9 Red Velvet Desserts That Have Been Served At Fast Food Chains
Red velvet cake is a classic dessert that has a lot of fans worldwide. This Valentine's Day favorite is made with devil's food cake that is dyed red with food coloring and iced with a rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. However, this artificially colored cake has a natural origin. According to the New York Times, a chemical reaction between cocoa and acid is what gave early devil's food cakes their crimson color and is one potential origin of the name.
A red velvet cake is a rich dessert that, oddly enough, tastes very different from chocolate. Over the years, a surprising number of fast food chains have tried to capitalize on this flavor combo by adding a red velvet dessert to their menus. Desserts inspired by red velvet cake have only ever shown up at fast food establishments as a limited-time item. Some attempts were poor imitations of red velvet, while others had fans clamoring for more in the years to come.
In other countries, like Malaysia and the Philippines, chains including McDonald's and Wendy's have released Red Velvet versions of signature ice cream desserts. For this article, though, we are focusing exclusively on red velvet desserts that have been released in the US.
1. Popeye's Red Velvet Cake cup
Popeye's is known for its fried chicken and sides, but it also carries a variety of desserts, ranging from pies to sweet biscuits. In November 2016, before it was progenitor to the chicken sandwich wars, Popeye's first introduced its Red Velvet Cake to the menu for a very limited time. These small cups contained a red velvet cake that was covered in creamy vanilla frosting. These handheld cakes were dusted with a sprinkle of red velvet crumbs on top for a tasty finish. Notably, this lacks any inclusion of cream cheese.
The Red Velvet Cake Cup was brought back to Popeye's in February 2020 for another limited run. The dessert seemed to go over pretty well with those who got to try it. Without cream cheese frosting, you might worry this won't scratch the red velvet itch, but YouTube reviewer Peep THIS Out enjoyed the dish and called it one of the best fast food desserts they had tried.
2. Jimmy John's Red Velvet Cookie and Red Velvet Brownie
The sandwich chain Jimmy John's is perhaps most notable for selling its day-old bread for as low as 50 cents per loaf. This was a lifesaver in college, and according to food hackers on TikTok, it's still a thing the chain does. Jimmy John's also sells a handful of pre-packaged desserts and has recently introduced two new red velvet items to its dessert menu.
In February 2024, just in time for Valentine's Day, Jimmy John's debuted its Red Velvet Cookie and Red Velvet Brownie, which appear to be made with the same ingredients. As described on Jimmy John's website, the main ingredients are identical, although you'll find that the brownie has 100 fewer calories.
These red velvet sweets are made with brown sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla flavor as well. Each includes "sweet white chips," which are not referred to as white chocolate but seem to be an approximation of it, even if it can't technically be called chocolate. It's safe to say the white chips won't satisfy you if you are coming to this dessert for the cream cheese aspect of Red Velvet.
Online, reaction to the cookie is mixed, with some Reddit users saying they loved it and others saying it was pretty similar to the regularly offered chocolate chunk cookie. The brownie seems to be receiving a more tepid reaction, with TikTok reviewer The Southern Snack saying it misses the red velvet mark.
3. Mod Pizza Red Velvet No Name Cake
Mod Pizza might not be the most well-known fast-casual chain, but it boasts over 500 locations in the United States. MOD stands for "made on demand," and here you get your pizza fast and made to order. But we aren't here for pizza today. For dessert, Mod Pizza offers a single option. The No Name Cake is the brand's take on a Hostess cream-filled chocolate cupcake and for Valentine's Day in February 2024, the chain decided to put a seasonal spin on the dessert.
This limited-time-only seasonal treat was a red velvet cake with a cream cheese filling. It was dipped in a layer of red chocolate and topped with heart-shaped sprinkles. While it looks about as tasty as a Hostess snack cake can be, it was apparently lacking in the flavor department.
According to diners on Reddit who tried the Red Velvet No Name Cake, it failed to live up to the standard of the other speciality flavors of No Name Cake that Mod has introduced over the years. Multiple people in the thread backed up the claim that the red velvet cake was bland and flavorless. We are unsure if these will be brought back again, but if they are, they seem to be in dire need of a recipe revamp.
4. Dairy Queen Red Velvet Blizzard
Dairy Queen brings in new Blizzard flavors to its monthly rotation all the time, so it makes sense that the Red Velvet Blizzard has returned time and time again since its debut in February 2014. This treat mixes Dairy Queen's vanilla soft serve with pieces of red velvet cake and cream cheese icing and blends them all into one ice-cold delivery vessel for sweetness.
The Red Velvet Blizzard made its most recent appearance as the Blizzard of the Month in February 2024. This marks the sixth February that this flavor has graced the menu in honor of Valentine's Day, according to a list by The Impulsive Buy that has recorded every Blizzard of the Month since 2009.
In 2021, people on Reddit who tried the Blizzard claimed there was some false advertising involved. Since it has a vanilla ice cream base, this Blizzard might not turn as pink as one might expect from a red velvet dessert. As one self-proclaimed Dairy Queen employee stated in the thread, "The food coloring [from the cake pieces] does not bleed out like the way M&Ms do. That is why there's basically no color to it."
However, one behind-the-scenes TikTok from a Dairy Queen in Miami, Florida, showed that the cream cheese "red velvet" base added to the ice cream is now a pink substance. This makes the end result look much closer to what the marketing shows.
5. Dunkin' Frosty Red Velvet Donut
Maybe it's the crimson color or the rich flavors, but there is definitely something wintry about red velvet. This means it typically comes to chains as a Valentine's Day special. However, in December 2023, Dunkin' decided to trot out new items based on the flavor. Added to the Dunkin' winter menu were the Pink Velvet Macchiato and the Frosty Red Velvet Donut.
The Frosty Red Velvet Donut is made from a glazed red velvet cake base, which is then topped with vanilla-flavored icing and topped with cream cheese-flavored sprinkles. Dunkin' fans on Reddit who have tried the donut like it overall but have mixed feelings on the frosting, with some calling it overly sweet. According to a user in that conversation, their Dunkin' location also offered a frosting-less version of the donut.
This is the second attempt at a red velvet donut from the chain. In 2012, Dunkin' posted on Facebook that its Red Velvet Drizzle Donuts were coming to select US locations. A blogger at So Good Blog who tried it back in 2014 enjoyed the cream cheese frosting drizzle, but was put off by the texture of the donut.
6. Sonic Red Velvet Molten Cake Sundae
Sonic's Molten Cake Sundaes were one of its most unique dessert offerings. Nothing else in fast food has attempted to deliver a take on this restaurant classic: chocolate lava cake and ice cream. After introducing the concept to its stores with sundaes featuring molten chocolate cake in 2013, the drive-in chain added red velvet to the menu the following year.
The Red Velvet Molten Cake Sundae was a piece of gooey red velvet cake topped with vanilla soft serve and whipped cream. True red velvet fans were let down by the end result here. According to YouTube reviewers TheTwoMinuteReviews, who tried the item in February 2014, it ended up tasting more like chocolate cake with ice cream than a red velvet cake. With no cream cheese components at all, the overwhelming flavor was chocolate. While it may not have hit that red velvet note, the fact that Sonic could pull off a molten cake at all in a fast food environment is impressive.
7. Sonic Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast
Sonic has locations in all but four states in the US so it deserves two spots on this list. Oh, and these two desserts could not be more different. The Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast first appeared on the Sonic menu back in the winter of 2010 and 2011. The ice cream dessert was made with red velvet cake batter soft serve and blended with cheesecake pieces before being topped with whipped cream and more pieces of cheesecake.
This earlier attempt at a red velvet dessert from Sonic was received a bit more favorably than the Molten Sundae. The creamy tang from cheesecake pieces and the cake batter ice cream both make sense as a substitute for red velvet's rich cream cheese frosting. A review in the Phoenix New Times claimed it was indeed a winning formula and said the flavor of the cake batter ice cream in particular exceeded their expectations. Frankly, it sounds delicious, and the fact that Sonic hasn't brought it back to the menu in nearly 15 years is a crying shame.
8. Burger King Red Velvet Oreo Shake
This limited-time offering from Burger King combines two flavors that you might not expect to see in the same dessert. In the shake, red velvet cake meets Nabisco's most famous sandwich cookie: the Oreo. The Red Velvet Oreo Shake was added to the BK menu back in 2015 for a short time. It was made with a chocolate soft-serve base mixed with cream cheese and Oreo cookie crumbles. Oh, and the color turned out cherry red.
Fans on Reddit bemoan the discontinuation of this shake, and to this day, it still has its defenders. Someone even dedicated a whole Twitter account to their love of this long-lost Burger King shake. In the same Reddit thread, an employee revealed that the red food coloring made for a bit of a mess behind the scenes. They also shared that the item didn't sell very well, at least at their store. This makes a lot of sense since you eat with your eyes first, and that bright color does not scream authentic red velvet whatsoever.
9. Kentucky Fried Chicken Red Velvet bundt cake
Back in the spring of 2015, Kentucky Fried Chicken ran a deal where the restaurant gave away a free Red Velvet Cake with any meal of 10 pieces or more. We might have forgotten the promotion, but we do remember the absurdly saccharine commercial that ran alongside it, the one that culminates in a son giving his mother a KFC Red Velvet Cake as the ultimate sign of affection.
The dessert in question is a red velvet bundt cake covered in a drizzle of sweet cream cheese icing. In addition to being offered as a free bonus, the Red Velvet Cake was also sold for $3.99. It was pretty much identical in shape and size to the Chocolate Chip Cake that is currently sold at some KFC locations. This means that, unlike the rest of the desserts on this list, which are single-serving, the Red Velvet Cakes from KFC were family-sized and perfect for sharing.