These Are The 10 Best New Fast Food Items Of 2026 (So Far)

As 2026 rolls through the seasons, we get a chance to reflect on our favorite food trends, new ideas, and hits — as well as a few misses, such as the 12 chain restaurants diners say aren't worth it anymore. In the end, we're always rooting for the good stuff to earn permanent status, particularly on fast food menus. With that in mind, we delved into the avalanche of interesting fast food items that have emerged this year to choose the best so far. 

We take into account a lot of things when creating these kinds of collections, including taste (obviously), ingenuity, availability, and customer appeal. Our Tasting Table team has been busy with tastings and reviews, so choosing the 10 best isn't easy, particularly with such a variety on offer. This compilation includes scrummy sandwiches and burgers, crunchy fried chicken, frosty beverages, cheesy bagel stacks, and even chocolate and caramel empanadas. You might be surprised at the creations that fast food joints have come up with, and after reading this, you're sure to want to get out there and start tasting some of their inventions. 

After debuting in 2024 as a promotion, this Dairy Queen Parmesan Garlic Chicken Strips Basket is taking a permanent spot in 2026, and we were already loving it back in January. You get a choice of four or six white-meat fried chicken strips tossed in a cheesy-garlicky sauce, plus all the goodies for a full meal: Texas toast, fries, and a choice of dipping sauces that range from ranch to spicy.

Chilled beverages from Starbucks typically hit the spot, but these new Mango Strawberry Refreshers received a deeper look from our Tasting Table reviewer. With three different mango strawberry newbies in the lineup, the Mango Dream stood out for its creamy coconut flavor, earning praise for being "pretty darn tasty." For a bit more buzz, you can order these drinks as Energy Refreshers, which means they're boosted with caffeine. 

As part of Burger King's initiative to involve customers in creating new menu items, the fast-food world ended up with this impressive Burger King Peppercorn BLT Whopper. The well-loved quarter-pound flame-broiled Whopper patty gets dressed with nutty stretchy Swiss cheese, peppercorn aioli, delightfully smoky and chewy crispy bacon, lettuce, and tomato, and slipped into a sesame seed bun that our reviewer says is nicely toasted with warm, caramelized notes. 

There are frosty-style milkshakes and there are icy-cold sodas — but now there's a smash-up of the two sitting proudly on Chick-fil-A's official menu having started as a customer hack. The Chick-Fil-A Frosted Sodas are made by blending the chain's signature Icedream soft-serve vanilla ice cream with your choice of popular soda (Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Hi-C Orange, Barq's Root Beer, Coca-Cola, among others). It's a twist on the classic layered float.

New for summer 2026 is Shake Shack's BBQ Boneless Baby Back Rib Sandwich, part of the Smoky BBQ collection. During a special preview tasting, our reviewer discovered a "true top-tier sandwich" glistening with sauce and carrying a straight-from-the-smoker persona. It's made with slow-cooked baby back pork ribs marinated in an apple cider vinegar-based sauce. 

These Taco Bell Chocolate Fudge and Caramel Empanadas debuted at the chain's annual Live Más Live event in Los Angeles. Our writer attended, tasting a selection of new Taco Bell foods, sharing that the caramel version is like a warm sweet-and-tart apple pie with a cinnamony shell and salted caramel filling. And the chocolate fudge one is "like an invert chocolate donut with the fudge frosting on the inside of a chocolate shell." Sounds pretty good to us.

For a chain that's all about the bird, it's no surprise the Chick-Fil-A Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich romped into 2026 with aplomb. It's like a club sandwich with multiple identities, presenting as either the original fried, spicy, or grilled, all three sampled by our taste tester. She raves about the herbaceous, perfectly soft buttermilk bun, and appreciates the warm spices and smoky chargrilled chicken.  

Wendy's has long been known as Frosty royalty, spooning out the slushy treat since way back in the 1960s. After many decades, the Frosty Fusion line rolled out and here's its newest addition: Wendy's Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion. It comes in chocolate and vanilla versions, with bits of cookie dough bobbing about in creamy, icy slush. Our reviewer enjoyed the homemade-tasting satisfying buttery, sugar-filled flavor with a chewy texture.

Chicken nuggets at a Mexican fast food joint may feel unconventional, but that's exactly what folks are loving about these Taco Bell Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets. They transform the chain's already popular Diablo Sauce into a powdery coating dubbed Diablo Dust, which lands on all-white meat chicken with tortilla-chip breading. Our taster loved the punchy yet still approachable heat level.

Following the trend of offering a menu item in varying renditions, Panera's Asiago Bagel Stacks wow the senses with three distinct personalities: the Farmhouse Duo Asiago Bagel Stack, Wake-Up BLT Asiago Everything Bagel Stack, and a Sausage & Egg Asiago Bagel Stack. They collectively landed on our list of 10 best new fast food items of January 2026, earning a spot for the cheesy toasted asiago bagel, subtly spiced sausage, and delicious creamy Benedict sauce on two of the offerings.