She has also had 16 wellness books published by major publishers including the bestselling Easy GI Diet, The Macro Method, Quit Alcohol (For a Month) and Eat 5. Her books have sold over one million copies.
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Are you on a low-sodium diet plan and wondering what you can eat at Taco Bell and still stick to it? We have the answer. We’ve found the lowest sodium items at Taco Bell – and then dug a bit deeper to find the low sodium choices if you’re also watching other factors in your diet like calories, fat, or sugar…
- The Absolute Lowest Sodium Choice At Taco Bell
- Other Low-Sodium Options At Taco Bell
- Lowest Sodium Taco Bell Sides
- The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Saturated Fat Option At Taco Bell
- The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Calorie Option
- The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Sugar Option At Taco Bell
- The Lowest Sodium Vegetarian Choice
- The Lowest Sodium Gluten-Free Option At Taco Bell
- What to Read Next
The Absolute Lowest Sodium Choice At Taco Bell
Let’s start with the absolute lowest sodium option at Taco Bell. And that’s the Crunchy Taco.
Packed with beef, lettuce, cheese, and Taco Bell flavors, the Crunchy Taco only contains 300mg of sodium.
Admittedly, it’s quite a small main menu item, so you might want two – or add a side to bump up the serving. A side of Black Beans would only add 140mg of sodium.
This would keep your meal’s sodium level well below the 767mg sodium cut-off we use in these pieces (as it’s a third of the suggested 2300mg of sodium the American Heart Association suggests for the general population). Do speak to your medical team about the right amount for you per day though.
Other Low-Sodium Options At Taco Bell
The Crunchy Taco isn’t the only low-sodium main menu item at Taco Bell. In fact, when it comes to choice, we’d say Taco Bell is one of the best fast-food chains in America for those watching their salt, as there’s a huge variety of dishes that suit a low-sodium diet plan.
Here are the 10 lowest…
| Dish | Sodium Level |
| Crunchy Taco | 300mg |
| Crunchy Taco Supreme | 320mg |
| Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco | 360mg |
| Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco Supreme® | 380mg |
| Cheesy Roll Up | 430mg |
| Black Bean Chalupa Supreme® | 460mg |
| Spicy Potato Soft Taco | 480mg |
| Soft Taco Beef | 500mg |
| Soft Taco Chicken | 510mg |
| Soft Taco Supreme – Beef | 510mg |
Lowest Sodium Taco Bell Sides
As much as I love Taco Bell, the portions for an individual item can be small, so chances are you’re going to either double up and order two (or is that just me) or, more likely, add a side.
If you go for the latter, the lowest sodium side at Taco Bell is the Black Beans, which has just 140mg of sodium per serving.
If plain beans aren’t your thing, here’s how the other choices stack up
| Side Dish | Sodium |
| Black Beans | 140mg |
| Chips and Nacho Cheese Sauce | 280mg |
| Black Beans & Rice | 370mg |
| Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes | 520mg |
5 Other Ways to Cut Sodium at Taco Bell
Pick the Veggie Power Bowl: It’s the lowest choice in this category, with 870mg of sodium.
Grab a Bean Burrito: It’s the lowest sodium burrito with 1040mg. Swap to black beans instead of refried, and this falls to 970mg.
Go for the Cheese Quesadilla: It has 1000mg of sodium, the other options have over 1200mg. Order it with Cheddar instead of Three Cheese, and it’ll fall to 910mg.
Satisfy Your Chip Craving: With the Chips and Nacho Cheese sauce – these have just 280mg of sodium compared to over 1100mg in a serving of nachos.
Add Flavour with Hot Sauce: The famous Taco Bell hot sauces have no sodium.
So, that’s how to cut sodium generally at Taco Bell, but what if you’re also making other changes in your diet – here are the best options for you, too.
The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Saturated Fat Option At Taco Bell
If you’re watching saturated fat and sodium, the Crunchy Taco is again a good bet (just 3.5g of saturated fat), or order the Spicy Potato Soft Taco. It has 480mg of sodium and just 3 grams of saturated fat.
This gives you enough wiggle room to order a side dish, too. A Spicy Potato Taco and Black Beans will only contain 620mg of sodium and 3g grams of saturated fat.
Other low-sodium, low-saturated fat options include the Soft Chicken Taco (510mg sodium, 2.5g fat), and the Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco (4 grams of saturated fat and 360mg of sodium).
The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Calorie Option
If you need to watch your calories, the Crunchy Taco is the lowest-calorie and sodium menu item you can order. This option contains 170 calories. However, that isn’t enough for a healthy meal which should contain at least 400 calories.
Either add a side dish, or if you want to order something more filling, try the Black Bean Chalupa Supreme®.
This contains 460mg of sodium and 340 calories, making it much more filling than the Crunchy Taco. You can increase the calories to 400 with a side of Black Beans and still consume only 600mg of sodium.
If you’re eating with someone watching their calories but who doesn’t need to watch their sodium too, you might want to check out our Taco Bell calories guide, which lists the lowest calorie Taco Bell choices in one handy place.
The Lowest Sodium, Lowest Sugar Option At Taco Bell
We were impressed with the number of low-sodium, low-sugar main menu items Taco Bell has to offer. Nine of the top 10 lowest sodium items contain 2 grams of sugar or less.
Six contain less than 1 gram – yet again, your best choice is the Crunchy Taco, which has less than a gram of sugar, or you might also choose the Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco (360mg of sodium, less than one gram of sugar), or the Cheesy Roll Up with 430mg of sodium and less than 1g of sugar.
The Lowest Sodium Vegetarian Choice
Taco Bell is probably one of America’s best fast food chains for vegetarians – let alone ones who follow a low-sodium diet plan. There are a wide range of tasty main menu items to choose from.
The lowest sodium vegetarian option at Taco Bell is the Cheesy Roll-up, which contains 430mg of sodium. This dish only contains 180 calories, so you should order a side to go with it.
The Spicy Potato Taco with 480mg of sodium is also a good choice.
The Lowest Sodium Gluten-Free Option At Taco Bell
Taco Bell does have some low-sodium menu items that are gluten-free. The Crunchy Taco (300mg of sodium), the Crunchy Taco Supreme (320mg of sodium), and the Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco (360mg of sodium) are all gluten-free by ingredient.
Popular side dishes like Black Beans & Rice (370mg) are also gluten-free.
Note that Taco Bell has a risk of cross-contamination, so they don’t say that the above items suit those with coeliac disease.
There you have it, the best low-sodium menu items at Taco Bell. Hopefully, we’ve made things a lot easier for you, especially if you’re watching a couple of elements in your diet. If your favorite isn’t listed, head to the Taco Bell Nutrition Info. If you want to see how adjusting ingredients in your dish or ordering fresca style might make a difference to the lowest sodium Taco Bell choices, use their brilliant nutrition calculator.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
What to Read Next
Taco Bell isn’t the only fast food we’ve analyzed for its sodium levels – we’ve covered a few different options.
If you’re in the mood for sandwiches and melts, you might want to check out our guide to eating low sodium at Subway
Or, if you’re going for a sit-down dinner, we’ve covered the sodium levels in your Olive Garden favorites, too.
Or go for chicken with our guide to low sodium options in KFC.
Who is The Wellness Nerd?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a health journalist and wellness author. Publications I’ve written for include Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Body and Soul, Good Health at the Daily Mail, and more. I have also written 16 books on health and nutrition.