Wendy’s Hinted It’s Bringing Back an Old Menu Item—Here’s What We Hope It Is

Wendy’s recently announced the new additions to its spring menu, which includes a brand new Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap and the return of a highly requested item, a cobb salad. A BLT cobb salad originally appeared on Wendy’s menu in 2010, but was discontinued after 4 years. Now, Wendy’s has revamped the cobb salad and added the Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad to menus nationwide. 

And the cobb salad isn’t the only discontinued menu item that’s getting a makeover. During a recent media event Wendy’s Vice President of Culinary Innovation, John Li hinted that another past menu item will be making a comeback later this year. Li didn’t share much, but that can’t stop us from speculating about which menu items we’d like to see make a return. We polled the Allrecipes community and these are the menu items they hope will be returning in 2023—so, Wendy’s, take notes.

Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty

Don’t get us wrong, we love a Frosty as much as the next person, but sometimes you’re craving more than just plain chocolate or vanilla. That’s why Wendy’s Twisted Frosty treats were so perfect! Released in 2007, they were a blend of ice cream and mix-ins, like Oreos, M&M’s, Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and toffee—they were comparable to a McFlurry or Blizzard.

While they were all delicious, the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty was by far the most popular—maybe because of the catchy jingle sung by a Wendy’s boy band. The Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty was Frosty blended with real coffee and toffee pieces—so it was a midday pick-me-up and delicious dessert. Since the 2020s is the decade of reboots, we think it’s time to get the band back together and get the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty back on the menu.

Fresh Stuffed Pitas

These fast food companies are always keeping us on our toes. In the ‘90s, Wendy’s released four Fresh Stuffed Pitas for customers who wanted something other than a burger, chicken, and fries. The four included a Garden Ranch Chicken, Chicken Caesar, Classic Greek, and Veggie Stuffed Pita. 

They were essentially small salads wrapped in a warm pita, but they were unlike anything Wendy’s competitors had. The four pitas were eventually discontinued, but customers have been calling for them to return ever since. The Allrecipes community specifically asked for the Chicken Caesar and Classic Greek to return, so, look, we can start small and only bring back a few at a time!

The Superbar

Salad bars were all the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s—which is when Wendy’s had their own grandiose Superbar. The all-you-can-eat bar included salad, Mexican food, pasta, and desserts. Plus, the bar was a great deal for customers because after 4 p.m. the price went down to $3.99 per person, so you could feed your entire family on a budget!

We already know that Wendy’s has delicious salad offerings, so while we don’t want the restaurant to scrap those, being able to trudge down a salad bar line and load your plate up with whatever you like sounds great. We might be able to do without the Mexican food and pasta, but we’re here for the all-you-can-eat dessert.

Smoky Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger

The Smoky Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger is a more-recent item that was short-lived. The burger launched in 2018 and featured smoky mushrooms, asiago cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, and fried onions on a burger patty. The uniquely delicious burger was only meant to run for a limited time, but that doesn’t mean Wendy’s can’t bring it back for another limited run.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Dave Thomas was really thinking outside the box with this one. Thomas credited his daughter for the invention in a 1991 commercial. 

“My daughter Wendy said to me, ‘Dad, I think you’ve got to come up with some new kind of foods,’” he said in the commercial. So, he created the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich, which featured a breaded chicken breast, ham, Swiss, Grey Poupon Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise on a toasted Kaiser bun.

The sandwich graced menus on and off for a few years but was ultimately discontinued permanently. Today, Arby’s is the only fast food restaurant to offer a version of the French dish.

Frosty Floats

Similar to the Twisted Frosty, Wendy’s used to offer Frosty Floats in the early ‘00s. As the name suggests, it was a frosty blended with the soda of your choice. 

However, the floats were silently discontinued from menus after a few years. In 2016, Wendy’s confirmed that the Frosty Floats had been “discontinued at most … locations for several years.” Of course, you can still make your own Frosty Float by ordering a Frosty and a fountain beverage—but it’s much more exciting to order a blended Root Beer Frosty Float directly from the machine.

The floats are still available at Wendy’s restaurants in other countries, so there's hope they may make it back to the U.S. one day.

Jalapeño Popper Salad

Just a few short years ago, Wendy’s added the Jalapeño Popper Sandwich and Jalapeño Popper Salad to its menu. Both menu items included spicy chicken, applewood-smoked bacon, jalapeño slices, pepper jack cheese, and a spicy jalapeño sauce. 

It was the perfect offering for spicy food lovers—and those who always order jalapeño poppers as an appetizer. 

The offerings likely weren’t meant to become permanent menu fixtures, but customers enjoyed them enough that they at least deserve another limited-time menu run.

Bacon & Blue

Wendy’s Bacon & Blue burger took fast food dining and made it a little fancy with the addition of blue cheese. In 2010, it was the first fast food restaurant to ever add blue cheese to a burger and customers loved it. 

The burger was piled high with Wisconsin blue cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, spring mix, and blue-cheese aïoli on a toasted brioche bun. Wendy’s Bacon & Blue burger had a brief stint in 2010 and again in 2015 but was discontinued once and for all a few years ago. With so many specialty burgers on Wendy’s menu nowadays, we think they can squeeze just one more in there.

Until we know for sure what Wendy's is bringing back, we'll keep dreaming about the day these menu items make their return.