Introduction
Fast food has been a staple of American culture for decades, and many of us have our favorite go-to items. But sometimes, those beloved items disappear from the menu. Fortunately, some of these fan-favorite fast-food items have made a comeback, and we’re here to tell you all about them. From classic burgers to beloved breakfast items, we’ll tell you which fast-food items have returned and where you can find them. So, if you’re looking for a blast from the past, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive in and explore some of the fan-favorite fast-food items that have returned.
Fan-Favorite Fast-Food Items That Returned
Fast-food fans rejoice! Some of your favorite menu items have made a comeback. From classic burgers to beloved breakfast sandwiches, these fan-favorite fast-food items are back and better than ever.
McDonald’s McRib
The McRib is one of the most iconic fast-food sandwiches of all time. The boneless pork patty is slathered in a tangy barbecue sauce and topped with pickles and onions. The McRib is available for a limited time each year, so be sure to get it while you can.
Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries
Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries are a fan-favorite side dish. The crispy fries are covered in a flavorful Mexican seasoning and served with a side of nacho cheese sauce. Nacho Fries are available for a limited time, so be sure to get them while you can.
Burger King’s Chicken Fries
Burger King’s Chicken Fries are a classic fast-food item. The crispy chicken strips are shaped like fries and served with a side of dipping sauce. Chicken Fries are available for a limited time, so be sure to get them while you can.
Wendy’s Baconator
The Baconator is one of Wendy’s most popular burgers. The burger is made with two beef patties, six strips of bacon, cheese, and a special sauce. The Baconator is available for a limited time, so be sure to get it while you can.
McDonald’s McGriddles
McDonald’s McGriddles are a beloved breakfast sandwich. The sandwich is made with two pancakes, sausage, egg, and cheese. McGriddles are available for a limited time, so be sure to get them while you can.
Many fast-food menu items come and go as a matter of course. McDonald’s fans are by now more than used to the beloved McRib sandwich appearing on the menu for a limited time, departing once again, only to return a bit later down the line. So too will seasonal menu items come and go, such as the Dunkin’ Peppermint Mocha Latte, via Business Insider.
Then on the other hand we have fast-food menu items that are gone for good, and are little mourned. Consider in this category things like the famously flopped McDonald’s Arch Deluxe burger, Taco Bell’s awful Waffle Taco, and the horrific KFC Double Down, in which slabs of fried chicken stood in for bread.
In a third unique category, we find discontinued fast-food menu items that were originally slated for permanent cancellation, only to have been returned to the menu after an outpouring from customers. Today, we’ll look at 14 discontinued fast foods that came back because the people spoke out. Plus, don’t miss 23 Secrets Fast Food Employees Don’t Want You to Know About Your Food.
Taco Bell cut the Mexican Pizza from its menu in the autumn of 2020, according to Pop Culture, and the outrage was immediate. Fans of this stacked tortilla demanded it returned to the menu so vociferously that it was back available again less than a year later and remains securely in place on the menu today.
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The French Toast Sandwich (yes, it’s a breakfast sandwich wherein the bread is French toast, you guessed correctly) made a glorious return to the Burger King menu in the early spring of 2021 after having disappeared, to customer dismay, in 2019. While it’s not entirely clear if the sandwiches made a permanent return, for now, the people are happy.
When Pizza Hut introduced Detroit-Style Pizza, which is a deep-dished, rectangular-shaped pizza with toppings and cheese that reach all the way to the edges, it was meant to be a limited-time product. The pizzas proved so popular it sold out at locations nationwide, and soon, heeding customer response to the new pies, the company added it as a permanent menu item.
It was almost inexplicable why Wendy’s pulled their spicy chicken nuggets off the menu in 2017, as according to Mashed they were a popular and well-regarded item. Upset fans rallied for the return of the nuggets, with efforts including a petition with more than 10,000 signatures and public statements released by Chance the Rapper. The nuggets made their comeback a couple of years back and are still available today.
Taco Bell further repaired the rift caused between it and many customers when, in addition to the reinstatement of the Mexican Pizza, the company also brought back its Toasted Breakfast Burritos. The Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito, the Hash Brown Toasted Breakfast Burrito, and the Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito were all back on the menu at most Taco Bell locations as of the late summer of 2021.
The Hardee’s Roast Beef Sandwich was a menu staple for most of the 1980s and 90s, but it disappeared from the menu at almost all of the chain’s locations sometime in that last decade of the 20th century. Then, according to Business Wire, following years of customer requests, the company returned the sandwich to the menu nationwide in April of 2019.
McDonald’s customers went without the sweet, bright orange beverage known as Hi-C Orange for more than four years, but they never stopped clamoring for its return, via STL Today. The company, which had replaced Hi-C with a fruity soda from Sprite, relented and returned a noncarbonated sweet orange drink to menus in 2021: Hi-C Orange Lavaburst.
Originally introduced as a limited-time promotional item back in 2015, according to Mashed, Wendy’s Baconator Fries became an immediate sensation. So much so that when they were removed from the menu as planned, leaving behind the Baconator burger, fans were not happy and spoke out. The next year, in 2016, Baconator Fries were added to the permanent menu, where they remain today.
After they were culled from the menu as Taco Bell sought to streamline operations in the early days of the pandemic, the chain finally added Cheese Fiesta Potatoes back into the mix about a year later, in early March of 2021, according to Yahoo!. They remain there today, a vegetarian option in a menu packed with meats.
The original KFC Chicken Little sandwiches came out in the late 1980s and cost less than 40 cents, which was surely part of their appeal. When they were removed from the menu in the early 1990s, they left an empty spot in the hearts of many KFC fans, via Serious Eats. Responding to regular requests, the chain added a similar sandwich, the KFC Snacker, in 2005. But fans were not impressed and continued to call for the Littles to come back, which they finally did in 2012, though many claim the 1980s version was better.
The history of Wendy’s Taco Salad starts nearly 40 years ago. It was added to the menu in 1982 and promoted with a campaign saying: “It’s more than a salad, it’s a meal,” via Mashed. The “meal” salad stuck around for 28 years before being cut in 2010, a move fans did not appreciate. They had six long years to wait, but in 2016 the Taco Salad was back by demand, and it remains on Wendy’s menu today.
As unsettling as it may be to eat chicken in fry form, which is to say chicken meat sliced (or extruded?) into long, thin slivers that are then battered and deep-fried, fans loved them. So much so that they were outraged when the company nixed the “fries” in 2012 after a seven-year run, via TIME. By 2014, BK relented and Chicken Fries were back on the menu.
Fair warning, this story does not have a happy ending. The Starbucks Eggnog Latte was added to the menu way back in 1986 and was beloved by coffee fans far and wide. So much so that when the company planned to ax the drink in 2014, there was such an uproar that company execs admitted a mistake and reinstated the beverage, via Eater. But the second run of the Eggnog Latte came to an end this year, and so far customer ire has not been enough to bring it back.
When the decision to cut the roast beef sandwich came down from on high (meaning from corporate) in 2020, the move surprised and dismayed not only customers but many franchise owners. A higher-cost sandwich, the decision was purely about numbers, not customer taste. Fortunately, when customers revolted, the suits listened, and within a year the sandwiches were back.
Read more about your favorite fast-food restaurants:
11 Secrets Arby’s Doesn’t Want You to Know
The Worst Fast-Food French Fries
11 Secrets Popeyes Doesn’t Want You to Know