Update July 28th: we managed to snag a 12 piece order of the new Nuggets within 24 hours of their release – see what we thought here.
Watch out fast food world – Popeyes have another potential game changer up their sleeves. The brand that started the infamous chicken sandwich war with their much lauded sandwich are at it again. Today the popular chain announced all new Chicken Nuggets will be hitting US, Canadian and Puerto Rico stores on July 27th. You might want to go and park over at your local store right now, because I guarantee this one will cause some hefty lines at the drive thru.
The new menu item takes, “the quality and flavors of the famous Chicken Sandwich and made it in poppable pieces”, according to the company. Popeyes state the new nuggets will be freshly prepared beginning to end in restaurant everyday, hand-battered and breaded in buttermilk. The nuggets use the same ” special flour and batter system to provide the perfect crispy texture which guests have come to love and expect from its flagship fried chicken”.
The white meat chicken breast Nuggets will be available with all the chain’s signature sauces:
- Bayou Buffalo
- BoldBQ
- Blackened Ranch
- Buttermilk Ranch
- Wild Honey Mustard
- Sweet Heat
The new Nuggets will be offered in sizes from 4 to 36 pieces and go live nationwide on the 27th. The last major fast food brand to make a splash in the chicken nugget space was McDonald’s with their Spicy Nuggets in 2020 (see our review here); that menu update saw huge lines and many stores selling out in hours of release.
While the McDonald’s spicy update was in the traditional reformed chicken nugget design, the new Popeye’s option is in the vein of higher end choices such as Shake Shack’s chicken bites and Habit Burger’s Crispy Chicken.
Popeye’s more recent releases include the Cajun Fish and Shrimp and the Wicked Shrimp before that; neither managed to create the same buzz and excitement of the Chicken Sandwich however. That seismic event reportedly added $400K worth of revenue to every Popeye’s store system wide – pushing the brand’s sales past the $1.3 billion mark last year toward the end of 2019 – a 42% increase in sales.
Roll on the 27th and the hype we say!
Image credit, Popeyes,
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic Salt Lake City, and a former freelance restaurant critic. I’ve worked extensively with local, regional and national food and drink organizations. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have been writing about food and drink for more than fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I don’t mind admitting to a certain secret obsession with fast food as well – and that’s where Menu And Price comes in…