McCrispy Strips Mark A New Era For McDonald's Everyday Menu

McDonald's McCrispy Strips
White meat lovers, your time has come.
McDonald's is bringing their McCrispy Strips back to the menu this May. And the white meat, breaded strips will be a permanent fixture on McDonald's menus nationwide. It's the first such change to American menus in four years, since the chain permanently installed the McCrispy Chicken Sandwich in 2021.
"Since stepping into my new role as a leader of the U.S. business this year, I've been excited for fans to get to experience our additional chicken offerings," Alyssa Buetikofer, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald's, shared in a statement. "The demand for chicken strips has been remarkable to see across the industry, so we knew we had to deliver something so craveable that it was worth the wait. We took our time, listened to our fans and created a product we knew they would crave. And the best part is we're just getting started.'
To pair with the McCrispy chicken strips, a brand-new creamy chili dip, designed to be savory, sweet and tangy sauce and unlock the full flavor potential of the dippable chicken tenders.
A McDonald's McCrispy Strips Meal
And when McDonald's unleashes a new sauce stateside, fans go wild.
In 2023, McDonald's added three new sauce options: the restaurant's first-ever breakfast inspired sauce, Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce, McDonald's Mambo Sauce, and a fan-favorite new dippable Big Mac Sauce as condiment options with any order.
McCrispy Strips will be available starting on Monday, May 5 in three- or four-piece boxes, served with one or two Creamy Chili Dip sauce cups, respectively.
"When we introduce a new menu item like McCrispy Strips, we know we have a big promise to fulfill to meet our customer's expectations,' said Cesar Piña, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at McDonald's. 'From the farms we source from to how food is prepared in our restaurants, bringing new products to our fans requires collaboration across suppliers, franchisees, and company staff. We hold ourselves to the highest standard and aim to bring fans nothing less than greatness.'
Chicken is the product fast food restaurants want to lean into in 2025. As the cost of beef continues to rise, chicken is a more affordable option for consumers looking for fast food at a moderate price. McDonald's most recent earnings call, in October 2024, noted that menu items featuring chicken were a big draw for customers, and thus could improve a franchise's profitability.
McDonald's is far from the only quick service restaurant brand to lean into chicken offerings.
Taco Bell's chicken nuggets
In 2024, Taco Bell debuts its Cantina Chicken Menu, which focused on chicken-focused foods like the Cantina Chicken Burrito, Cantina Chicken Quesadilla and Cantina Chicken Soft Taco. Taco Bell also resurrected Crispy Chicken Nuggets, made with all-white meat chicken, zesty jalapeño buttermilk seasoning, and tortilla chip breading, a cast-off from 2021 menus, now available nationwide.
The menu additions may also be helpful for longstanding American brands to compete with America's fastest-growing QSR category: Frid chicken chains. Research from the Food Institute shows that chicken chains including Raising Cane's, Dave's Hot Chicken, Super Chix, Urban Bird Chicken, Church's Chicken, and several more are seeing 4.3% growth in guest visits, while other fast food chains average between 1.3% and 2.4% growth.
Bird flu, be damned, Americans want their crunchy chicken.

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