6 New Fast Food Items We Can’t Wait to Try Right Now

ICYMI—we get it, there’s kind of a lot going on right now—Sporked is keeping you up to date on fast food news now. Don’t worry—we’re still your go-to guide to the grocery aisles, but we want to help you when you’re eating out, too. So what’s new at the drive-through? Here are some new fast food items we’ve been keeping an eye on. Have you tried any of these? Let us know in the comments what you think—hey, nothing wrong with having a reciprocal relationship with your very favorite food website, right? 😉

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Taco Bell Crispalupa

Okay, early reviews aren’t great, but I’m a sucker for a forced portmanteau, so I can’t wait to try the Taco Bell Crispalupa. It’s a chalupa, but crispy. Kinda. Honestly, it looks like a big, weird empanada that’s been bisected and stuffed with lettuce, cheese, pico, chicken, and ranch sauce. Currently, the Crispalupa is being tested in Atlanta and Chicago and maybe some other cities, too—check your local TB menu to find out. And then put one on dry ice and send it to L.A. for me.

Panera Lil Lemon Bundt Cake

If your love of small bundt cakes is rivaled only by your love of a soup-and-salad combo, this new Panera dessert will save you a stop at Nothing Bundt Cakes for a Bundtini. These look like they’re about the size of your palm and consist of sweet lemon cake with a white icing glaze. Yum.

New Burger King Jr. Meals

If you’re a ‘90s kid and it’s been a while since you’ve had a Burger King kids meal—namely, because it’s been a while since you were a kid—you might have to stop for one soon. But the food isn’t the draw in this scenario; Burger King partnered with Hasbro on a new lineup of toys for BK Jr. meals and it’s major nostalgia bait: Furby! My Little Pony! Transformers! Personally, I’m most excited about the mini Nerf guns.

DQ’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dipped Cone

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Breakfast for dessert! Yep, DQ is finally launching its Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dipped Cone, which we’ve been hearing mutterings about since January. Vanilla soft served in a crunchy shell coated in Cinnadust sounds awfully good right about now.

Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Chicken Sandwich

People apparently love Carl’s Jr.’s Western Bacon Burger, so the beloved burger joint went ahead and made a chicken version. I can’t say I’ve ever had a chicken sandwich from Carl’s Jr. (I grew up on the East Coast where we had Hardy’s), but it looks good. Really craggy and crunchy, now with a big ol’ onion ring and barbecue sauce, too.

McDonald’s Berry Blast Sprite

This isn’t a new Sprite flavor. Instead, it’s a new Sprite concoction and you can only get it at McDonald’s. Very dirty soda coded: It’s Sprite with blue raspberry syrup and a cold foam floater on top. This should be hitting stores soon, so keep an eye out.

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.