Does Taco Bell Sauce Expire/Go Bad?

Originating in 1962 and named after its founder, Taco Bell has been serving its customers with Tex-Mex fast food for almost 60 years. This fast food restaurant is unique because instead of serving burgers and fries as most fast food places do, they serve tacos and burritos instead. 

And these are just a couple of the things on Taco Bell’s menu. They have quesadillas, nachos, etc. To top all of these food items is their special Taco Bell sauce. 

In every order you can choose from different levels of spiciness: mild, hot, fire, or diablo. After eating all of your meals, you may have leftover Taco Bell sauce. Not wanting to waste it, you put them in the fridge to save for wherever you eat tacos another time. 

But, does Taco Bell sauce expire or go bad?

Taco Bell sauce does eventually expire and go bad. Over time they will lose their quality and flavor. After a few months you should  toss the packets away and grab some more wherever you are grabbing a bite to eat at Taco Bell.

Taco Bell sauce is available to you in packet form when you are eating at their restaurant. You can also purchase bottle Taco Bell sauce at the store for an addition to your condiment collection in your fridge. 

Let’s talk about the Taco Bell sauce packets for a moment. They do spoil and the longer they are kept the more quality they lose.  

If you use the packets months later it won’t taste as good or hot as it did when you decided to save them. Eventually, Taco Bell sauce will expire and go bad so you should try to use it as soon as you can.

How Long Is Taco Bell Sauce Good For After The Expiration Date?

Taco Bell sauce expires and goes bad. You can only keep the packages of hot flavored taco topping for a certain amount of time. 

Since we know that Taco Bell sauce does expire, how long exactly is the sauce good for after the expiration date?

You can still use Taco Bell sauce after it expires if it is unopened but it most likely will have lost a lot of its quality and flavor.  It is best to use the sauce before it expires or goes bad so it still tastes good. 

Taco Bell sauce packets do have expiration dates but they aren’t printed on the packets themselves. The boxes of packets that the restaurants receive are what feature the expiration date so if you take some packets home you won’t know what the expiration date is. 

Taco Bell packets have a shelf like of 6 to 8 months. But this begins after it is packaged and since you don’t know when the restaurants received the sauce, you don’t really know exactly when they will go bad. It is recommended to only see the sauce packers for about 3 months and then toss them. 

You can still eat them past this time but like we said before they won’t taste as good.

As far as the bottles of Taco Bell sauce are concerned, these do have an expiration date printed on them since you buy them in a store. If unopened, they will last for 12 to 18 months past their expiration date. It is safe to keep them after this amount of time, but like we said before, the sauce won’t taste as good. 

If opened already, check the expiration date. An opened bottle of Taco Bell sauce will last for only about a month. If it is bad you will notice a strange taste, smell, color, or texture from the Taco Bell sauce. If this happens, it’s time to invest in another bottle.

How Long Can You Keep Sauce Packets?

Saving Taco Bell sauce can be good if you will use it up quickly. If it will just take up space in your fridge and go bad then don’t bother keeping it and just grab some more wherever you are at Taco Bell again. 

How long can you keep the Taco Bell sauce packets?

You can keep Taco Bell sauce packets for about 3 months in the refrigerator if they are 

unopened. Although it is recommended that you toss them after a month since they will lose quality the longer they are stored.

StillTasty states that, “Taco sauce that has been continuously refrigerated will generally stay at best quality for about 1 month…Is opened taco sauce safe to use after the “expiration date”? Yes, provided it has been stored properly, the bottle is undamaged, and there are no signs of spoilage… – commercially bottled taco sauce will typically carry a “Best By,” “Best if Used By,” “Best Before, or “Best When Used By” date but this is not a safety date, it is the manufacturer’s estimate of how long the taco sauce will remain at peak quality.”

As you can see, you can keep extras but the time you keep Taco Bell sauce packets can vary. They have a shelf life of about 6 to 8 months but since you don’t know when the restaurant received the sauce packets you don’t know when it will expire or go bad. 

You could still use it past this time if there are no signs of spoilage (bad taste, smell, color or texture) but they will have lost some of their flavor and quality and will taste bad. And using spoiled taco sauce can ruin your whole meal. 

Because of this, it is best to just go ahead and toss those extras after about 1 to 3 months and just pick some up the next time you get a meal at Taco Bell. 

Final Thoughts

Taco Bell sauce does expire and go bad. Over time it will lose a lot of its flavor and quality. When the sauce packets have been sitting in your fridge for a while, throw them away. 

It is recommended to only keep the sauce packets for about 1 to 3 months in your fridge. Bottled Taco Bell sauce lasts for a while if it is unopened but opened only stays good for about a month. 

You can save Taco Bell sauces to eat on tacos later on but you should try to use them up quickly so they still taste good. Remember you can always pick up some more of the hot taco topping whenever you are grabbing a bite to eat at Taco Bell again.