Popeyes just launched a couple of new sandwiches for a limited time this summer. The chain is also bringing back its Chicken Wraps, and this time the wraps are sticking around for good.
Both new sandwiches feature Honey BBQ. The simpler one is the Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich, priced at $5.49, which is basically the fast-food chain’s signature buttermilk-battered fillet placed between a toasted brioche bun, but with a new honey BBQ sauce added to it.
The other one, the Popeyes Honey BBQ Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich, which will set you back by $6.99, piles bacon and melted Havarti cheese on top.
The brand is arguably most excited about its permanent addition, though. “We know our guests are looking for convenience without sacrificing great taste and value, which is why we’re thrilled to be giving Popeyes Chicken Wraps a permanent place on the menu year-round,” said Peter Perdue, President of Popeyes U.S. and Canada.
The items are all available at participating restaurants nationwide, as well as through Popeyes.com and the Popeyes App.
Sweet heat for the season
Honey BBQ isn’t a wild reinvention. The chain is using it for a summer hook, which makes sense for a brand that has been at the center of a chicken sandwich fight ever since its original sandwich set everything off in 2019.
That feud, which began with a viral Twitter standoff over whose sandwich was the ‘original,’ subsequently sparked a frenzy that forced every major chain to revamp its menus to compete, and hasn’t really cooled.
KFC ended up reworking its own version, Jollibee has been gaining ground in the US with a focus on specialty, hand-breaded chicken products, and Taco Bell has pivoted to include its own crispy chicken entries with a Tex-Mex angle.
The wraps are probably the bigger story on the menu. Popeyes rolled them out for the first time last year, around when McDonald’s brought back the Snack Wrap, and a bunch of chains piled in to offer competing handheld wraps. Plenty of those wrap launches faded. The Popeyes one didn’t.
A wrap from Popeyes is a fried tender, some lettuce, shredded cheese, and a few barrel-cured pickles, rolled into a buttermilk tortilla. Smaller portion, easier to eat one-handed, with the same chicken at the center of it.
Three flavors are on the menu this go-around. Classic, Spicy, and a new option called Blackened Ranch. A wrap by itself goes for $3.99. There’s also a $9.99 bundle that comes with two wraps and a premium lemonade.
Sources: Popeyes, Allrecipes