IRVINE, Calif. — The saga of Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza continues: After being removed from the menu, brought back under pressure, and then a break to "replenish" supplies, the item is on its way back.
Taco Bell announced Tuesday that the Mexican Pizza will go back on sale on September 15. It said this return was earlier than it had predicted when it pulled the item from menus.
So what happened? In late May, Taco Bell said it had "underestimated" the popularity of the menu item and needed to restock on ingredients.
"Turns out we underestimated how many of you love Mexican Pizza. 7x more than we expected, to be exact," the company tweeted. "We are working as fast as we can to restock Mexican Pizza ingredients. We’ll need some time to replenish our supplies, but when it comes back, we promise it’s here to stay."
The Mexican Pizza is made with two crispy flour shells, layered with beans, pizza sauce, seasoned beef, tomatoes and a melted cheese blend.
Taco Bell announced on their website that while they do not have a set date for the permanent return, customers can expect to see the item back in stores sometime this fall.
The fast food chain removed the popular menu item for the first time in November 2020 in order to leave a "lighter footprint on our planet" as "Mexican Pizza packaging accounts for over 7 million pounds of paperboard material per year in the U.S.," Taco Bell said at the time.
But after nearly 200,000 signatures in a Change.org petition, Mexican Pizza returned on Thursday, May 19. Rapper Doja Cat was the first to announce the comeback during her Coachella set this year.
The fast food chain told Forbes in May that the Mexican Pizza was still being served in a paperboard box, and said it encourages customers to recycle.
"As always, it is important to review the materials accepted at your local municipality to confirm recyclability,” a spokesperson told Forbes, adding that the chain was working “to streamline operations and ingredient sourcing and leave a lighter footprint at the same time" and that it had improved toward its sustainability goals.
It's unclear if the restock in September will have any packaging updates.