all fast food, it is best enjoyed in moderation. This is because it can be high in fat, salt, calories, and sugar.
If you’re looking to reduce your saturated fat or calorie intake, you may completely close off the thought of taking a trip through the drive-thru; however, this doesn’t always have to be the case.
When looking at the nutritious content of the Taco Bell menu, you can determine which items are the more nutrient-dense options – one of which includes the Bean Burrito.
That said, you may not even have to skip the higher-calorie option, either. Here, you can choose to share or reduce the meal by substituting lower-calorie options.
With this in mind, this guide will explore everything you need to know about Taco Bell’s Bean Burrito and how many calories you may find within.
Taco Bell Bean Burrito
The most popular dish on Taco Bell’s Mexican-inspired menu is the bean burrito. This is traditionally made using a corn tortilla shell which is packed with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, and, of course, refried beans.
That said, there are tons of different varieties of bean burritos – each made with different ingredients. The most popular ones contain seasoned beef and refried beans, plus the addition of lettuce, too.
When it comes to the calorie content of the bean burrito, this typically depends on what ingredients you’re adding inside.
That said, generally speaking, a classic bean burrito – one which contains seasoned ground beef and refried beans – amounts to 300 calories with 23 grams of fat.
However, this can either increase or decrease depending on what other ingredients you’re adding to your burrito.
Taco Bell Nutritional Value
When it comes to fast-food chains, Taco Bell is generally considered to be the healthier option. This is because of one major factor that most other chain restaurants don’t provide: the option for customization.
Similar to Chipotle, Taco Bell will allow you to pick and choose exactly what you want to include in your order. This means you can substitute starch rice for some protein-packed black beans.
Likewise, you can replace fatty sauces with veggie-based salsa. Below, we have outlined some different options to try and make your fast food bean burrito healthier.
Make Smart Sauce Choices
Instead of sour cream, cheese, and other similar sauces, you should replace these with a healthier-items such as salsa or green lettuce to make your burrito healthier.
For instance, one easy yet super effective way to do this is by replacing the creamy jalapeno sauce with fresh jalapenos.
Add Plenty Of Veggies
For most of the items on the menu, you’re provided with the opportunity to add additional vegetables to your meal, including extra tomatoes and lettuce.
This ensures enough fiber to keep you boosted without any additional calories.
Protein
Adding more protein to your bean burrito will help you stay fuller for longer. Therefore, to keep your order healthy, explore different ways you can boost your burrito using lean protein.
On the Taco Bell menu, you can find several different options. These include grilled chicken, steak, eggs, and black beans.
When it comes to seasoned beef, while this is high in protein, it is also higher in fat and calories, too.
Taco Bell Nutrition: Cons
While there are a lot of nutritious foods you can find on the Taco Bell menu, there are also a few things you should keep an eye on too. These include:
Fat And Calories
If you’re not paying attention to the amount of fat and calories that is going into your meal, then this can quickly become out of control.
This is especially true when it comes to adding different sauces to your meals. For instance, you can decrease the fat content by completely removing the sauce.
Plus, you should also be careful of fatty add-ons such as nacho cheese, creamy jalapeno sauce, and sour cream. Jalapeno sauce can add an additional 70 calories to your meal.
Sodium
One major factor that stands between you and a healthy meal at Taco Bell is the addition of salt.
Generally speaking, the entire menu at Taco Bell has a strong reliance on salt. For instance, the XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito contains a whopping 2,140 grams of sodium.
That is more sodium than you should be consuming in an entire day! In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that you consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
However, for most adults, the ideal goal is 1,500 milligrams for a healthy and balanced diet.
The problem with excess sodium is that it can lead to an increase in blood pressure – inadvertently increasing your risk of stroke and heart attack.
Monochrome Meals
When it comes to ordering your food, a general rule of thumb is that you want it as colorful as possible.
Monochromic meals, otherwise known as plates containing foods only in shades of beige or brown, such as nacho, tend to be higher in fat and calories without providing you with much nutrition.
Final Thoughts
When you’re looking for something quick and delicious to eat, you can’t go wrong with fast food.
However, while it may be delicious, this doesn’t mean it is healthy. In fact, fast food tends to be the worst kind of food for you!
Although, this can be somewhat avoided at Taco Bell. Depending on what you’re ordering and the additional toppings you add, you can be rewarded with a delicious and healthy meal.
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