Fast food chains love nothing more than releasing limited-run items designed to get people talking (and eating). Often they fail to make much of an impact, but occasionally they’re so good they become cult classics, with legions of fans begging for their return. From mouth-watering fish sandwiches released only for Lent to McDonald's iconic McRib, and KFC’s fried chicken and pizza hybrid, the Chizza (which finally launched in the US this year), here we count down to reveal the greatest limited-edition fast food items of all time – many of which have fans in countries where they were never even sold.
Is there a limited-run fast food item that stole your heart? Click or scroll through our gallery to see if it made the list.
Our ranking is based on reviews, accolades and the popularity of each item, taking into account sales, longevity and the reaction to the products at the time of their release.
Popeyes tends to be more cautious than other chains when it comes to introducing new menu items, so when it does, you can usually count on them being pretty great. Expectations were high when the first Popeyes fish sandwich arrived in 2021 for a limited run during Lent, and feedback was almost unanimously positive, with many calling for it to be made permanent. The dish consists of a fried flounder fillet marinated in Louisiana-style herbs and spices, and served on a brioche bun with pickles and tartare sauce. It made a return for Lent in 2022 and 2023, and again this year.
Back in 2017, when the trend for gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese was at its peak, Pizza Hut joined the party with this carb-on-carb cheese feast, which featured gooey macaroni cheese both stuffed inside the crust and piled atop the pizza base. The dish, which was finished with crispy onions, had a limited run in the UK – though it received attention further afield, with people longing for it to land at their local Pizza Hut. It returned in 2022 with two new flavour options: The Frank’s RedHot One (drizzled with Frank’s RedHot Sauce) and The Posh One (which boasted a sliced mushroom and truffle oil topping).
Sister fast food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are known for their over-the-top experiments (they once tested a mashed potato and gravy burger), but the Most American Thickburger took things to a new level of indulgence back in 2015. The patriotic dish featured a hefty Black Angus beef patty topped with a split hot dog, Lay's potato chips and plenty of American cheese, and clocked in at a massive 1,030 calories. Reviews at the time were largely very positive, with fans saying it tasted like a ‘Fourth of July cookout’.
Equal parts sweet and heat, Wendy's habanero-infused Hot Honey Sauce was a big hit when it first launched at US branches of the chain in February 2022. The versatile condiment came on its own as a dipping sauce, but was also used to smother a mouth-watering chicken sandwich. It consisted of a spicy fried chicken breast topped with pepper jack cheese, applewood-smoked bacon and crunchy dill pickles, plus an all-important drizzle of the new sauce. It was technically a permanent menu item, but ended up having a very limited run (despite being a fan favourite) and was phased out by September 2022.
This fluorescent green beverage from US fast food chain Sonic Drive-In was inevitably going to divide opinion when it launched in 2018. Sweet yet tangy, it combined Sonic's classic slush with a salty pickle brine in a beverage that, according to the chain, ‘tastes just like you're sipping out of the pickle jar’. It must have appealed to some, because Sonic brought it back for a brief period in 2022 due to customer demand.
A wildly popular item that always seems to be coming and going, Taco Bell’s limited-edition Nacho Fries – which first appeared in 2018 – are a pretty simple creation: seasoned French fries served with a side of creamy nacho cheese sauce. The affordable treat always seems to have fast food fans begging for more, which is probably why they return so frequently – most recently in 2023, accompanied by a new vegan cheese dipping sauce.
Slow-cooked ribs are usually something you only find at barbecue restaurants, but in 2010 Burger King bucked the trend with the experimental launch of its BK Fire-Grilled Ribs in the US. The juicy, tender pork ribs, glazed with sweet and smoky sauce, were such a spectacular success that Burger King actually ran out of them before the item’s limited run was up. In the end, the fast food chain sold a huge 10 million Fire-Grilled Ribs, and it remains a mystery as to why they’ve never made a comeback – or been rolled out globally.
Chick-fil-A’s Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich was available from August 2023 until early November of the same year. The launch was particularly notable, given that this was the first time the Georgia-based chain had offered a seasonal variation of its iconic sandwich since it debuted back in 1964. The new dish consisted of a crispy chicken fillet topped with pimento cheese, pickled jalapeños and a drizzle of honey, and it came in both classic and spicy varieties.
Dairy Queen is famous for offering special seasonal flavours of its iconic soft serve dessert, such as pumpkin pie in October and cotton candy in June. However, Blizzard devotees say the best limited-edition flavour by far is Caramel Fudge Cheesecake, an unassuming-sounding treat that first appeared in 2022 and made a much-celebrated return in autumn 2023.
Domino’s really pushed pizza boundaries with its limited-edition Best 34 Pizza, an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affair that featured a dizzying 34 toppings. Exclusive to Domino’s in Japan, the dish was unveiled in 2022 and featured the likes of octopus, mussels, teriyaki chicken, asparagus, corn, rice cakes and beef ribs – plus much more. The Best 34 was divided into quarters to accommodate the sheer quantity of toppings, and was finished with three different sauces.
Burger King has introduced a number of wacky food mash-ups over the years (anyone remember 2016’s Mac n' Cheetos?), but the most memorable was arguably its Cheetos Chicken Fries from the same year. This item saw BK’s original chicken fries covered in a crispy, Cheetos-flavoured breadcrumb coating, and the divisive dish delighted and horrified fast food fans in equal measure. Plenty of diners remember them tasting incredible, despite the obvious novelty factor.
Burger behemoth Wendy’s jumped on the ghost pepper bandwagon in 2015 with these spicy fries, which came smothered in jalapeños, Cheddar cheese and a sauce containing ghost peppers (one of the world's hottest chillies). In reality, the fries were only moderately spicy, but people loved them regardless. The fries made a comeback in Wendy’s restaurants across the US in 2023 with a slightly revamped recipe, alongside a limited-edition Ghost Pepper Ranch Chicken Sandwich.
You can expect to pay handsomely for a fresh lobster roll, so it’s pretty amazing that the McLobster only costs around $8. A US and Canada exclusive, this luxurious sandwich was first introduced as a summer special in 1993 and consists of a hot dog bun filled with shredded lettuce, lobster meat and lobster sauce. These days you can only get them in Canada and New England in the summer, when lobsters are abundant.
Family-run Midwestern fast food chain Culver's is best known for its ButterBurgers and fried cheese curds, but its limited-edition Northwoods Walleye Sandwich is a local obsession. The star of the dish is the walleye, a unique freshwater fish that’s native to Minnesota – the sandwich features a hand-battered fillet topped with tartare sauce and crisp shredded lettuce on a lightly buttered roll. Culver's has locations in 24 US states, and the dish usually appears on the menu for Lent each year.
Is it a pizza, or is it fried chicken? Actually, it's (arguably) the best of both. The all-chicken, no-crust Chizza consisted of two crispy chicken fillets topped with pizza sauce, melted cheese and various other extras, ranging from pepperoni to pineapple. The dish was initially introduced in the Philippines in 2015 and subsequently made limited-time appearances in Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and the UK. After years of speculation, KFC finally launched the Chizza in the US at a pop-up in New York City in February 2024, then rolled it out at restaurants nationwide for a limited run.
A cross between a doughnut and a breakfast sandwich, this decadent creation from Dunkin' caused a real stir when it launched in 2013. The Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich consisted of a glazed doughnut, cut in half and filled with a fried egg and cherrywood-smoked bacon. Initially it was only served at a few locations in the Boston, Massachusetts area, but it was soon rolled out across the US. Despite being a big hit at the time, it hasn't appeared on menus since.
McDonald's has experimented with plenty of breakfast innovations, but the chain’s foray into bagel territory was one of its biggest successes. According to fans, the Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel – which featured a delicious, Hollandaise-like ‘breakfast sauce’ – is one of the tastiest morning items McDonald’s has ever released. Bagels came off the menu in 2020, when the chain simplified its offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic. They did return in 2023, albeit in just a few select US states. So popular were the items that there’s even a Facebook group – Where’s my McDonald’s Bagel? – dedicated to locating the whereabouts of the elusive sandwiches.
Fish dishes are often an afterthought at fast food restaurants, which makes Wendy's superlative Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich particularly special. Another limited-run Lenten item, the sandwich got rave reviews when it launched in 2023 and, happily, it's back again this year. To make it, wild-caught Alaskan pollock is coated with panko breadcrumbs and fried to crispy perfection, then served on a bun with a dill tartare sauce, lettuce, cheese and dill pickles. It replaced the brand’s nice but fairly uninspiring cod sandwich, and fans say the buttery, flaky texture of the pollock is a huge improvement.
Shake Shack gave some of its menu classics a seriously sophisticated makeover in early 2023 with the launch of its limited-edition white truffle menu. While the White Truffle Burger and Parmesan Fries with White Truffle Sauce were highly rated, it was the White Truffle 'Shroom Burger that really got fast food lovers in a frenzy. The delicious veggie burger consisted of a fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and Cheddar cheeses, and topped with a moreish sauce made with organic white truffle oil. Those who had the pleasure of trying it praised the rich, earthy flavour, dubbing it one of the greatest meat-free fast food burgers ever.
A 1990s favourite, Cini Minis were touted as ‘the best part of the cinnamon roll in every bite’. At 99 cents for a pack of four, they were a bargain, too. The gooey breakfast treats didn’t stick around for long after their launch in 1998, but they did have a brief revival in 2018 – though only via delivery orders placed through Grubhub in the US.
Back in the days before Popeyes was a global fried chicken giant, the Louisiana chain still pushed the envelope with its soul food–inspired creations. One of its most popular launches came in 2013, with Chicken Waffle Tenders: boneless chicken strips deep-fried in waffle batter and served with a mouth-watering honey maple dipping sauce. They made a brief return in 2017, but we think it’s high time for another comeback.
Pizza Hut is known for its pretty wacky limited-run creations (remember the Cheeseburger Pizza?), but one of the chain’s most popular items was a fairly simple affair, inspired by the classic $1 slices you find at New York City pizzerias. The 16-inch (41cm) Big New Yorker Pizza first appeared in 1999, featuring six gigantic foldable slices (instead of the standard 12) and consequently claiming bragging rights as Pizza Hut's ‘biggest ever slice’. Avid fans have been begging for its return for more than 20 years – and they were briefly rewarded in early 2023, when it was brought back to US restaurants for a short time.
There have been countless limited-edition iterations of Burger King’s iconic Whopper, but the Angry Whopper remains the most popular. Featuring a flame-grilled patty topped with jalapeño slices, pepper jack cheese, spicy fried onions and fiery Angry Sauce, it launched in the UK in 2008, and quickly made its way to the US in 2009, before rolling out to other countries. It has reappeared on menus a number of times, most notably in 2016 as the Angriest Whopper, when it sported a dramatic bright red bun. The burger made its most recent comeback in September 2023, but was only available in Columbus, Ohio.
In summer 2023, Taco Bell USA hopped on the Y2K nostalgia bandwagon by teaming up with reality star Paris Hilton for the limited-time return of its 2000s fan-favourite Volcano Menu, which was previously sold in locations including Canada, the UK and the US. Diners have been clamouring for the menu to return since it was discontinued in 2012, with years of social media campaigns, and even a Change.org petition. Featuring a Volcano Taco, Double Beef Volcano Burrito and Lava Sauce, fans were thrilled to see it back. We think they’re absolutely right in calling for the menu to be made permanent.
KFC’s infamous bread-free chicken sandwich sent fast food lovers into a spin when it was revealed on April Fool’s Day (1 April) in 2010. It was first sold in the US and later in other countries including the UK and Australia (where it's made several brief comebacks). The divisive dish presented strips of bacon, cheese and barbecue sauce sandwiched between two pieces of crispy fried chicken, and was simultaneously hailed as the best and worst fast food item ever to exist. Its eventual end was mourned by many, but the Double Down made a brief four-week return in the US in early 2023.
Known for its elusive nature (and the fact that it's actually made with processed pork smothered in barbecue sauce, rather than actual ribs), the McRib was last sold in the UK in 2018, and has been on and off McDonald’s menus in the US numerous times since its launch in 1981. We thought it was all over for the smoky sandwich when McDonald's hosted a ‘farewell tour’ for it in 2022, but somewhat unsurprisingly, the McRib came back again in November 2023 (albeit only in select US states).
Now discover the greatest fast food burgers of all time
Last updated by Natasha Lovell-Smith.