Del Taco falls somewhere in the middle of the fast food spectrum. It’s not health food, but it offers more flexibility than many competitors thanks to fresher base ingredients and a customizable menu. Whether a Del Taco meal qualifies as “healthy” depends almost entirely on what you order and how you modify it.
What Sets Del Taco Apart From Other Fast Food
Del Taco prepares several core ingredients in-house daily rather than reheating pre-packaged components. The chain grates its cheddar cheese fresh, makes salsa by hand, and cooks its beans from scratch without lard. That last detail matters if you’re watching saturated fat or following a plant-based diet, since refried beans at many Mexican fast food spots are cooked in animal fat.
Fresh preparation doesn’t automatically make something low-calorie, but it does mean fewer preservatives and processing additives in some of the base ingredients. The tradeoff is that calorie counts can still climb quickly once you start layering cheese, sour cream, and tortilla shells.
The Lighter End of the Menu
Your best options at Del Taco are the smaller, simpler items. The Snack Taco (Crunchy) comes in at just 8 grams of carbohydrates per serving, making it one of the leanest picks on the menu. Ordering two or three snack tacos instead of a large burrito gives you portion control without sacrificing the experience of eating a full meal.
Bean-based items are generally a smarter pick than cheese-heavy or fried options. Because Del Taco’s beans are lard-free and made from scratch, a basic bean and cheese burrito delivers fiber and plant protein without the saturated fat load you’d get from a beef-and-cheese combo. Swapping beef for beans on almost any menu item cuts calories and saturated fat while adding fiber.
For comparison, a standard Crunchy Taco at Taco Bell runs about 170 calories with 3 grams of fiber, and a Soft Taco is 180 calories with 3 grams of fiber. Del Taco’s comparable items land in a similar range, so neither chain has a dramatic nutritional advantage for basic tacos. The real differences show up in how you customize.
Where the Calories Add Up Fast
Burritos are where most Del Taco orders go off the rails nutritionally. A large burrito with beef, cheese, sour cream, and a flour tortilla can easily exceed 500 to 700 calories in a single item, with sodium climbing past 1,000 milligrams. Add a side and a drink, and you’re looking at a meal that covers half or more of a typical daily calorie budget.
Fried items are the other major pitfall. The Hashbrown Sticks, for example, pack 230 calories and 17 grams of fat in a five-piece serving, with zero fiber and zero protein. That’s essentially empty calories from oil and starch. Crinkle-cut fries and other fried sides follow the same pattern. If you’re trying to eat well at Del Taco, skip the fryer menu entirely.
Sodium is the hidden issue across the entire menu. Fast food Mexican cuisine relies heavily on seasoned meat, cheese, and tortillas, all of which contribute significant sodium. A single burrito can deliver 40 to 50 percent of the recommended daily sodium limit of 2,300 milligrams. If you’re managing blood pressure, this is worth watching closely.
How to Customize a Healthier Order
Del Taco’s menu is built for customization, which is your biggest advantage. A few simple swaps can cut hundreds of calories from a standard order:
- Choose corn over flour. Corn tortillas are smaller and lower in calories than flour tortillas, and they add a bit more fiber.
- Go “fresco style.” Replacing cheese and sour cream with fresh salsa and pico de gallo dramatically reduces saturated fat and calories while adding flavor.
- Swap beef for beans. You gain fiber and lose saturated fat. The lard-free beans make this a genuinely solid protein source.
- Skip the combo meal. Ordering à la carte lets you control portions. Two snack tacos and a water cost fewer calories than a single large burrito meal deal.
- Watch the sauces. Del Scorcho and Mild Hot Sauce add essentially zero calories and zero carbs. Creamy sauces and ranch dressing do the opposite.
If You’re Following a Specific Diet
For low-carb or keto eating, Del Taco has limited but workable options. The Snack Taco (Crunchy) at 8 grams of net carbs fits within most keto targets, especially if you eat the filling and skip part of the shell. Ordering any taco or burrito as a bowl (no tortilla) cuts carbs substantially. Pair that with hot sauce packets, which contain 0 to 1 gram of net carbs, and you can stay well under 20 grams per meal.
For vegetarian diets, the lard-free beans open up most of the menu as a base. However, Del Taco is transparent about a significant limitation: all menu items are prepared in shared fryers and on shared surfaces with meat products. The chain explicitly states it cannot confirm that any ingredient has avoided contact with meat. If strict separation matters to your dietary practice, this is worth knowing before you order.
The only item Del Taco labels as “Vegan Fried” is the Hashbrown Sticks, which, as noted above, offer little nutritional value. True vegan options beyond beans, rice, and vegetables are limited.
The Bottom Line on Del Taco Nutrition
Del Taco is healthier than many fast food options if you order strategically. The fresh-grated cheese, handmade salsa, and lard-free beans give it a slight ingredient quality edge over some competitors. But the menu is still built around large portions of refined carbs, sodium-heavy proteins, and fried sides. A carefully chosen meal of small tacos with beans, fresh salsa, and hot sauce can be a reasonable 300 to 400 calorie lunch. A loaded burrito combo with fries and a soda can blow past 1,200 calories without trying. The menu gives you both options. Which one you pick determines whether Del Taco counts as healthy for you.