It is easy to see why so many people love Popeyes: the chicken is crispy, the seasonings are spicy, and the biscuits make your mouth water. This fast food chain began in New Orleans in 1972 and now has more than 3,000 restaurants in the United States and more than 1,000 restaurants in other countries. Popeyes must be doing something right with its menu because over the years it has become more and more popular. However, Popeyes has changed its large menu over the years, just like many other fast food chains. This includes taking away some fan-favorite items that we wish would come back and stay on the chain’s menu forever, or at least be available for a short time so we can try them again.
Some strongly agree, even going so far as to start petitions to get some things back while arguing for their comebacks on social media and other sites. Sometimes these changes come as a surprise. For example, the Chicken Po Boy, which is based on a traditional New Orleans dish, was taken off the menu after more than ten years and stopped being served at Popeyes locations in 2019. Heres why we wish this and some other discontinued Popeyes menu items would come back.
While Popeyes offers a wide variety of side dishes, one used to stand above the rest: Cajun Rice. The rice dish consisted of garlic, celery, bell pepper, and cayenne, along with Cajun and Creole seasonings. People simply could not get enough of it. That’s why many people were shocked when it suddenly disappeared from the menu in 2021, after being there for more than ten years. Popeyes said it was considering customer feedback and making changes to its menu, such as getting rid of some sides, which may have included the Cajun Rice.
Fans of the missing side dish clearly disagree. In 2023, one even started a petition on Change. org asking the chain to bring the Cajun Rice back as a permanent menu item. Over 2,300 people signed the petition, but it didn’t work out the way they wanted, and the Cajun Rice is no longer on the menu. At least the restaurant brought the fan-favorite side back for a limited time while celebrating its 50th anniversary. However, shortly after the promotion, it went missing once again.
Popeyes is known for their signature spicy crispy fried chicken hot biscuits, and Creole-inspired sides. For many years, one of those staple sides was a big bowl of steaming green beans smothered in a rich, bacony Cajun gravy. However, in early 2021 Popeyes quietly removed Cajun green beans from their permanent menu nationwide.
This news left many loyal fans distraught. The beans were a popular item, providing a delicious dose of veggies and seasoning to balance out the fried fare. Their discontinuation was an unexpected loss that sparked an outpour of nostalgia and petitions pleading for their return.
So what happened to Popeyes green beans? Are they gone for good or is there still hope they may come back one day? Let’s take a closer look at the history of this cult favorite side dish
A Fan Favorite is Discontinued
In January 2021, Popeyes confirmed that Cajun rice and green beans were removed from menus in an effort to “improve” offerings based on customer feedback. While the rice had its fans, it was the demise of the green beans that caused the biggest backlash on social media.
Many customers were caught by surprise at the drive-thru, only to be informed the beans were no more. The beans had been on the menu for over a decade and their unique flavor made them a standout item that fans would specifically request with their meal.
The creamy, peppery beans with smoky bacon blended Creole cuisine with classic Southern flavors. Nowhere else could you find that specific Cajun green bean recipe, leaving devotees at a loss of where to get their fix.
Why Were the Beans so Beloved?
What made Popeyes green beans so delectable and craveable? Here’s a breakdown of what distinguished them from your average side order of greens:
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Bold Cajun seasoning: The beans were cooked with a special Cajun spice blend, giving them a robust kick of flavor. Onions, peppers, garlic, paprika, oregano and black pepper added layers of savory depth.
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Smoky bacon: Bits of bacon were cooked right into the bean mixture, infusing the beans with a smoky, salty, meaty richness.
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Creamy gravy: The beans were finished with a smooth, velvety cream gravy that brought everything together into comforting, soulful goodness.
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Tender beans: Though canned, the green beans held their shape and texture well when bathed in the highly seasoned sauce.
No other fast food chain offered a green bean dish with such strong Cajun personality. For fans, the beans were a nostalgic taste of Louisiana they couldn’t find elsewhere.
Will Popeyes Bring Them Back?
Since the beans were removed without warning, Popeyes has been tight-lipped about the possibility of their return. Some speculate it was a cost-cutting measure, while others hope it’s just a temporary hiatus.
For now, disappointed customers have little choice but to make their voices heard and keep requesting the beans in hopes the company will reverse course. While it seems unlikely in the short term, popular discontinued menu items have been known to make limited-time comebacks when demand is strong enough.
Chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell have brought back cult favorites like McRibs, Nacho Fries and Mexican Pizzas based on customer petitions and social media campaigns. Perhaps with enough support, Popeyes would consider a Cajun green bean comeback? Fans remain hopeful, though nothing is guaranteed.
Make Your Own Copycat Popeyes Green Beans
Since the beans were a proprietary recipe, there’s no exact replica available. However, dozens of clever home cooks have attempted to reverse-engineer the flavor profile with recipes online. These copycat versions allow you to satisfy the craving using pantry staples.
Most copycats include similar key components:
- Canned or frozen green beans
- Diced onion
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream or evaporated milk
- Cajun seasoning
- Bacon bits or chopped bacon
- Butter or oil for sautéing
Recipes may vary in proportions or additions like diced bell pepper, but aim to recreate the spicy, creamy Cajun gravy with smoky bacon flavor. Some even advise using Popeyes chicken drippings or packets of their seasoning to nail the signature taste.
While it may not be identical, Cajun green bean copycats offer the closest option for fans missing this item. And you can customize it to your taste preferences.
Other Ways to Get Your Popeyes Fix
Beyond making homemade versions, here are some other tips for satisfied Popeyes fans:
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Load up on other sides: Try new or favorite items like red beans and rice, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and mac & cheese.
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Order larger combo meals: Opt for the biggest tenders, sandwich or chicken box to maximize your Popeyes experience.
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Check special menu items: Keep an eye out for limited-edition offerings which sometimes include unexpected sides.
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Request beans off-menu: It never hurts to nicely ask if beans can be ordered even though they’re not advertised.
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Send feedback: Reach out on social media or contact Popeyes to emphasize your love for the beans.
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Sign petitions: Add your name to online petitions calling for the beans’ return to show Popeyes the demand.
The Bittersweet Joy of Food Nostalgia
Though disappointing, the disappearance of the beans provides an opportunity to reminisce about the flavors we hold dear. Food has a powerful ability to evoke nostalgia and bring comfort.
For many, Popeyes green beans represent happy memories of Chicken Joy and good times. By finding new ways to honor those food traditions, we keep their spirit alive. Cajun green bean fans can pay homage through homemade renditions and fond recollections.
It’s bittersweet to lose a beloved menu item, but also touching to see how food can profoundly affect people. Perhaps one day we’ll again relish the spicy, smoky joy of Popeyes green beans. Until then, let the food memories live on.
Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken
With a name like Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken, Popeyes was sticking to its New Orleans roots. The $3. They served a 99-cent meal with bleu cheese dip and strips of juicy chicken that had been marinated in a Buffalo sauce. The meal also included regular French fries and a biscuit.
Hector Munoz, then the Vice President of Marketing at Popeyes, told Restaurant News Release in 2014 that the Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken “out-buffaloed the buffalo wing,” a statement that was bound to get people interested in ordering what was marketed as a limited-time only menu item.
Poor people, the deal was only good for a short time and could only be used in January 2014. Since then, Popeyes hasn’t brought back the Bayou Buffalo Wicked Chicken. Customers have fond memories of these spicy wings and hope they come back soon.
In 2011, Popeyes took a chicken breast and cut it into strips. It sounds simple, but there’s a twist: workers left a small piece attached to the base so customers could tear off pieces and dip them in sauce. Thus, the Ripn Chickn was born. For those of us who can’t decide between chicken tenders and fried chicken breast, this limited-time fried chicken meal was a great selling point. The Ripn Chickn represented a solid middle ground between two otherwise popular meals.
Even though this item was only available for a short time, it has shown up on the menu a few times since then. The most recent time was in 2021, when Popeyes brought back the RipN Chickn as part of a $6 Big Box Combo deal that included two sides and a biscuit.
What happens when Popeyes partners with a leading maker of New Orleans-style food? Delicious cuisine, thats what. In this case, Popeyes teamed up with Zatarains in 2012. Zatarains is a business that sells frozen meals, spices, and seasonings. The New Orleans-based company and the fried chicken chain worked together to make a special menu item called Zatarin’s Butterfly Shrimp. It is fried butterfly shrimp with Zatarin’s spices on them. It came with eight shrimp, french fries, a biscuit, and a tangy garlic dipping sauce. Unsurprisingly, it became a popular choice for those customers who did not want fried chicken.
According to Hector Munoz, Popeyes Vice President of Marketing, Zatarains Butterfly Shrimp was so popular that even Popeyes franchises were asking them to bring it back, if only for a limited time (via Nations Restaurant News). Popeyes once again partnered with Zatarains to create the popular fried butterfly shrimp dish, bringing it back in 2013 for a brief return.
[Featured by BrokenSphere via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]
There is nothing quite like the rivalry that happens between fast food joints. People say that fast food giants McDonald’s and Burger King started a chicken wrap war, so Popeyes fought back in 2009. Its entry: a Loaded Chicken Wrap that included chicken strips, red beans, and rice wrapped in a tortilla. Sounds pretty accessible, but the menu item was silently booted from the Popeyes menu. Customers weren’t impressed when it happened, and some made it clear that they thought this menu item should be brought back from the dead.
Some even enacted a protest of sorts, as when one commenter on Reddit said they stopped going to Popeyes after learning the Loaded Chicken Wrap got the boot. Some started a petition on Change.org to bring the wrap back, though it hasnt gathered much interest, with less than 500 signers.
Big Easy Chicken Bowl
Introduced in 2008 for a whopping $3. 49, the Big Easy Chicken Bowl was unlike anything else Popeyes then had on its menu. It was basically a burrito bowl with a Cajun twist. It had chicken, red beans, rice, shredded cheese, and a spicy gravy that was inspired by Cajun food. Sour cream and hot sauce were optional add-ins to top off the meal. People could make their order even more to suit their tastes, just like with many other types of burrito bowls. However, Popeyes discontinued it in 2015 after just a few short years.
Why did the seemingly popular bowl get taken off the menu? The people in charge won’t say why the Big Easy Chicken Bowl was taken off the menu. It also doesn’t look like Popeyes is planning to bring it back any time soon, even though it was one of the more interesting things they had to offer.
Chicken and waffles are a classic Southern dish. In the summer of 2013, Popeyes decided to combine the two and add Chicken Waffle Tenders to its menu. It was a potentially game-changing dish that customers just had to try. These weren’t your average chicken fingers; they were boneless chicken strips dipped in waffle batter and deep-fried until they were golden brown. The menu item was served with a honey maple dipping sauce. This was one hybrid food that was both sweet and savory and which people could actually get behind.
Unfortunately, Popeyes only served Chicken Waffle Tenders during the summer of 2013. Many customers wanted them to be available all the time, but they were only available during that time. The tenders made a brief celebrity appearance in 2014 before disappearing again. As of right now, it doesn’t look like Popeyes has any plans to bring back this item that was taken off the menu.
A po boy sandwich is pretty much a Louisiana thing, so it made sense that Popeyes, a chain that started in New Orleans, used to serve one. It was called the Chicken Po Boy, and it first appeared in 2003. It was made of fried chicken tenders, pickles, lettuce, and mayonnaise piled high on a rather crunchy baguette. After years of being a mainstay on the menu, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich pushed the Po Boy to the back of the line until it was finally taken off the menu.
Unfortunately, the Po Boy was pretty much just chicken tenders on a baguette with some extras and sauces. The chain’s version of a chicken sandwich is a bigger chicken breast on a brioche bun. That seemed to get people even more interested, so the Chicken Po Boy was taken off the Popeyes menu in 2019 after decades of being there. If this were changed a bit, it might be a more interesting entry in the fast food chicken sandwich wars that are always going on.
At Popeyes, Cajun and Creole seasonings are pretty much always used on the food. When customers leave the counter with a tray of food, they can expect at least a little heat there. That may be why people were interested (in a good way) when the chain’s Garlic Butter Shrimp came out in 2011. For a solid $3. 99, customers could enjoy deep-fried popcorn shrimp that had been tossed in a garlic butter sauce. It didn’t taste anything like the usual Popeyes seasoning, but what’s wrong with a little change? Of course, it wouldn’t have been a Popeyes meal without some spice. Cajun fries were often served with Garlic Butter Shrimp because they added spice to the savory garlic butter sauce.
Customers really liked this shrimp dish when it was on the menu, but it was only there for a short time. Because of this, it was quickly taken off the market, which disappointed many because it was one of the few non-Cajun items that could be ordered.
With a fancy title like Mardi Gras Cheesecake, it only makes sense that this dessert from Popeyes looked straight out of an advertisement for a Fat Tuesday parade, complete with green, purple, and yellow sugar sprinkles on top and a graham cracker crust laced with nutmeg and ginger. This cheesecake was once a staple of the Louisiana-inspired fast food chains menu, but it was discontinued around 2019. One X user went as far as to say that they will be mourning the loss of the Mardi Gras Cheesecake for the next few years. Then again, you may not be mourning if you dont have much of a sweet tooth, as other people found the cheesecake to be overly sweet.
While the dessert is no longer part of the Popeyes menu, one TikTok user hopes that the restaurant will bring it back for a limited-time only special. We are going to embrace the positivity of that statement and wait for that to become a reality.
Popeyes delivered a one-two punch in 2021. The chain released a statement on X saying it was discontinuing not only its Cajun Rice but also Green Beans from the menu. The announcement came after Popeyes was put on the spot by emails from food publications, asking why the chain was quietly discontinuing select side dishes. The news that it was all due to customer feedback came as a shock to many since the Green Beans had been a staple side dish for decades, even if it was not as popular as others. Popeyes did not expand on the feedback, only noting that it was making changes to the menu in response.
The thing is, these were no ordinary Green Beans. They were seasoned with Cajun spices and topped with a thick, creamy bacon and ham gravy. This is something you don’t see in many restaurants. People can try to make Popeyes Green Beans at home with one of the many copycat recipes out there, but it might never taste quite the same.
If you want a safe side dish, most restaurants, including Popeyes, serve onion rings. That is, when they are on the menu. There is no clear reason why the fried chicken chain closed this side of the restaurant years ago, but there are a few ideas going around. One is that Popeyes was always changing its menu to suit its customers’ changing tastes. Another is that the onion rings were hard to make and were usually made when the customer ordered them.
People on the Internet agreed. They said that making onion rings at the chain was a lot of work, which led some to think that the side dish was taken away in favor of easier dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and served. Still, a lot of people were upset that the chain stopped selling onion rings and wished the restaurant would come back and keep them on the menu.
“Popeye’s” “Green Beans” Copycat Recipe |CURLINDA CAN COOK
FAQ
Why did Popeyes get rid of sides?
Does Popeyes have veg?
How many carbs are in Popeyes Green Beans?
Does Popeyes still have Cajun rice & green beans?
At Popeyes, we are always listening to feedback from our guests and looking for ways to improve our menu [So after thoughtful consideration, Cajun Rice and Green Beans are no longer on the permanent menu]. However, we still have a bunch of delicious sides.
Does Popeyes have fried chicken?
We tried the full Popeyes sides menu to find the best ones. A fried chicken feast is never complete without essential sides, and that holds as true as anywhere when you’re at Popeyes. Like any fast-food restaurant, the menu is subject to change over time, and some of the chain’s classic sides are no longer available (RIP, Cajun rice).
Can you eat Popeye’s green beans with fried chicken?
You can definitely serve Popeye’s Green Beans with your favorite fried chicken or try other copycats like this KFC Original Recipe. They make a great side dish during the holidays with HoneyBaked Ham and Mashed Potatoes. You can also make Popeye’s Green Beans in a slow cooker or even bake them into a green bean casserole to feed a crowd.
Does Popeyes have new side dishes?
(Related: McDonald’s Is Making These 8 Major Upgrades .) The remaining side dishes at Popeyes are: Biscuits, Coleslaw Cajun Fries, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and Red Beans and Rice. But we’re eager to see whether Popeyes replaces the two outgoing menu items with new and improved sides.