Taco Bell Is Launching A New Dessert Called “Tacolate”, A Waffle Cone Filled With Cinnamon Ice Cream & Dipped In Chocolate

Who doesn’t like ice cream? And who doesn’t like tacos? For a few decades both of those tastes could be satisfied by one frozen treat: the Choco Taco.

What is a Choco Taco?

Even though it sounds like a mashup created in the more recent social media-induced wave of wacky food mashups, the original Choco Taco actually traces its roots back to the early 1980s before becoming an ic

e cream novelty staple in the decade that followed, even appearing on the Taco Bell menu until 2015. But in 2022, Unilever-owned Klondike announced that its iconic taco-shaped waffle filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate shell would officially be discontinued.

Like any food with a fervent fanbase, ice cream taco lovers were upset over the news, but their void for street-food-themed frozen treats was quickly filled by some local shops and, on a slightly more national scale, by Portland-based ice cream maker and chain Salt & Straw. Of course, trademarks are trademarks, so this more bespoke version was called the “Chocolate Tacolate,” and it dropped on National Taco Day (October 4) the same year we said goodbye to its more mass-produced inspiration.

Where can you get Salt & Straw and Taco Bell’s Tacolate?

If you want to try The Tacolate in person, you can do so starting Friday, October 3 at “participating Salt & Straw shops across Oregon, Washington, California, New York, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and New England.” However, if you’re not near a Salt & Straw, six-packs of the Tacolate will also be available online for nationwide shipping via saltandstraw.com and some third-party delivery platforms also starting on Friday.

As for the original Choco Taco, Klondike did open the door to a possible return, however unlike some “get it before it’s gone” stunts, at the time of its discontinuation, the company cited production complications as one of the main reasons it was paring down its offerings. But in the meantime, Salt & Straw and Taco Bell don’t seem to mind picking up the slack.