Chick-fil-A is great. I worked there for five years and still love it.
In my time with the company, I was asked about our "Secret Menu" (throwback to the Double Double Down) and had to explain that this was an Internet myth. Some of the items on this "menu" aren't even that secret. Chick-fil-A strives for simplicity in their menu, and this makes the items very customizable. It's easy to change things if you know what's available in the kitchen.
I've put together this list (with the help of John Crist gifs, of course) of some easy, helpful and yummy menu customizations.
Please, when ordering special requests (at Chick-fil-A or any restaurant), be respectful to the employees as they try to work with you. In Chick-fil-A's case, each store is run by a different operator, and they might have different, unique policies. This means just because one Chick-fil-A will make a special menu modification it doesn't mean every store will.
1. Extra honey butter.
Yes, you can order extra honey butter on the Chick-N-Minis! These bite-size breakfast beauties are my favorite, and I always order them this way.
2. Egg and cheese Chick-N-Minis.
Some people like egg or cheese or egg and cheese on their Chick-N-Minis. I don't get it. But it's possible. Sometimes the manager or kitchen leaders will say to give the guest the egg and cheese in a separate bowl, or sometimes they'll make it in the kitchen. Either way, it's an interesting take on a classic.
3. Hazelnut iced coffee.
Another usual order for me. Technically, only original (plain sugar) and vanilla flavored iced coffee is advertised, but we have hazelnut syrup too! The. Best.
Sometimes I'll also ask for two pumps of hazelnut and one pump of vanilla syrup. The small iced coffee is made with three pumps of whichever syrup and the large is made with four pumps, so you can ask the Team Member to switch this up to what you prefer. Just remember, this is Chick-fil-A and Starbucks is probably across the street.
4. Honey butter Chicken Biscuit.
An amazing take on the classic. Just ask for honey butter instead of regular butter!
5. Spicy Chicken Biscuit.
(Guests when I explained we no longer have the breakfast Spicy Chicken Biscuit.)
Technically, you can still get a Spicy Chicken Biscuit. Just know you will have to wait. Let me say that again: you will have to wait and you will need to be patient.
While Chick-fil-A doesn't have the spicy breakfast filet anymore, they still have the lunch version. During breakfast, all lunch items are dropped fresh and made to order if the guest requests. However, this can take ten minutes at a minimum for the kitchen to drop the item(s) since they are also keeping up with the regular breakfast business and have limited fryers.
Just ask for a spicy filet on a biscuit. This is pretty common, so the team member should know what you mean, but if not, just clarify that you're asking for the lunch filet and that you're willing to wait. (But then you actually have to be willing to wait.)
6. Veggie breakfast burrito or wrap.
Hey vegetarians and vegans! This one's for you.
You can get a veggie burrito or veggie wrap! Some Chick-fil-As will know what goes in these if you ask, but if they've never had this request before, you'll need to clarify.
A veggie burrito can be a burrito with black beans, corn, peppers, and tomatoes. You can also add egg and cheese if you'd like, as well as hash browns.
A veggie wrap can be a wrap with lettuce, tomato, black beans, corn, peppers, and optional cheese.
Also, the salads are super customizable! Just tell the Team Member you're veggie or vegan and they'll help you order something great for you!
7. Bacon on everything.
Non-vegans, this one is for you.
You can add bacon to anything.
Any sandwich.
Any salad.
Heck, even fries (ask you'll see later).
You're welcome.
8. Buffalo and ranch tossed Chicken Nuggets.
This is one of those things you'll have to make yourself. Order however many Chicken Nuggets you'd like. Then, ask for ranch and buffalo sauce and a 12-ounce bowl with a lid. You'll be given a large soup bowl. Dump the nuggets and sauce in there, attach the lid and shake it up.
9. Chick-N-Strip sandwich.
If there's one thing we all know about John Crist, it's that he's partial to the Chick-N-Strips over the Chicken Nuggets (which is wrong but don't @ me either). Hey John, have you ever tried the Chick-N-Strip sandwich?
This is one the kitchen may or may not make for you and you might have to prepare yourself. Order a two-strip entree, a bun, lettuce, tomato and cheese of your choice (pepper jack, colby jack, or American). Ask the Team Member if they can make it into a sandwich or construct the sandwich yourself. Choose a sauce and pour it all over.
10. Cheesey Waffle Fries.
Fair warning: the Team Members might be a little annoyed at you for ordering this. They might try to talk you out of it. But like, it's possible. You can also make it yourself if they can't make it for you for whatever reason.
If the Team Members are willing to make it for you but haven't heard of it before, tell them it's a large fry in a salad bowl with cheese blend (the shredded cheese from the salads) and bacon (optional) melted in the chutes for a few minutes.
If they can't make it for you, order a large fry, a side of cheese and a side of bacon and ask for a salad bowl. It will take a little longer to melt but if you mix it all when the fries are still hot, you'll be all set.
11. Cheese-y Chicken Tortilla Soup.
Seasonal!
Ask for cheese blend on the soup. It's delicious. Also, ask for extra tortilla strips.
12. Grilled Chick-N-Strips.
Gluten-free peeps, this one's for you!
Grilled Nuggets are fine. The Grilled Sandwich with gluten free bun is also fine. But sometimes, at least according to some of my gluten-free friends, you just want something different, right?
The strips can be grilled too! It will take a minimum of ten minutes since they'll have to drop these fresh for you. But it's delicious.
13. Un-marinated grilled chicken.
If you're a true Chick-fil-A Raving Fan, then you'll remember the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich. While that bun and plastic box are long gone, the chicken didn't go anywhere. They just added a marinade. If you want a blast from the past, just ask for the Grilled Sandwich with un-marinaded chicken. Again, this will take a minimum of ten minutes, but that's a small price to pay for an old classic.
14. Flavored sodas.
Remember those flavored syrups from the iced coffee? Ask to add the vanilla syrup to Coke or Root Beer! It's great.
You might get charged extra for this.
15. Mix-n-matched Hand-Spun Milkshakes.
Each shake starts as a vanilla base and the flavor is added. You've got chocolate syrup, strawberry jam and Oreo crumbles to work with. Seasonally, you have peach jam during the summer and peppermint syrup and candy cane pieces during Christmas.
Have a little fun with this! My favorite was mixing the strawberry and cookies 'n' cream. Some people also ordered chocolate cookies 'n' cream. And seasonally, I love adding the peppermint syrup to the chocolate shake.
You can also get a Frosted Lemonade with any drink besides lemonade! My favorites were Frosted Root Beer and Frosted Hi-C Fruit Punch. I've also made Frosted Powerade, Frosted Dr. Pepper, and Frosted Coke.
16. Cookie Sundae (DO NOT try to order this, make it yourself).
I cannot stress this enough. The Team Members will not and cannot make this for you. They are not allowed to take the cookie out of the package. But, you can make this yourself!
Order a small Icedream cup with chocolate syrup topping, whipped cream, and a cherry. Also, order a cookie and ask for an empty parfait cup if you'd like to imitate the old Cookie Sundae that was removed from the menu a few years ago.
If you're making this the traditional way, what you'll need to do is: 1) break the cookie in half, 2) crumble one half of the cookie on the bottom of the parfait cup, 3) scoop the Icedream (with the syrup and toppings) into the cup and 4) crumble the other half of the cookie on top.
If you're a little more relaxed, just crumble all the cookie on top of the sundae so you won't need to ask for an extra parfait cup.
17. Extra large Superfood Salad.
One complaint that I always got from every suburban mom in the drive-thru was that the large Superfood Salad (kale, broccolini, dried, cherries, and maple vinaigrette) wasn't large enough. I'd 12-ounce explain that this wasn't designed to be a full-size salad but rather a side to go with one of the entrees.
Well good news, Karen, if you want a full-size Superfood Salad without paying the expensive price of three larges and asking for a big salad bowl, here's what you can do. Order a side salad with balsamic dressing and a large Superfood Salad. You can also order some Grilled Nuggets to add if you'd like. Add the Superfood to the side salad, add the balsamic dressing, close the lid again and shake to mix!
18. Mixed sauces.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Some favorites are Chick-fil-A and ranch, buffalo and ranch, honey mustard and ranch, barbecue and ranch...pretty much anything with ranch.
19. Mixed dressings.
Again, can't go wrong mixing anything with ranch. My favorite was Chili Lime Vinaigrette with ranch!
20. Every sandwich is customizable.
Yes, it's true. You can add or take away any item on the sandwich. Here's what you have to work with:
Cheese (pepper jack, colby jack, and American)
Lettuce
Tomato
Bacon
Pickles
Regular bun
Multigrain bun
I hope this helps next time you go to Chick-fil-A and want to impress all your friends with a super extra order!
John Crist, thanks for the gifs and for loving Chick-fil-A.
Remember, be kind and respectful to the Team Members. They'll do their best to help, but each store handles special requests differently! And stop asking about the "Secret Menu."
