Thanksgiving is exactly one week away, so if you're hosting a gathering in honor of the holiday, you might want to begin planning your menu. Don't panic, though, because Taco Bell — yes, Taco Bell — has plenty of dish ideas. This morning, the fast food chain announced its official 2018 Friendsgiving menu, and it's just as whacky as the menus of years past.
Taco Bell might seem like an unconventional source for Thanksgiving menu help, and that's because it is. For the past few years, the chain has shared wild recipes for how to put a fun and spicy twist on traditional menu items. This year is no exception.
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Included on its 2018 Friendsgiving menu are four items that will likely leave your guests in shock and awe — in a good way, hopefully. For the main dish, Taco Bell suggests Fire Tortilla Chip Crusted Chicken, which is slow roasted chicken with a crunchy, brown butter, and Fire Tortilla Chip crumble. For this, you'll need a bag of Fire Tortilla Chips featuring the flavors of jalapeño, chili peppers, and paprika, which Taco Bell introduced in grocery stores back in March of this year.
As appetizers or side dishes, TBell has created Sauce Packet Seasoned Root Vegetable Purees and Roasted Potatoes with Chipotle Crema and Diablo Caviar. The purees are made from carrots, garnet yams, red Kuri squash, and parsnips. Each of the root veggies is slow roasted with chilies and spices, which are meant to give them similar flavors to those found in Taco Bell's iconic hot sauce packets. The Roasted Potatoes, on the other hand, are made with crisped Yukon Gold potatoes, creamy chipotle sauce, Mexican crema, and Diablo Sauce caviar.
Finally, no dinner party is complete without a signature cocktail, and given Taco Bell's recent track record with parties, you know it's delivering in this vital department. The official cocktail of the chain's 2018 Friendsgiving menu is called Rice & Beans. Don't worry, it doesn't actually contain rice or beans. That's meant as more of a festive metaphor. The drink is made with Vodka, Horchata — "the rice" — and Coffee Ice Cubes — the beans.
Depending on how seriously you and your guests take Thanksgiving, you might not actually want to follow Taco Bell's suggested menu to a tee. That's understandable, especially since this menu doesn't even have turkey on it, an indisputable Thanksgiving staple. Instead, you could simply dress up in a piece of Taco Bell's new Thanksgiving-themed apparel, which was also introduced this morning. Yep, this year, the fast food chain is not only helping you plan your Thanksgiving menu, it's also got you covered on your holiday outfit.