KFC put Popcorn Chicken back on menus nationwide on July 13, 2026, more than three years after removing it in 2023. It comes in three formats: a $10 16 oz bucket, a $10.99 Big Box and an $8.49 combo. KFC says it is available while supplies last and has not announced an end date.
- Status
- ReturningConfirmed by the company
- Brand
- KFC
- Launch
- July 13 (Jul 13, 2026)
- Where
- US — nationwide, participating locations
- Run
- Not stated
- Price
- $10 bucket (16 oz), $10.99 Big Box, $8.49 combo — KFC states prices and participation vary; tax, tip and fees are extra
- Back nationwide from July 13, 2026, confirmed by KFC
- It had been off menus since 2023, having launched in the early 1990s
- $10 Popcorn Chicken Bucket: 16 oz with four dipping sauces
- $10.99 Popcorn Chicken Big Box: 6 oz plus two Original Recipe tenders, medium fries, medium drink, two sauces and a cookie
- $8.49 Popcorn Chicken Combo: 6 oz plus medium fries, medium drink and one sauce
- KFC's stated reason is sustained fan demand — comments, direct messages and petitions
- Available while supplies last; no end date announced
What’s coming back
Popcorn Chicken, back on KFC menus across the US from July 13, 2026. KFC says it was introduced in the early 1990s and disappeared from menus in 2023. The return covers three formats at published prices — a $10 16 oz bucket with four dipping sauces, a $10.99 Big Box that adds two Original Recipe tenders, fries, a drink, two sauces and a chocolate chunk cookie, and an $8.49 combo with fries, a drink and one sauce. The company describes it as available while supplies last and has not stated an end date.
When it was last around
KFC states that Popcorn Chicken was introduced in the early 1990s and left menus in 2023, a gap of more than three years before this return. The company does not say why it was removed, and no reason is stated here because none was given. What KFC does describe is what happened in between: comments, direct messages and online petitions asking for it back, which the company cites as the reason it returned.
How long: While supplies last — KFC published no end date — KFC has not said whether the return is permanent
Why people care
Popcorn Chicken was on KFC menus for roughly three decades before it went, which makes it less a limited-time item people missed than a default order that stopped existing. The petitions KFC cites are the measurable version of that. The return is also the clearest test yet of whether a chain will keep an item it removed for menu-simplification reasons once the demand is proven — and KFC has not committed either way.
The three formats, and what KFC charges for each
KFC published a price for every format, which is not something to take for granted in fast food.
The $10 Popcorn Chicken Bucket is described as a 16 oz bucket served with four dipping sauces.
The Popcorn Chicken Big Box, at $10.99, is described as 6 oz of Popcorn Chicken with two Original Recipe tenders, a medium order of fries, a medium drink, two dipping sauces and a chocolate chunk cookie.
The Popcorn Chicken Combo, at $8.49, is described as 6 oz of Popcorn Chicken with a medium order of fries, a medium drink and one dipping sauce.
KFC's own footnote applies to all three: prices and participation vary, and tax, tip and fees are extra.
Why it came back, in KFC's words
The company gives one reason and it is demand. "For years, KFC has heard directly from fans clamoring for Popcorn Chicken's return. We read every comment, every DM, and even every online petition signature, and the message was impossible to ignore," said Melissa Cash, chief marketing officer at KFC U.S.
She places it inside what KFC calls its Kentucky Fried Comeback, describing the item's return as "nodding to nostalgia as we simultaneously modernize the brand."
What KFC does not say anywhere in the announcement is why it was removed in 2023, and this page does not fill that in. The release states only that Popcorn Chicken disappeared from menus in 2023 after launching in the early 1990s.
How long it stays is genuinely open
KFC's phrasing is "available starting today and only while supplies last." That is not a limited-time window with a date on it, and it is not a promise of a permanent return either. The company has published no last day and has not described Popcorn Chicken as returning to the permanent menu.
So the honest answer to "is it back for good?" is that KFC has not said. This page re-checks in mid-September; if the item quietly leaves menus again, or KFC confirms it as permanent, that goes here.
Common questions
- Is KFC Popcorn Chicken back?
- Yes. It returned to KFC menus nationwide on July 13, 2026.
- How much is KFC Popcorn Chicken?
- KFC lists three formats: a 16 oz bucket at $10, a Big Box at $10.99 and a combo at $8.49. Prices and participation vary by restaurant.
- When was KFC Popcorn Chicken discontinued?
- KFC says it disappeared from menus in 2023. The company has not published a reason, and this page does not guess at one.
- Is Popcorn Chicken back permanently?
- KFC has not said. The announcement says it is available while supplies last and gives no end date and no permanent-menu commitment.
Sources
Kentucky Fried Chicken · Press release · checked Aug 22, 2026
- Popcorn Chicken returned to KFC menus nationwide on July 13, 2026
- It was introduced in the early 1990s and left menus in 2023
- Official prices: $10 for the 16 oz bucket, $10.99 for the Big Box, $8.49 for the Combo
- What each of the three formats contains
- KFC's stated reason for the return: sustained fan demand, including petitions
- It is available while supplies last, with prices and participation varying
- No end date was published