Zaxby’s New Holiday Shake Sounds Like A Chick-fil-A Dupe

For a lot of Chick-fil-A fans, myself included, we wait all year for the return of their Peppermint Chip Milkshake at the holidays. Over the years, it has gained a cult-like following, especially as it is one of the only proper drive-thru fast food chains that celebrates the seasonal peppermint flavor like we see coffee shops doing. Otherwise, mint lovers have to wait until the Shamrock Shake hits McDonald’s in February to see the flavor represented in the drive-thru. 

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That all ends today, though, as a rival fast food chain serving a similar type of food to Chick-fil-A is taking on the peppermint milkshake flavor for their holiday menu this year. That place is, of course, the beloved fried chicken chain Zaxby’s. Although Zaxby’s locations are generally limited to the southeastern United States, consumers in the area generally have a favorite they like to sick to. Now the upcoming seasonal menu doesn’t need to be a defining quality in those decisions, though. Let’s break down this new Zaxby’s launch together, shall we?

An Early Jump On Peppermint

This is the first year that Zaxby’s is taking on this peppermint-style milkshake for the holiday season, and we are excited to see how their variation on the classic flavor holds up. As opposed to the Chick-fil-A Peppermint Chip Milkshake that is made with peppermint bark chips spun into their standard Icedream milkshake base, the Zaxby’s shake will be made with cookies and cream pieces to give it that chocolate-y quality.

The Zaxby’s shake takes real soft serve that is flavored with peppermint and blends the cookies and cream pieces directly into the hand-spun shake. As any good milkshake is, the Zaxby’s shake is topped with solid swirl of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. This flavor has an extra sprinkling of crushed cookies and cream pieces sprinkled on top, too.

What makes the Zaxby’s shake stand out to us as potentially even a more high-quality alternative to the Chick-fil-A shake is the fact that it’s made with real whole milk and real sugar as the key ingredients in the soft serve base. Chick-fil-A’s Icedream milkshake base is a frozen dessert and is not made with the same quality ingredients.

We’ll still be sure to get both throughout the holiday season, but we’re very interested to see how they hold up to each other. Will Zaxby’s beat out Chick-fil-A with this iconic seasonal shake? Only time will tell, and Zaxby’s Peppermint Cookies & Cream Shake will be available on November 2. See you there!