Popeyes is a popular fast food chain known for its Louisiana-style fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, and other menu items. However, when it comes to desserts, Popeyes’ selection is more limited compared to the main courses. One dessert item that often gets asked about is strawberry cream pie.
What Desserts Does Popeyes Have?
The regular dessert menu at Popeyes consists of:
- Apple pie
- Cinnamon apple pie
- Cookie
- Brownie
These options are available at most Popeyes locations in the United States. The apple pie and cinnamon apple pie are the classic fried hand pies with apple filling inside a flaky breaded crust. The cookie is a large soft chocolate chip cookie, while the brownie is a fudgy chocolate brownie.
There are also some locations that sell specialty desserts or have regional/seasonal options like sweet potato pie, red velvet cake, peach cobbler, and pecan pie. However, these are not nationwide menu items.
What About Strawberry Cream Pie?
Unlike the regular dessert selections, strawberry cream pie is not an option typically found at Popeyes restaurants. The strawberry cream pie appears to be more commonly associated with other fast food chains like McDonald’s or Burger King.
A strawberry cream pie is a pie with a graham cracker or pastry crust filled with sweetened cream and fresh strawberry slices or strawberry jam. It’s a lighter dessert compared to the fried hand pies Popeyes offers. While delicious, it doesn’t necessarily fit the core Cajun-inspired menu.
Some limited time offerings may have included a strawberry cream pie at a small number of Popeyes locations, but it has not been widely available nationwide.
Why Strawberry Cream Pie Isn’t a Popeyes Menu Item
There are a few potential reasons why strawberry cream pie is not part of Popeyes regular dessert selections:
- It doesn’t match the core brand identity and menu style – Popeyes is known for Southern, Cajun-inspired fried foods like fried chicken and pies rather than lighter cream pies.
- Limited kitchen space/equipment – Frying is a core cooking method for Popeyes, so they may not have the capacity for extensive baked cream pie preparations.
- Minimal dessert demand – With the popularity of their main courses and sides, dessert might be a lower sales category so the options are limited to the core favorites.
- Shorter shelf life – Cream pies have a shorter shelf life than the fried apple and cinnamon apple pies. So for a high volume fast food chain, fried pies may be better suited to the business model.
The bottom line is strawberry cream pie doesn’t fit with the traditional Popeyes menu and brand identity. Their kitchen operations and sales trends likely favor fried hand pies over cream pies as the go-to dessert options.
Are There Any Similar Strawberry Pie Options at Popeyes?
Even though strawberry cream pie isn’t a menu item, there are a couple of seasonal strawberry desserts that have been spotted at Popeyes over the years:
- Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait – This was a limited time offering in summer 2022. It featured layers of vanilla creme, cheesecake bits, and strawberry topping in a cup.
- Strawberry Pie – A few locations apparently offered this fried strawberry hand pie for Valentine’s Day in 2018 and 2019. So it was likely a specialty test item.
Additionally, while not strawberry, Popeyes does offer cherry and apple pies. The apple is their classic fried pie, but the cherry is a baked crispy pie shell with cherry filling. So while rare, Popeyes does sometimes experiment with baked fruit pie options that are similar in concept to a strawberry cream pie.
How Popeyes Dessert Menu Compares to Other Chains
To provide some context around the Popeyes dessert selection and how it compares to competitors, here is an overview of the dessert menus at a few other major fast food chains:
| Chain | Dessert Menu |
|---|---|
| McDonald’s | Apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, baked apple pie, McFlurry shakes, seasonal cream pies (including strawberry) |
| Burger King | Chocolate chip cookies, Dutch apple pie, Hershey’s Sundae pie, seasonal pies & cakes |
| Wendy’s | Chocolate chip cookies, baked apple pie, Frosty shakes |
| Popeyes | Fried apple pie, cinnamon apple pie, cookie, brownie |
Compared to the major hamburger chains, Popeyes has a relatively limited dessert selection focused around fried hand pies, cookies, and brownies. Seasonal and specialty cream pies are more commonly seen at places like McDonald’s and Burger King.
Are Any Fast Food Places Similar to Popeyes Dessert Menu?
While Popeyes offers a narrower range of desserts, a few other fast food chains also have dessert menus centered around pies and cookies rather than shakes, seasonal cream pies, and cakes:
- KFC – Fried apple pie and chocolate chip cookie are the main desserts. Occasional extras like Georgia peach cobbler.
- Church’s Chicken – Fried apple and fried cherry pies are the core options year-round.
- Bojangles – Bo-Berry biscuits, pie slices (apple, cherry, peach, chocolate), cookies, and cinnamon sticks make up the menu.
So Popeyes is not entirely alone in focusing on fried hand pies. Other regional chains with similar Southern-inspired soul food menus tend to offer similar desserts.
Customer Reviews of Popeyes Desserts
Despite the small selection, customer reviews of the desserts Popeyes does offer are generally positive. Here are some common thoughts on their menu options:
- The fried apple pie is considered a classic must-try item. Customers enjoy the hot, crispy fried crust and juicy apple filling.
- The cinnamon apple pie puts a delicious twist on the original with its sweet cinnamon sugar coating.
- The cookie earns praise for being soft and fresh baked, with lots of chocolate chips throughout.
- The brownie is described as fudgy and moist with a nice chewy texture.
While Popeyes dessert selection is limited compared to other chains, they execute classic fried pie and cookie flavors very well based on customer reviews. Their focus stays true to their brand identity of fried Southern comfort foods.
Conclusion
In summary, strawberry cream pie is not a standard menu item at Popeyes locations. The brand sticks close to its Cajun food roots with dessert options like fried apple pie, cinnamon apple pie, cookies, and brownies. More delicate cream pies do not align as well with Popeyes’ kitchen operations and brand identity.
But for those with a hankering for strawberry pie when visiting Popeyes, limited time seasonal specials have occasionally offered similar baked strawberry pies. And while light on dessert selections overall, Popeyes receives praise for executing high quality fried pies, cookies, and other sweets.
So next time you finish off a Popeyes fried chicken meal and want something sweet afterwards, try their signature fried apple or cinnamon apple pie and you won’t be disappointed! It provides the perfect Cajun-inspired end to a Popeyes visit.
