Chick-fil-A Chicken and Waffles Closes Its 80-Year Loop

Chick-fil-A’s Chicken & Waffles Sandwich reached every participating U.S. restaurant on August 24, 2026, in two sizes that run all day until the limited window closes November 14. Maple-flavored waffles replace the bun around a chicken filet, three strips of applewood smoked bacon, honey butter and a side of syrup.

The launch sits inside the chain’s year-long Newstalgia 80th-anniversary push and answers years of guest requests for the sweet-savory classic. Early eaters split hard on whether the maple hits just right or tips into dessert territory.

That split is built into the recipe. Maple waffle, honey butter and syrup pull sweet. Bacon and the filet pull savory. Guests who lean spicy are already treating the heat as the main control knob for the whole stack.

Two Sizes Keep Breakfast Alive Past 10:30 A.M.

The breakfast sandwich runs from opening until 10:30 a.m. It uses a smaller maple-flavored waffle and a breakfast-portion filet. After 10:30 a.m. the entrée version takes over with a full-size filet and larger waffle until close.

Both versions offer original, spicy or grilled chicken. Each comes with the bacon, honey butter spread and classic syrup on the side. Chick-fil-A lists the items as pickup and delivery only at participating locations; they sit off the catering menu and cannot be bought with Chick-fil-A One points.

• Maple-flavored waffles as the bun
• Choice of original, spicy or grilled filet
• Three strips smoked applewood bacon
• Honey butter spread
• Side of classic syrup (about 60 calories)

Prices vary by market. Several early reports put breakfast versions starting near $4.95 to $6.39 and entrée versions near $7.59 to $10-plus before tax, depending on filet and city. Local app or board remains the only firm number.

The dual-size clock is the practical answer to the old breakfast cutoff. Guests who miss the morning window still get the same maple waffle, bacon and honey butter build, only scaled up. Pickup and delivery limits keep the item in individual orders rather than tray pans, which fits a short anniversary window better than a catering rollout.

Points exclusion also frames it as a pay-as-you-go LTO. Guests chasing value still compare the posted board price against their usual order instead of banking rewards on the waffle sandwich itself.

The Dwarf House Already Served Waffles Round the Clock

In 1946 S. Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill, later the Dwarf House, in Hapeville, Georgia. That small restaurant became the birthplace of the original Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. It also put waffles on the menu and served them any hour.

Chick-fil-A’s press materials lean on that origin story. The new sandwich is framed as a modern return to the same all-day comfort impulse, now built as a portable item guests can order for lunch or dinner without racing the breakfast cutoff.

We’ve always known how much our Guests love the combination of sweet and savory, but the sheer volume of interest in this specific pairing was impossible to ignore. Our culinary team explored reinventing this classic in a uniquely Chick-fil-A way and stayed committed until the recipe and flavors were just right.

Lake Dawson, Principal Culinary Lead, Menu & Packaging, Chick-fil-A

Allison Duncan, Director of Menu and Packaging, added that busy schedules do not stop at 10:30 a.m., so the chain made the item available across the full day after successful 2025 tests in markets that included Baltimore and San Antonio. The Dwarf House served waffles any hour detail gives the limited drop a clear historical spine inside the Newstalgia year.

Portability is the modern piece. The Dwarf House poured waffles onto plates any hour. The 2026 sandwich wraps the waffle around the filet so the same sweet-savory idea travels through a bag or delivery box. That shift turns an all-day plate habit into an all-day handheld without rewriting the brand’s origin story.

Spicy Filet Is the Crowd Fix for Maple Overload

Eat This, Not That writer Leah Groth tried both original and spicy on launch day and called the sandwich one of the tastiest and most unusual fast-food items she has had. She preferred the spicy version because the heat cut through the sweet waffles, honey butter and syrup. Her kids also cleared the companion S’mores Milkshake.

On X the same split appeared within hours. Some posters ranked it among their all-time Chick-fil-A favorites and called it a game-changer. Others said the waffle tasted like dessert next to chicken or turned soggy, and that a plain waffle would have worked better. The pattern matches the official build: the maple flavor and sugar load are intentional, so the spicy filet is the lever most people reach for first.

That same tension shows up in other limited crispy-chicken tests around the industry. Other chains testing crispy chicken LTOs face similar sweet-savory balancing acts when they leave their core menu.

Soggy-waffle complaints point to timing more than recipe. Syrup on the side lets guests control when the liquid hits the waffle. Honey butter already softens the surface, so heavy syrup early in the meal stacks moisture on moisture. The spicy filet does not dry the waffle out, but the heat gives the palate a second track while the texture holds.

Calories Climb Fast Once the Full Filet Arrives

Official Chick-fil-A nutrition numbers put the sweetness and the protein in plain view. The side syrup adds another 60 calories if you use it.

The entrée original lands at 690 calories for the original entrée with 32 grams of protein. Grilled trims fat and sodium while keeping most of the waffle sugar. Full details sit in the chain’s full nutrition and allergen breakdown.

A plain waffle sold a la carte runs about 380 calories on its own, so the sandwich is not a light add-on. Sodium hits 1,160 mg on the breakfast original and 1,600 mg on the entrée original before any sauce extras.

Read across the rows and the pattern is steady. Sugar stays high on every build, from 25 grams on the grilled breakfast to 29 grams on both breaded entrées. Protein jumps when the full filet arrives, rising from the low 20s at breakfast into the low 30s on the entrée originals. Grilled cuts fat hard, yet the waffle still carries most of the carb load.

• Breakfast cluster: 440 to 530 calories before syrup
• Entrée cluster: 540 to 710 calories before syrup
• Sugar band across all six builds: 25 to 29 grams
• Optional syrup packet: about 60 calories more
• Sodium step-up: 1,160 mg breakfast original to 1,600 mg entrée original

Guests who want the maple experience with less total energy often start on the breakfast grilled build, then decide whether the larger waffle is worth the jump after 10:30 a.m.

How Most People Are Ordering It

The practical playbook from early reviews and social posts is short.

• Default to spicy if you want the maple balanced rather than dominant.
• Ask for syrup on the side and start light; the honey butter already sweetens the waffle.
• Breakfast size works for a lower-calorie trial; entrée size is the full experience after 10:30 a.m.
• Skip the grilled filet unless calories or fat are the top constraint; breaded texture is part of the point.
• Pair with water or unsweet tea if the S’mores drinks feel like too much sugar on top.

Families stretching a run already know the usual value paths. One published approach shows how family meal hacks that stretch a CFA run can absorb a limited sandwich without wrecking the budget.

The playbook lines up with the nutrition grid. Spicy keeps the calorie count close to original while giving the heat that early reviews favored. Syrup on the side protects texture and leaves the 60-calorie packet optional. Breakfast sizing functions as a lower-stakes demo before anyone commits to the entrée waffle after the morning cutoff.

S’mores Drinks Ride Along for the Same Window

The fall drop also brings a S’mores Milkshake and a S’mores Frosted Coffee. The milkshake blends Icedream with chocolate shortbread, graham crumble and marshmallow notes. Early tasters, including Groth’s kids, called it a direct hit on campfire flavor. Calorie counts for the drinks sit in the 400-plus range depending on size, so they push the meal further into treat territory.

Both the sandwiches and the S’mores items are available nationwide through November 14 at participating restaurants. After that date the build returns to the vault unless guest volume forces a faster encore.

Stacking a S’mores drink on an entrée sandwich turns a single LTO into a full dessert-leaning meal. Guests who already find the maple waffle sweet often keep the drink as a separate stop or skip it when the sandwich carries honey butter and syrup. Shared window dates mean both products leave together, so the pairing is part of the same fall test of guest demand.

A Short Timeline Shows the Path to Launch

The sandwich did not appear from a blank slate. Public details already on the record trace a straight line from the first restaurant to the national calendar.

1. 1946: S. Truett Cathy opens the Dwarf Grill, later the Dwarf House, in Hapeville, Georgia, with waffles served any hour and the chicken sandwich that built the chain.
2. 2025: Chick-fil-A runs successful tests in markets that included Baltimore and San Antonio while guest requests for chicken and waffles keep stacking up.
3. August 24, 2026: The Chicken & Waffles Sandwich reaches every participating U.S. restaurant in breakfast and entrée sizes as part of the Newstalgia 80th-anniversary year.
4. November 14, 2026: The limited window closes and the build returns to the vault unless volume forces a faster encore.

Roughly twelve weeks separate the nationwide start from the planned end. That span is long enough for repeat orders and short enough to keep the item scarce. The Dwarf House story supplies the nostalgia; the 2025 tests supply the proof; the August to November calendar supplies the urgency.

The Anniversary Theme Shapes the Limited Drop

Newstalgia gives the chain a reason to revive comfort flavors with a modern twist rather than quietly slip another chicken sandwich onto the permanent board. All-day waffle service at the original Hapeville restaurant becomes the historical hook. Years of guest requests and the 2025 market tests become the demand proof. The portable maple waffle sandwich becomes the product.

Constraints reinforce the theme. Pickup and delivery only, no catering, and no Chick-fil-A One points spending keep the item feeling like a special-order drop instead of a new core line. Prices that move by market and filet choice leave the local app or menu board as the only firm check before checkout.

When the November 14 date hits, the same rules that made the sandwich feel temporary also make an encore easy to read. Strong spicy-filet reorders and steady entrée traffic after 10:30 a.m. would signal that guests wanted the full sweet-savory build, not only a breakfast novelty. Soft demand would leave it as a single-anniversary story tied to the Dwarf House nod.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Chick-fil-A Chicken & Waffles Sandwich leave the menu?

Official Chick-fil-A materials set the end date at November 14, 2026, after the August 24 nationwide start, so the full window is roughly twelve weeks at participating locations.

What is the difference between the breakfast and entrée Chicken & Waffles?

The breakfast sandwich uses a smaller waffle and smaller filet portion and is sold only until 10:30 a.m.; the entrée uses a larger waffle and standard filet from 10:30 a.m. until close, with matching bacon, honey butter and syrup on both.

How many calories are in the Chick-fil-A Chicken & Waffles Sandwich?

Official figures range from 440 calories for the grilled breakfast version to 710 calories for the spicy entrée version; the popular original entrée sits at 690 calories before the optional 60-calorie syrup packet.

Can you order just the waffle at Chick-fil-A?

Yes, plain breakfast and lunch/dinner waffles appear a la carte on some menus for roughly $1.49 to $2-plus depending on size and market, giving a lower-commitment way to taste the maple waffle alone.

Why did Chick-fil-A add chicken and waffles now?

The chain cites years of guest requests, successful 2025 test markets, and its 80th-anniversary Newstalgia theme that deliberately revives comfort flavors with a modern twist, including the historical nod to all-day waffles at the original Dwarf House.

The sandwich is already generating the volume the tests promised. Whether it becomes a permanent or returning item will depend on how many people order the spicy version twice before the November cutoff.