Taco Bell Sauces: Every Sauce Ranked by Heat
Taco Bell has two kinds of sauce: free hot sauce packets you grab at the counter, and the sauces that go inside the food, like creamy jalapeño and avocado ranch. This guide covers both, ranks the packets by heat and explains which sauces are new, limited or gone.
Quick answer: Taco Bell’s four hot sauce packets, from mildest to hottest, are Mild, Hot, Fire and Diablo. Diablo is the hottest. The sauce inside Taco Bell’s Chicken, Steak and Cheese Quesadillas is creamy jalapeño sauce.
Taco Bell Sauce Packets Ranked by Heat
Taco Bell’s sauce packets are free. Ask for them at the counter or add them to your order in the app.
| Rank | Packet | Heat | Taste |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mild | Low | Tangy and tomato-forward with almost no burn |
| 2 | Hot | Medium | A bit more pepper than Mild |
| 3 | Fire | Medium-high | Smoky, with a noticeable kick |
| 4 | Diablo | Highest | Smoky chili heat with the strongest burn |
Taco Bell doesn’t publish Scoville ratings for its packets, but Diablo is the hottest. If you want more heat than Diablo, add jalapeños to your order.
Taco Bell Creamy Sauces
These sauces come inside menu items. You can also add extra in the app for a small charge.
| Sauce | Where you’ll find it | Taste |
|---|---|---|
| Creamy jalapeño sauce | Chicken, Steak and Cheese Quesadillas | Creamy, tangy and mildly spicy |
| Creamy chipotle sauce | Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla | Smoky and creamy |
| Avocado ranch sauce | Cantina Chicken Bowl and Veggie Bowl | Cool, herby ranch with avocado |
| Spicy ranch | Add-on sauce, also used in limited-time items such as the Steak and Poblano Rolled Quesadilla | Ranch with a peppery kick |
What Sauce Is in Taco Bell Quesadillas?
Taco Bell puts creamy jalapeño sauce in its Chicken, Steak and Cheese Quesadillas. It’s creamy and tangy, with a mild jalapeño kick. The Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla is the exception: it uses creamy chipotle sauce.
You can add extra creamy jalapeño sauce to a quesadilla or put it on other items in the app.
Other Sauces on the Taco Bell Menu
- Red sauce: a mild, tomato-based sauce. Taco Bell uses it in the Bean Burrito and the Burrito Supreme.
- Nacho cheese sauce: the warm cheese sauce that comes with Chips and Nacho Cheese Sauce and Nacho Fries.
- Avocado Verde Salsa: a green salsa that comes as a packet with Cantina Chicken items.
- Creamy Sriracha sauce: an add-on sauce listed at $0.60 and 210 calories.
- Mexican Pizza sauce: an add-on sauce listed at $0.30 and 15 calories.
- Green sauce: a mild green sauce that fans still ask for. Availability varies by location, so check the app.
New and Limited-Time Taco Bell Sauces
- Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch: a dipping sauce for Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets that blends Hidden Valley Ranch with Diablo sauce. It follows the earlier Hidden Valley Fire Ranch.
- Volcano Sauce: a creamy, cheesy, spicy sauce that Taco Bell launched with the limited-time Volcano Quesarito. Taco Bell called it the successor to Lava Sauce.
- Fire Queso Sauce Packet: an edible sauce packet with a crispy shell that Taco Bell showed at its Live Más LIVE event. Taco Bell hasn’t announced a release date.
- Fire! Sauce Sunflower Seeds: a snack from BIGS coated in Taco Bell’s Fire sauce. You can buy it from retailers, not at Taco Bell restaurants.
Limited-time sauces come and go, so check the Taco Bell app to see what your store has right now.
Discontinued Taco Bell Sauces
Several fan favorites are no longer on Taco Bell’s regular menu:
- Lava Sauce: the spicy cheese sauce from the Volcano Taco. Volcano Sauce replaced it.
- Baja sauce: the creamy sauce from the old Baja Chalupa.
- Verde and Bell sauce packets: older packets that Taco Bell dropped from its lineup.
For more items Taco Bell has removed, see our discontinued Taco Bell items guide.
Can You Buy Taco Bell Sauce in Stores?
Yes. Bottled Taco Bell sauces, such as Fire sauce and Creamy Chipotle sauce, are sold in grocery stores. We couldn’t find a bottled version of creamy jalapeño sauce.