Wendy’s caught fans’ attention in early April with a revamp of its cult-favorite spicy chicken sandwich. The new version reportedly boasts a juicier filet, courtesy of a reworked marinade, thoroughly spiced panko breading, a slightly sweeter bun, and the new addition of pickles. Having just reviewed and ranked Chili’s new line of chicken sandwiches, I’m all poultry’d out — which is why the fast food chain’s new spring menu appealed to me more.
Seven new items hit stores nationwide on April 27. They range from two spicy handhelds (and a matching side) to three fruity bevs to a sweet dessert that delivers major nostalgia. I hit the closest location to taste them all. Below, you’ll find my honest reviews and overall ranking of the entire lineup.
(Note: The prices included in this story are accurate for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prices and availability may vary by location.)
The Items
The new dessert is now a core menu item, but the rest will only be here for the season while supplies last. So you know what to order before you hit the drive-thru (or before you run out of time…), here are all the details:
Jalapeño Breakfast Biscuits: sausage or bacon, freshly cracked egg, American cheese, and pickled jalapeño slices on a buttery biscuit
Jalapeño Bacon Breakfast Potatoes: seasoned breakfast potatoes, applewood-smoked bacon, Swiss cheese sauce, and pickled jalapeño slices
Jalapeño Ranch Cheeseburger: quarter-pound beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeño slices, and jalapeño ranch sauce on a warm potato bun
Watermelon Sparkling Energy: Sparkling Energy drink with “notes of fresh fruit and candied watermelon”
Watermelon Lemonade: Dave’s Craft Lemonade with watermelon purée
Sprite Watermelon: Sprite with watermelon flavoring
Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion: vanilla or chocolate Frosty swirled with brownie batter sauce and cookie dough pieces
The Test
I went to Wendy’s a little after 10 a.m., since I had to try both breakfast and lunch items; the menu switches at 10:30 a.m., and I wanted to save myself a second trip. After photographing all the items, I tasted them in-store and took notes on texture, flavor, and appearance. Lastly, I considered each item’s value for its portion size and quality. I determined each rating, then ranked the items from worst to best, with each average score being rounded to the nearest whole or half out of 10.
The Results
7. Watermelon Sparkling Energy ($3.29) — Think liquid Jolly Rancher with a caffeine lift (and bubbles!).
What is up with the yassification of caffeine lately?! All sorts of chains — fast food, fast casual, cafes, sit-down restos — are running with the rise of energy drinks, and Wendy’s is no different. This pick had that guarana-like backbone that drinks like Red Bull do, but to me, it was a bit bogged down by the additional sweetness of the watermelon.
The mouthfeel was very silky, bordering on syrupy, which I had a hard time enjoying after a few sips. That said, its flavor, albeit very sweet, reminded me of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Plus, a small cup costs about the same as a standard can of Red Bull.
The Ratings
Texture: 6/10
Flavor: 6/10
Appearance: 9/10
Value: 7/10 ($3.29 for a small)
Average: 7/10
6. Watermelon Lemonade ($3.99) — Two summer staples unite for a pretty-in-pink sipper that delivers serious picnic vibes.
I’m firmly in my Diet Coke era, but at Wendy’s, I always order lemonade. I love its vibrancy; yes, it’s packed with sugar, but it’s made with minimal ingredients and has a lip-smackingly acidic taste that I adore. So, I was psyched to try this spring iteration, but it ultimately didn’t compare.
I appreciated the opaque blush color the purée gave the drink, not to mention that it was flavored with fruit purée instead of a flavored syrup. But I felt the sweetness to be a bit overwhelming; it drowned out the best qualities of the lemonade. That said, I still enjoyed it more than the energy drink, even if it was a bit more expensive.
The Ratings
Texture: 8/10
Flavor: 6/10
Appearance: 8/10
Value: 6/10 ($3.99 for a small)
Average: 7/10
5. Jalapeño Bacon Breakfast Potatoes ($4.09) — As a lifelong skeptic of fast-food bacon, this a.m. gem was surprisingly solid.
True life: I don’t add bacon to anything. Unless it’s an inherently crucial part of the dish (like a BLT or potato skins), I usually don’t feel compelled. I’m doubly critical of fast-food bacon, as it’s often chewy, rubbery, and underdone (to my liking, anyway). This Wendy’s item made me a believer, though, as the bacon was crispy, freshly prepared, just smoky enough, and salty.
I liked how the punchy pickled peppers cut through the starchy neutrality of the skin-on potatoes and fatty pork. The weak link was the cheese sauce; while it tasted sharp, savory, and nuanced, the consistency was off. It looked almost curdled, like scrambled eggs. The portion of this side was generous for the price, though.
The Ratings
Texture: 6/10
Flavor: 8/10
Appearance: 7/10
Value: 9/10 ($4.09)
Average: 7.5/10
4. Sprite Watermelon ($3.09) — Even if you’re a cola devotee, this shockingly refreshing spin on Sprite will win you over at first sip.
Again, as a Diet Coke girly, I was surprised how much I liked this fruity spin on Sprite. It was by far the lightest, crispest, and most chuggable of the three watermelon drinks. It was still a bit more cloying than I’d have liked, but the base’s effervescence and citrusy notes offered more balance than the lemonade and energy bev.
On that note, I was surprised that the lemon-lime soda brought more crispness than the real-deal lemonade, but perhaps the watermelon purée was more overpowering than the flavoring used for the Sprite. It’s also the cheapest of the three spring menu sippers.
The Ratings
Texture: 8/10
Flavor: 8/10
Appearance: 9/10
Value: 7/10 ($3.09 for a small)
Average: 8/10
3. Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion ($4.09) — Your inner child won’t be able to resist the creamy, sweet-and-salty splendor of this dessert.
I’m a vanilla/caramel/fruit person when it comes to ice cream, so this looked borderline intimidatingly chocolatey to me. But once I tasted it, my fears quickly dissipated. The soft notes of the vanilla Frosty still shone through against the brownie batter sauce. I adored the pleasant grittiness of the cookie bits in the sauce; when I stirred them into the soft serve, they imparted a malty, Ovaltine-like flavor to the ice cream that was mild and perfect for my chocolate threshold.
That said, I detected undeniable notes of mint in the sauce, so I think my store may be using whatever sauce is leftover from the Wendy’s Girl Scouts Thin Mints Frosty relaunch from February. As for the cookie dough morsels, they were toothsome and chewy with a stellar salt ratio that kept the treat from tasting sickeningly sweet.
The Ratings
Texture: 9/10
Flavor: 9/10
Appearance: 6/10
Value: 7/10 ($4.09 for a small)
Average: 8/10
2. Jalapeño Ranch Cheeseburger ($7.89) — The spicy, creamy condiment upgrade will give your usual Dave’s Single heat, richness, and spring-inspired flair.
I was hands-down most excited for the burger. Personally, I’m in the Double Stack camp when it comes to Wendy’s (I feel like the meat-to-cheese ratio is flawless), but I went with the single-patty variation over the double and triple options. The meat tasted fresh and well-seasoned, and the cheese was creamy and evenly melted.
I felt the lettuce and tomato took up a bit more real estate than I’d like, and I missed my usual onions. But the jalapeños offered plenty of intrigue anyway. I love how their sour brine amplified the herby, oniony notes of the ranch. The sauce also tamed the heat of the peppers in exchange.
The Ratings
Texture: 9/10
Flavor: 9/10
Appearance: 10/10
Value: 8/10 ($7.89 for just the sandwich)
Average: 9/10
1. Jalapeño Breakfast Biscuits ($4.39) — This spicy, filling, well-constructed handheld checked all my boxes for a morning sandwich (and far surpassed my expectations of fast-food breakfast).
I never would have guessed that a breakfast item would outrank a burger on my palate, but here we are! I went with the sausage option because I already had bacon on the potatoes, but you could substitute one for the other. The sausage was tender, black pepper -y, and herbaceous. I was very impressed with the fresh egg, which is far more appetizing to me than a neon-yellow egg patty that’s simply warmed up at the store. The cheese was fully melted, and the jalapeños were pretty plentiful, given the smaller scale of the sandwich.
But the true highlight was the biscuit: deeply buttery, just greasy enough, crisp and durable on the outside, fluffy and tender without being crumbly on the inside. As good as it was, I wouldn’t have minded a condiment; perhaps the jalapeño ranch could help here, but mayo or ketchup would work, too.
The Ratings
Texture: 9/10
Flavor: 9/10
Appearance: 9/10
Value: 9/10 ($4.39 for the sausage variety)
Average: 9/10
