Taco Bell is once again turning its attention to chicken nuggets. The first attempt was its Naked Chicken Chips, which were uniform tortilla chip-shaped breaded pieces of poultry marinated in Mexican spices that came with a side of nacho cheese sauce. This latest take features all-white meat chicken marinated in jalapeño buttermilk and breaded with tortilla chips and your choice of sauce.

I was not impressed after opening the clamshell packaging they came in. Six of the ten pieces looked more like popcorn chicken than nuggets. Also, those smaller pieces remind me of protein oat balls eaten by hikers or meteorites that give puppies superpowers. I haven’t noticed any powers yet, but I’ll let you know when I can lift a car.

I might’ve gotten unlucky with what I received, but I imagine someone out there might get it worse and have only popcorn chicken-sized pieces in their five-piece order and feel even more ripped off than I do. It was nine dollars for ten pieces at my local Taco Bell, which is a dollar more than a TWENTY-piece order of Chicken McNuggets.

Size and price aside, these Crispy Chicken Nuggets were tasty with the sauces, which I’ll get to in a moment. Thanks to the tortilla chips, the exterior is crunchier than other fast food nuggets. Within that coating is chicken that’s surprisingly tender and somewhat still juicy. Although the largest one in my box had noticeably dry meat. The jalapeño buttermilk marinade added some pepperiness, and I could taste the chips, but these nuggets are best when dipped.

A moment has passed, and now I can mention the sauces these nuggets are being advertised with: Hidden Valley Ranch Fire Ranch, Bell Sauce, and Jalapeño Honey Mustard Sauce. Although I ordered the last one, the location I went to did not have it. You can also order this with any of the other sauces Taco Bell offers, like nacho cheese sauce.

Both sauces I got went exceptionally well with the chicken’s spices and flavors. The Fire Ranch is basically ranch with Mexican spices, which amps the seasoning in the coating. The Hidden Valley Ranch uniqueness is there, but there’s also a very mild spicy kick. It’s a tasty dip, but my taste buds enjoyed the Bell Sauce more, which is made with tomatoes, green chiles, garlic, and onion. For some reason, two things came to mind when I ate it with these nuggets: KFC and barbecue, but with a Tex-Mex twist.

Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets taste very good with the sauces and have a crunchy coating, but those tiny pieces bother me A LOT. I wish they were uniform in size and shape, so this wouldn’t be an issue. Maybe it should bring back the chip shape. Or, even better, if there’s a third attempt at chicken nuggets, bell-shaped ones.

Purchased Price: $8.99
Size: 10 pieces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (10 pieces) 670 calories, 33 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1840 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 72 grams of protein.