This 'Little' 1980s KFC Item Only Lasted A Few Years — But Fans Can't Forget It

The year was 1987. Reagan was President, The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" topped the charts, and foodies could get three chicken sandwiches for just over $1. KFC launched its Chicken Littles sandwiches in 1987 as an apparent spinoff of White Castle's iconic, culturally dominant sliders (which the Beastie Boys rapped about one year prior on their 1986 "Licensed to Ill"). KFC's pint-sized sandwiches consisted of a square-shaped, breaded, fried chicken patty on a small plush bun, smeared with mayo and a few pickle chips for just $0.39. Adjusted for inflation, $0.39 in 1987 is the equivalent of $1.11 in 2025, which is still an unheard-of deal in the modern age.

A Reddit thread dedicated to KFC's Chicken Littles is filled with fond memories of the limited-time sandwich. "I loved these!" writes one commenter. "Every Thursday night ('87-'88) I would get a bag of these and a tub of potato salad and mashed potatoes and gravy and watch the NBC lineup (Night Court, Cheers, L.A. Law). I was very sad when they stopped making them!" Others agree, "YESSS! Grade school me loved these! They were like $.39 or something, we had it good then." Several comments nod to the KFC's playful ad campaign for the item ("Chicken Littles just [a] walkin' down the street Singing doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy do"). Indeed, the sando's 1987 debut commercial depicts a car-full of varsity-jacket-clad students rolling up to KFC for a bag of Chicken Littles while '50s doo-wop music plays. 

KFC's Chicken Littles jingle was a spinoff of the 1963 song "Do-Wah-Diddy" by The Exciters, as made famous by Manfred Mann. A voiceover coos, "They cost just a little, but people love 'em a lot!" Another commercial for the sandwich is scored by a similar '50s-60s doo-wop tune with lyrics rewritten to espouse a chicken-forward message — a sentimental play toward nostaglia even in the '80s. 

So, if Chicken Littles delighted fans so much, why was the value-forward fast food offering discontinued? The company's motivation remains unclear. One impassioned Facebook post posits, "In 1988, we would bring home a sack of these and dine like kings. I can't understand why they wouldn't at least test market a comeback for them?" In fact, KFC (kind of) brought its beloved Chicken Littles back for a second round in 2018, but the comeback was short-lived. The "revival" sandwich was a far cry from the O.G. offering of the 1980s, essentially a KFC Snacker with a nostalgia-bait name. Most notably, 2018's Chicken Little wasn't square-shaped. Instead, it was a crispy chicken strip on an oval bun with pickles and mayo. As food blog Retro Ramblings writes of the 2018 reboot, "I was horribly disappointed when I unwrapped the precious sandwich that I had longed for many years. What is this? This isn't a Chicken Little." Craving more retro inspo? We've rounded up 12 snacks from the '80s that no one remembers anymore.