The 17 Best Fast Food Items Of 2025

With rising prices and access to more options, reviews, and internet virality, consumers choose fast food restaurants based on their wallets, cravings, and fears of missing out on the latest trends. In 2025, fast food restaurants have had to step up to compete with each other, as serving up the same old menu options doesn't always cut it anymore. Thankfully, this has delivered many delicious new options that are either the latest menu staples or only around for a limited time.

While the year isn't over yet, we've already seen iconic limited-time appearances such as the Wendy's x Wednesday Meal of Misfortune and the resurgence of old favorites like the McDonald's Snack Wraps. With just a few months left in the year, it's the perfect time to look back on some of the best fast food items of 2025 so far. We've reflected on our own experiences this year to curate the list. Whether you find a new item to try or hope one of your favorites makes a comeback soon, there's something here for anyone who enjoys a meal or snack from a fast food restaurant now and again.

For many, the most wonderful time of the year comes after Christmas, and Wendy's saw it coming from a mile away. The Wendy's Girl Scout Thin Mints Frosty gave cookie-lovers yet another way to enjoy the most popular Girl Scout cookie. The Thin Mint flavor was added to either a vanilla or chocolate Frosty as a mint chocolate cookie sauce mixed in, and also gave a scrumptious cookie texture with each bite. Girl Scout cookie season is typically January through April, depending on where you're located, so we can only hope that this winter treat will be back next year.

2025 is the year of fast food chicken, and even Taco Bell got on board with the release of its crispy chicken nuggets. What stole the show, though, is the Taco Bell and Mike's Hot Honey Diablo Sauce that was released alongside to dip the nuggets. Taco Bell's Diablo Sauce didn't necessarily need an upgrade; nevertheless, the collaboration with Mike's Hot Honey was a hit, and while it's a great dip for chicken, it just might taste good on anything.

As a self-proclaimed S'mores authority, I can attest that the McDonald's Hershey's S'mores McFlurry was a summertime hit that allowed hungry consumers to experience the delicious flavors reminiscent of camping, without the actual need to start a fire in the wilderness. The S'mores flavor was captured by mixing chunks of Hershey's milk chocolate, graham crackers, and mini marshmallows into and on top of the McFlurry, making for the perfect cool snack on hot summer days.

Pizza Hut's Spicy Hawaiian Lover was a dream pizza both for those who enjoy pineapple on pizza and for those who can never have enough spicy options. The pizza is a fresh take on a classic Hawaiian pizza with the addition of spicy marinara sauce, jalapeño, and red chili flakes. Released for a limited time in June, the pizza brought two favorites together for a blast of flavor, proving once again that pineapple does belong on pizza.

McDonald's removed the Snack Wrap from the menu nearly a decade ago and left millions with only broken hearts and fond memories. 2025 is the year of the beloved Snack Wrap's triumphant return, along with the addition of a spicy version for those who want a little kick. Snack Wraps are a McCrispy chicken strip with shredded lettuce and cheese and rolled up in a soft tortilla with a bit of ranch sauce. We can only hope that McDonald's never takes it from us again.

Popeyes released a snack fit for a road trip over the summer with the limited-time Chicken Dippers that fit so conveniently in a cupholder. The dippers are made up of all-white breast meat and blanketed in Popeyes Louisiana garlic and spice blend. The chain also used the launch of the dippers to announce its new Popeyes Signature Sauce. If you didn't realize Popeyes was without a signature sauce — you aren't alone. The restaurant's food options were already full of everything a chicken-lover (and girl dinner lover) could want, but now the new Signature Sauce is here to stay and was made to pair with any item on the menu.

Sometimes, when a restaurant reintroduces an item, it leaves many wondering why that item was removed in the first place. Such is the case with KFC's Chicken & Waffles. The meal pairs the chicken KFC's already known for with a Belgian Liège-style waffle for a combo many know and love. The restaurant didn't just bring back a menu icon, though; it released a new dessert at the same time — the Strawberry and Crème Pie Poppers. These small but mighty treats are a warm strawberry and crème filling inside a buttery and flaky crust that can be enjoyed any time you want a little treat.

Wendy's x Wednesday Meal of Misfortune was less creepy and kooky and more dark and delicious, though not without a few dreadfully fun puns. The meal featured the Rest in 10-Piece chicken nuggets and four different Dips of Dread: You Can't Hyde, This Will Sting, Grave Mistake, and Nowhere to Woe. Of course, no meal is complete without fries and a Raven's Blood Frosty, which is a vanilla Frosty with cherry syrup and a ghoulishly purple Spoon of Gloom. Whether you watch the "Wednesday" series on Netflix or you just love a good theme, this limited-time meal was a frightening good time.

The Panda Express and Buldak Dynamite Sweet and Sour Chicken may have been available for a limited time and only in 10 U.S. cities, but the collab was enough to become one of the best fast food items thus far in 2025. Buldak is already loved for its spicy ramen and hot sauce, and combined with Panda Express' flavorful sweet and sour chicken, it's a meal we wish we could order all the time.

Taco Bell proved that nostalgia sells and that it deserves to be celebrated with the release of the Y2K Decades Menu. Millennials everywhere can rejoice over the fast food chain bringing back iconic menu items that were popular during the aughts like the famed Cool Ranch Doritos Los Locos Tacos, the Caramel Apple Empanada, and the Chili Cheese Burrito. Taco Bell pulled out all the stops with in-app Y2K Decades Menu-focused games and Y2K-esque, Taco Bell-themed apparel. It didn't need to, though, as the return of the Cool Ranch Doritos Los Locos Taco was enough to please nostalgia lovers everywhere.

Move over, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and make way for Starbucks' Pecan Oatmilk Cortado — a seasonal drink unlike any before it on the coffee giant's fall menu. The handcrafted espresso drink is only available hot (perfect for breezy autumn days). It is a flavorful concoction of pecan syrup added to a concentrated or ristretto-style Blonde espresso and steamed milk with foamed milk and pecan crunch toppings to bring it all together. It's not your average fall menu item, but it's not one we'll be forgetting any time soon.

Whether you're a fan of Valentine's Day or use it as an excuse to stay in and hide, Krispy Kreme made the perfect treat in 2025: the Hearts in Bloom Collection. The special Valentine's Day release was four heart-shaped donuts in a flower bouquet-style box. The unique donuts were the You Make My Daisy Donut, Love You Bunches Donut, Blooming Heart Donut, and the You Are My Sunshine Donut. Each donut offered a little something for everyone's different tastes and was available to purchase individually. Who needs flowers when you could have all four Hearts in Bloom donuts from Krispy Kreme?

Dunkin' remembered that pink goes good with green when it released the vibrant and delicious Wicked drinks around the same time the long-awaited "Wicked for Good" movie hit theaters. Each drink represents one of the musical's main characters, Elphaba and Glinda, with Elphaba's signature drink being a Wicked Green Matcha. To take this Wicked Matcha to the next level, it's made with brown sugar and toasted almond flavors. The Pink Refresher is the most bubbly, Glinda-esque drink imaginable, with sparkling water, blueberry, strawberry, and dragonfruit flavors. The only issue one may face with the Wicked drinks is deciding which one to order.

Popeyes' Freddy Fazbear Crunch Menu celebrates "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," the second movie in the "Five Nights at Freddy's" franchise. The menu consists of a Freddy Fazbear Deluxe Box and a Freddy Fazbear Box for meal options, or Cheesy Bites with marinara sauce or a Cupcake Cup as standalone options. The chicken and Cheesy Bites are coated in garlic parmesan that tastes like your new favorite fast food meal.

Whether you live in the coldest winter wonderland or in a climate where even Santa Claus could sunbathe, you can't go wrong with Shake Shack's Holiday Shake Menu. The lineup features three different frozen treats, each like a holiday present you won't soon forget. For the candycane lovers, the Peppermint Bark Chocolate Shake is made with frozen custard, mint chocolate fudge, and white chocolate peppermint. The Christmas Cookie shake is frozen, sugar cookie-flavored custard with whipped cream topped with festive sprinkles. The third shake on the holiday menu is the Sticky Toffee Pudding Shake made with toffee pudding cake, vanilla frozen custard, and caramelized brown sugar. This perfect sweet tooth soother is topped with toffee pudding sauce and whipped cream.

McDonald's delivered serious holiday cheer in 2025 with the release of The Grinch Meal, with a choice of a Big Mac or Nuggets, a pair of argyle socks fit for accessorizing an ugly sweater holiday outfit, and, of course, the star of the show, Dill Pickle "Grinch Salt" McShaker Fries. Open up the very Grinchy green bag of dill pickle seasoning and pour it into the special fry McShaker bag. Shake the bag around to coat your fries before tasting the incredibly delicious concoction. Add as much or as little seasoning as you'd like and cross your fingers that the Dill Pickle "Grinch Salt" McShaker Fries make a comeback next holiday season because you'll definitely miss them once they're gone.

While a good macaroni and cheese dish can (and should) be enjoyed at any time of year, Culver's released the Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese and Mac for our taste buds to revel in only for a limited time. This delectable side dish is made with Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese on top to give cheese lovers the oomph they crave. Culver's Cheddar Cheese and Mac is proof that good comfort food doesn't always need to be made at home.