20 Of The Most Unhinged Limited-Time Fast Food Items
20 Times Fast Food Went Off The Rails
Fast food is all about greasy indulgence. We're more than familiar with the double cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and nachos that places like Burger King and Taco Bell churn out, but those folks in the test kitchen don't stop there. The beauty of being a multi-million dollar restaurant chain is that there's leeway to play. While some of the wild creations end up slapping and selling so well that they have to bring them back time and again, others push the boundaries into the realm of bizarre and downright unappetizing. Here are 20 of the most outrageous limited-edition fast food menu items.
1. KFC's Double Down
Remember the double down? KFC's weirdo sandwich that replaced the bun with two pieces of fried chicken. It was greasy, hard to eat, but weirdly delicious and low-carb diet-friendly.
2. Sonic’s Pickle Juice Slush
You have to really love pickles to get into limited-time slush, so much so that you'd be happy to drink the juice. It's essentially a blend of pickle juice and ice, imparting a sweet and tart flavor and bright green color.
3. Taco Bell's Waffle Taco
We're guessing Taco Bell conceptualized the waffle taco when the chicken and waffles trend was exploding, but it didn't quite take off in the same way. It was essentially a breakfast taco with a waffle replacing the tortilla.
4. Burger King's Mac N’ Cheetos
Burger King's Mac N Cheetos are basically the definition of an unhinged menu item, combining mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, and Cheetos. The creamy macaroni is breaded, deep-fried, and mixed with Cheetos dust to achieve that distinct flavor and off-putting neon orange color.
5. KFC's Chizza
KFC's Chizza is a mashup between fried chicken and pizza. Just like the double down, it replaces the bread with fried chicken, which is topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni.
Chris from Shenzhen, China on Wikimedia
6. Arby's Meat Mountain
A heart attack waiting to happen, Arby's Meat Mountain is a towering sandwich that combines all their different meat offerings in one. You can even order it "Denali-style," which adds a fish filet.
7. Taco Bell's Cheetos Burrito
Taco Bell's Cheetos Burrito was a limited-time offering that combined ground beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, and Cheetos in a burrito. It was being offered for just $1 as a test product, but clearly didn't make the cut onto their regular menu.
8. Jack in the Box's Bacon Shake
Jack in the Box's Bacon Shake was a bold, limited-time offering consisting of vanilla ice cream, bacon-flavored syrup, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry. Although it didn't actually contain any bacon and had a surprisingly pleasant sweet and smoky flavor profile, the concept of salty pork floating in ice cream was enough to turn most people away.
9. Burger King’s Whopperito
We can't explain it, but there's something so unholy about stripping the bun from a hamburger and replacing it with a tortilla, but that's just what Burger King decided to do with their Whopperito. It was all the classic Whopper ingredients unceremoniously stuffed into a flour tortilla.
10. Burger King’s Yumbo
Burger King clearly doesn't shy away from outlandish menu ideas, the Yumbo being arguably the most bizarre yet. It was a ham and cheese sandwich served hot, which is weird considering it includes lettuce and mayonnaise.
11. Taco Bell’s Chocodilla
The Chocodilla was Taco Bell's attempt at a dessert quesadilla. It filled a flour tortilla with melted chocolate, with some versions adding Twix, Kit Kat, or marshmallows.
12. McDonald’s Hula Burger
McDonald's desire to offer a meatless sandwich during Lent birthed the "Hula Burger," a grilled pineapple ring on a bun with cheese. It was quietly removed from the menu after dismal sales numbers. They couldn't just offer a veggie sandwich?
Bence Balla-Schottner on Unsplash
13. Burger King's Halloween Whopper
Burger King's Halloween Whopper was their famous burger with a black bun, released for a limited time around Halloween in 2015. The black bun was achieved with A.1. sauce and food coloring, but the most memorable thing about it was that it turned your waste green, an unexpected spooky side effect.
14. Dunkin' Donuts' Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich
Perhaps the most unhinged menu item on this list, but one that had to happen, is Dunkin' Donuts' Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich. It consisted of bacon and a fried egg on a glazed donut cut in half like a bagel.
15. Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Bites Pizza
You've heard of stuffed crust pizza, but what about hot dog stuffed crust pizza? That's precisely what Pizza Hut's Hot Dog Stuffed Pizza was, served with mustard, so you never have a bland bite. As if pizza isn't already enough of an indulgence on its own.
16. Tim Hortons' Buffalo Latte
Tim Hortons' Buffalo Latte was the Canadian coffee shop chain's attempt at making a splash when they entered the Buffalo, NY area. The Buffalo latte consisted of espresso, steamed milk, mocha, and, perplexingly, Buffalo sauce flavor.
17. Burger King’s Gooey Apple Green Slime Sauce
We allow greater license for weirdness when it comes to food products made for kids, but even then, Burger King’s Gooey Apple Green Slime Sauce is pushing the envelope. The green apple flavored neon green slime sauce was served with chicken tenders in the “Big Kids Meal" in the 90s.
grassrootsgroundswell on Wikimedia
18. Popeyes' Cookie Chicken Tenders
Popeyes briefly offered cookie chicken tenders, which saw tenders battered in a crust made of shortbread cookies, deep-fried, and served with a sweet and spicy sauce. Although it may sound questionable, the resulting dish was actually very well balanced between sweet and savory.
19. KFC's Chicken & Donuts
Similar to Dunkin' Donuts' donut breakfast sandwich but even more unhinged, KFC's Chicken & Donuts featured fried chicken placed between not one, but two, glazed donuts. It was a combination of sweet and savory and a whole lot of fried mess.
20. Taco Bell's Nacho Fries
Nacho Fries have been a limited-time offering featuring sporadically on Taco Bell's menu since 2018. They're fries coated in nacho seasoning (paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper) and served with nacho cheese.
