KFC Is Releasing A $5 Chicken Tender Meal Deal As A Clapback To McDonald's

The rivalries between fast food chains sometimes involve poking fun at each other. For instance, Chick-fil-A's "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign has involved the restaurant's iconic cows spreading mischief to keep people from eating burgers. Now, KFC is taking a jab at McDonald's with a special chicken tender offer that's only available for a limited time. In an email sent to Daily Meal, the chain states, "This week, preTENDERS tried to be conTENDERS so KFC® dropped a competitive digital exclusive offer on its Original Recipe® Tenders."

For just $5, diners at KFC can get five chicken tenders made with the original recipe of "secret" spices — which is thought to include basil, ginger, and thyme. Catherine Tan-Gillespie, president of KFC U.S., said in the statement sent to us, "Why settle for a tender from a burger chain when you can get a deal on what we believe is the best tasting tender, from the OG of fried chicken?" She added, "With this deal we're giving our customers a reason to try the finger lickin' good flavor of our tenders and judge for themselves."

At just $1 per chicken tender, this KFC deal sounds too good to pass up. The only way to get it, though, is to place a digital order with a participating location at KFC.com or in the restaurant's mobile app. More importantly, customers need to have a KFC Rewards account to redeem the offer — which is only available to members — before completing the transaction. Fans won't want to hesitate to take advantage, either, since the offer is only available through May 11, 2025.

The $5 chicken tender meal deal is just one of several exciting changes KFC has been making in 2025, such as collaborating with Mike's Hot Honey for a spicy-sweet menu addition. It even brought back chicken and waffles, although it's not the exact discontinued KFC item diners really wanted back — which was Nashville hot chicken.