Popeyes releases new chicken sandwich, dares fast food restaurants: 'Copy us again'
Popeyes is giving its iconic fried Chicken Sandwich a slightly healthier update.
Starting Tuesday, customers of the fast-food restaurant can snag it's new Blackened Chicken Sandwich. The new menu item nets 973 calories verse the chain's fried chicken OG sandwich: 1,122 calories, the chain confirmed.
The new item is seasoned with black pepper, cumin, red pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, white pepper and salt, Popeyes tweeted in a video Tuesday morning.
Starting at $4.99, the breading-free sandwich combines Cajun and Creole-seasoned flavors complemented with a brioche bun and pickles. According to the chain's website, it's available in Classic or Spicy for a limited time.
To the copycats that tried to copy our Chicken Sandwich back in 2019, here are ingredients of our new, breading-free, flavor-full Blackened Chicken Sandwich. Now try to copy us again. #copythispic.twitter.com/fmUqAfSzwv
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) November 15, 2022
In August of 2019, Popeyes released its highly-anticipated fried chicken sandwich that sparked the year's chicken sandwich war.
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The sandwich, a crispy fried chicken breast, topped with pickles, slicked with a choice of mayo or spicy Cajun sauce, and nestled on a brioche bun, drove customers wild.
It was so popular Popeyes sold out nationally, some locations within days, and it didn’t come back until two months later, on Nov. 3, 2019 which, appropriately, was National Sandwich Day.
The 2019 chicken sandwich Twitter war
A viral Twitter feud fueled the fried sandwich's popularity.
The spat began innocuously enough when Chick-fil-A tweeted, "Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the (heart emoji) for the original."
Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the ❤️ for the original. pic.twitter.com/qBAIIxZx5v
— Chick-fil-A, Inc. (@ChickfilA) August 19, 2019
Popeyes shot back at Chick-fil-A’s subtle dig, asking "... y’all good?" – a tweet that set social media on fire.
... y’all good? https://t.co/lPaTFXfnyP
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) August 19, 2019
Wendy's, known for a Twitter account that relishes clapbacks and beefing with its competitors, soon entered the fray: "Y’all out here fighting about which of these fools has the second best chicken sandwich."
Y’all out here fighting about which of these fools has the second best chicken sandwich. pic.twitter.com/4v9RJFgy0T
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) August 19, 2019
Other fast-food restaurants soon entered the mix.
If you're lookin' for a chicken sandwich (without the beef ????), you know where to find us. pic.twitter.com/2wtV2POvFf
— SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) August 19, 2019
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Popeyes blackened chicken sandwich: New breading-free menu option