10 Fast Food Menu Items That Dropped In May 2026

Fast food menus often seem like more of the same, and it's true that familiar products are part of what makes the business model work. But fast food is also a hotly competitive market, and with consumers less hesitant to pay rising prices, restaurants have to release new products that keep customers engaged.

With spring finally in full swing, the month of May has seen the debut of many new fast food items from burger joints, chicken chains, sandwich shops, cookie stores, smoothie spots, and more. For these businesses, it's an attempt to get you to spend more money. But for the customer, it's an exciting smorgasbord of flavors.

New products include a dirty soda trend that popped up at several national chains, a limited-time promotional menu for a new "Star Wars" movie, and a new application of what is perhaps Popeyes best dipping sauce ever. A sandwich shop that some people go to just for the cookies has a new one, and a well-known chicken chain released a brand new dipping sauce. And, for the culinary adventurers out there, someone even made a pickle smoothie. Yes, really.

Taco Bell is an industry leader in rolling out new products, and one of its latest is a twist on a classic: The chain has added its Cantina Chicken to the fan-favorite Mexican Pizza. It's the same formula Taco Bell fans love with a sandwich-like outside of two crispy tortillas, but the inside is layered with shredded cheese, black beans, a green chile sauce, and the same cantina chicken that's been broadly popular since its 2024 launch.

Dirty sodas are not to be confused with dirty drinks. The latter is a cocktail flavored with some kind of brine, while the former is a soda with additions like creamer or flavored syrup. And with McDonald's new lineup of six different dirty sodas, the trend is clearly here to stay. Flavors include strawberry watermelon, mango pineapple, and blackberry passion fruit refreshers, plus a Sprite Berry Blast, Dirty Dr Pepper, and possibly the best one, Orange Dream. Fans say it tastes really good.

Burger King brought not one but four new products to market this May, to promote the new Star Wars movie "The Mandalorian and Grogu." The menu includes a BBQ Bounty Whopper featuring crispy pickle chips and a creamy BBQ sauce, Grogu's Blue Cookie Shake and Garlic Chicken Fries, and Imperial Cheddar Ranch Tots.

Each item comes in a special box reflecting its name, and there are also promotional cups, but act fast: The limited-time menu released on May 4 is for a movie premiering May 22, so it might not be around for long.

Previously, Popeyes made Blackened Ranch sauce available at grocery stores to significant fan approval. And the Louisiana-born chain is leaning into the sauce's success with a new Blackened Ranch Wrap that debuted in May, alongside the permanent return of two other chicken wraps. Popeyes adding this uber-popular sauce to a fan-favorite menu item will likely be a hot seller.

Smoothie King topped the rankings of America's best smoothie chains, in part because you can get almost anything there. But it may not have ever had an item as unusual as the limited edition Grillo's Pickles smoothie. Authentic, Grillo 's-brand pickles are blended with kale and bananas, and rounded out with apple and kiwi juice blends, electrolytes, and coconut water. It's probably not for everyone, but definitely worth trying for even the mildly curious.

Carl's Jr is promoting the return of its popular Sourdough Star burger, a double bacon cheeseburger on toasted sourdough bread, but don't sleep on the all-new offering it also dropped. A syrup flavored like raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries is added to iced tea for a Triple Berry Tea, Sprite for a Triple Berry Sparkler, or a vanilla milkshake for a Triple Berry Shake.

Auntie Anne's has cornered the fast food pretzel market, and like other chains, it's now setting its sights on the dirty soda market. The new Twisted Sips lineup offers the versatile ability to add French vanilla creamer, assorted fruit syrups, and/or lemonade to any Auntie Anne's fountain soda. After all, why not finish off an order of pretzel nuggets with a dirty Coca-Cola?

If Reddit is to be believed, customers say Church's Chicken isn't what it used to be, as many users complained of low-quality food. But the chain may be trying to make up for that with Churchie Sauce. Inspired by the tangy, remoulade-ish Southern Comeback sauce popular in Mississippi, this new dipping sauce stays true to Church's Southern heritage — and was even rolled out with a company-sponsored Atlanta block party.

Jimmy John's is known for quickly-made sandwiches, but sometimes people go there just for the chain's exclusive line of massive cookies. And, for a limited time, the Lemon Strawberry Burst Cookie is the newest addition to the lineup: A soft-baked lemon cookie loaded with real strawberry flavor. Grab one along with the chain's returning Thai Chicken Wrap, also back for a limited time.

Taco Bell began testing a Live Más Café concept in 2024, which has since expanded to locations in Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, and across Southern California, with an eventual goal of being in nearly every Taco Bell. But for now, customers in these regions can hit up their local Live Más Cafés for cold brew coffee served either on its own or with one of three new cold foams: Vanilla Cream, Caramel Dulce Cream, or a signature, horchata-inspired Purple Velvet Cream. Who says tacos and coffee don't go together?