Our Honest Review of Old El Paso x Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dessert Taco Shells

Old El Paso and Cinnamon Toast Crunch teamed up to make dessert taco shells—hard shell tacos meant for holding scoops of ice cream—and they’ve finally hit shelves. Who is the target demographic for this, you might ask? Kids, adults, space aliens? I don’t have a clue. But this is the stuff our sweet Sporky dreams are made of, so if anything, we’re the target demographic. And I think that’s beautiful. 

It’s 2024: Waffle cones are out, Cinnamon Toast Crunch taco shells are in. I don’t make the rules, but in this case, I will certainly abide by them. Does it feel a little impractical, putting cold ice cream on a piping hot cinnamon sugar taco shell? Sure. Will the taco shell probably break and spill sticky ice cream all over my greedy little hands? Maybe! Do I care? Not. One. Bit. 

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I expected these to taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the shape of a taco shell. I did not expect to bite into a crunchy corn tortilla coated with cinnamon and sugar. Basically, you can definitely taste the corn in these. If that sounds a little gross to you, I totally get it, but corn tortilla and cinnamon actually work pretty well together! We tried them with plain vanilla ice cream, and the result was unexpectedly delightful. But I’ll admit, it’s not for everyone, so let’s dive further in. 

Pros: Structurally speaking, these Cinnamon Toast Crunch taco shells hold up pretty well. Even when the ice cream melts into the shell, they don’t go mushy and limp. Toasting the shells really brings out the corn flavor, so if you’re not about that life, you can skip that step. But the way the hot, freshly toasted cinnamon shell cuts into the cold vanilla ice cream? Oh boy, it’s perfection. The savory corn tortilla really enhances the sweet notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Oh, and these are gluten-free!

Cons: Things will get messy pretty quickly. Yes, they have a sturdy bottom (who doesn’t love a sturdy bottom?) that holds the wet ingredients well, but typical of El Paso (and most store bought hard shell tacos, let’s be real), they can snap pretty easily if you aren’t delicate with them. These dessert taco shells are great for people who like savory-sweet flavors, but might be a little strange for those who like to keep their ice cream experience pretty straightforward. 

Rating:

8/10

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