Forget the triple dippers, Chili’s has brand new menu items coming this spring that are sure to become your go-to.
The restaurant chain will be adding a number of chicken sandwiches to its menu in April, at a price point that won’t make you sweat.
The announcement came during Brinker International’s Q2 FY2026 earnings call in January. Brinker International is Chili’s parent company.
“The Chili’s turnaround is real,” CEO Kevin Hochman said during the call. “It is sustaining, and we have no intentions of taking our foot off the gas, which means we will continue to be focused on improving our food, service, and atmosphere, as well as continue making Chili’s more fun, easier, and more rewarding for our team members.”
Chili’s is adding chicken sandwiches
In April, Chili’s will be adding a lineup of “super premium chicken sandwiches” to its menus nationwide.
“Chicken sandwiches [are] a very large market, with over 80% of people buying them at least once last year, and is by far the biggest segment of all restaurant chicken servings,” Hochman told investors.
Chicken sandwiches have certainly become something of a trend in quick service and mid-level dining over the last few years. Restaurants from Shake Shack to Applebee’s have added the entrees to their lineup with mixed results.
Despite this competition, Hochman says he isn’t worried about Chili’s chicken sandwiches getting lost in the shuffle.
“We believe our new chicken sandwich lineup is superior, distinctly on brand, and highly differentiated than what is in the market today,” he said. “Bold, signature flavors unique to Chili’s, terrific value with abundance, and a traffic-driving opening price point within a three-tier lineup.”
While Hoffman didn’t provide specific details about the new sandwiches, he did tell investors there would be at least three options, ranging from a basic to deluxe, and that pricing would start at $10.99 and move up.
“There’ll be a variety of sandwiches in different benefit spaces, based on some of the signature flavors that we have, as well as a new flavor that we don’t have in the restaurant today,” Hoffman said.
The menu additions don’t stop there.
“We’re also gonna bring some additional sides innovation and dip cup innovation to that lineup to make it even more exciting and more distinctly Chili’s,” Hoffman continued.
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Chili’s menu revamp
Over the past few months, Chili’s has been focused on a larger menu revamp, adding new items and upgrading existing offerings.
In late 2025, acting on customer feedback, the chain brought back its Skillet Queso and introduced an all-new spin-off, Southwestern Queso. It also refreshed its nachos, adding chicken, bacon, and house-made ranch, and added thicker strips of bacon to its burgers.
“Over the past three years, we have had success with these menu renovations, Crispers, margaritas, burgers, ribs, frozen margs, and now queso and nachos, with more segments still ahead of us to upgrade,” Hoffman told investors.
The upgrades have been paying off. During the earnings call, Chili’s executives said the restaurant chain had seen 19 straight quarters of same-stores growth. In Q2 FY2026, same store growth went up by 8.6%, well over the industry average.
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“Chili’s was the number one traffic brand in casual dining for the entire 2025 year,” Hoffman told investors.
CFO Mika Ware attributes much of that success to the restaurants’ renewed focus on the fundamentals and customer satisfaction.
The number of customer complaints at Chili’s fell by 0.8% over the last quarter, indicating that diners were more satisfied with menu offerings and customer service.
“By focusing on the fundamentals of food, service, and atmosphere, we continue to improve operations, bring guests back, and deliver consistent, positive growth,” Ware said.
Popular Chili’s menu items
Chili’s full menu includes roughly 75 items. Some of the most popular items on its revamped menu include:
- Triple Dipper
- Southwestern Queso
- Original Trio Fajitas
- Oldtimer with Cheese Burger
- Half Rack of Ribs
- Presidente Margarita
- Molten Chocolate Cake
Source: Eat This, Not That!
Chili’s is getting a facelift
As a part of the restaurant’s larger turnaround plan, Chili’s diners will soon get to enjoy all of these menu upgrades in updated stores.
The chain is currently testing four new prototypes of restaurants, some of which have a high nostalgia factor.
The goal, Hoffman says, is to land on a restaurant design that will be functional but also give diners the feeling of “‘Wow, it feels like I’m back in Chili’s when it first started,’ but in a modern way.”
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To that end, the chain is focused on revamping the bar areas, updating their tables, and adding in retro elements like oversized margarita shakers that once hung in old Chili’s.
“We are extremely bullish about this, and we can’t wait for you guys to see what we’ve done,” Hoffman told investors.
The first redesigns are expected to roll out in late 2026 and early 2027.
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