The Best Fast Food Deals to Grab in October

Spicy hot chicken and fall flavors abound in fast food's deals and limited time specials in October. There's also some hearty fare, like new beef and soft-pretzel options, as the leaves start dropping. If you've got kids, a couple Halloween-themed treats will keep them entertained — though no adult should turn down a Frankenstein-decorated donut either.

Related: 17 Underrated Items to Order at National Chains

Burger King continues to focus on cheap deals with its new $3 snack box. It comes with a cheeseburger, 10 chicken nuggets, medium fries, and a small drink. Reportedly, it's priced at only $2 in some markets, so check your local restaurant for the price. 

For more great restaurant guides and dining tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.

The latest menu addition at Taco Bell is the Grande Stacker. It's like a big, folded quesadilla, filled with a double portion of ground beef, nacho cheese and shredded cheese. You can get it in a $5 meal box along with two crunchy tacos and a drink, or a la carte for around $2.50. And if you're a Mexican pizza fan, make sure you get it before it's discontinued in early November.

Related: Live Más: 20 Spicy Secrets Behind Taco Bell's Success

While many pizza deals are for carryout or curbside only, Pizza Hut has a deal that's also available for delivery. For $10, you can get a large pizza with up to three toppings delivered straight to your door. That makes family pizza night cheaper and less of a hassle.

Subway is offering a deal on footlongs right now, but you have to buy three of them. If you order three footlongs online, in the app, or in-store, the least expensive one will be free. The deal will only work for pickup or dine-in, not delivery.

Related: 32 Secrets for Better, Cheaper Meals at Your Favorite Chains

There's a new McNugget in town, and it's the first new flavor since McDonald's introduced them in 1983. Spicy Chicken McNuggets include cayenne and other chile peppers in the coating for a little heat kick. For dipping, there's also a new Mighty Hot Sauce. Try them on a Friday, when you can still get a free medium fry with a $1 purchase through Dec. 27. 

Related: 23 Fast Food Items Overdue for a Comeback

Wendy's has introduced the pretzel pub bacon cheeseburger, a hearty option for falling temperatures. It's a quarter-pound burger topped with muenster cheese, three slices of bacon, beer cheese sauce, honey mustard, crispy fried onions and pickles on a pretzel bun. It's also available with fried chicken breast instead of beef. For a side, go with an order of their bacon pub fries.

Related: 20 Fast Food Restaurants Then and Now

Domino's recently expanded their specialty pizza lineup with two new offerings. The chicken taco pizza is topped with American cheese, grilled chicken, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, provolone and taco seasoning, while the cheeseburger pizza has a ketchup and mustard sauce, ground beef, American cheese, onions, tomatoes, provolone and cheddar. You can try them both for $12 each for a limited time.

Related: Best Cheap Delivery Pizza

KFC is keeping their brand new fries in the spotlight with a tenders and fries combo. For $5.49, you get three Extra Crispy tenders, fries, dipping sauce, biscuit and a medium drink. 

Related: The Best Value Meal Deals at 30 Chains Across the Country

It's that time already! Starbucks has rolled out the PSL already, something that seems to get earlier each year. Also new for fall: pumpkin cream cold brew, salted caramel mocha and Frappuccino, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin scones and pumpkin bread. Would autumn even happen without pumpkin spice everything?

Krispy Kreme is embracing Halloween all October long with new original doughnut promotions. Every Saturday, buy one dozen doughnuts and get an additional dozen for only a buck. Plus, there are three adorable monster-decorated treats this month, named Wolfie, Drake, and Frank.

Related: Dunkin' vs. Krispy Kreme: Who Has the Better Tasting Doughnuts?

Bring home a bundle of sliders from White Castle with their new Crave Clutch bundle. The briefcase-like box holds 20 original sliders and four small fries for about $20. It's also available without the fries if potatoes aren't your thing.

Related: 30 Things You Didn’t Know About White Castle

Fans of Papa John's Papadias have a new option: the grilled buffalo chicken Papadia. It includes grilled chicken, onions, plenty of melted three-cheese blend, buttermilk ranch and buffalo sauce. It's only $6, and it'll be available through Oct. 25. 

Popeyes has brought back its fan-favorite ghost pepper wings as a hot alternative to their classic fried chicken. The wings are marinated in a blend of peppers, including ghost peppers, a super hot chile. You can try them in a variety of size packs, or in an ultimate wing bundle with 24 wings, four sides, four drinks, and four dipping sauces for $30.

Celebrate Halloween all month with a Trick or Treat Blast from Sonic. It's all about excess, with three types of treats mixed into soft serve: Oreos, mini M&M's and Snickers pieces. You won't even have to raid the kid's trick-or-treat haul this year.

Hardee's is getting fancy this fall with a new prime rib menu. The star is the prime rib and cheddar Angus Thickburger, which is topped with slow-cooked sliced prime rib, cheddar sauce, and caramelized onions. The sliced prime rib is also available on a fried egg biscuit and in a breakfast burrito. 

Related: 10 Unhealthy Fast Food Breakfasts — and What to Order Instead

Chipotle has brought back its carne asada protein option for a limited time. It was originally offered in 2019, and it was the fastest-selling new protein they ever had. So if you didn't get to try it the first time around, it sounds like it's worth a shot. 

Burger chain Shake Shack has brought back its popular hot chick'n sandwich. The fried chicken breast is dusted with guajillo and cayenne chile powders and topped with cherry pepper slaw and pickles. You can also order that same hot chile powder dusted on chicken bites, fries, and cheese fries. 

Oct. 12 is National Pulled Pork Day, and Bojangles is celebrating by releasing new Carolina-style barbecue pulled pork. It's smokey and tangy with vinegar, and you can get it in a sandwich topped with coleslaw or as part of a dinner plate with sides and biscuit. 

Culver's doesn't have a lot of limited time offers, but they've got two for fall: a new harvest veggie burger, and returning pretzel bites. The veggie burger is made from grains, chickpeas and vegetables, plus cheese is incorporated right into the patty. Pair it with a side of soft pretzel bites served with warm cheddar cheese sauce for dipping. 

Arby's is going big and beefy with the addition of two new cheesesteak sandwiches. The classic prime rib cheesesteak includes sliced prime rib, onions, roasted peppers and provolone cheese on a sub bun, while the spicy version adds a spicy sauce to the mix.

Related: How to Make 26 Fast Food Favorites at Home

Jack in the Box has brought back a fan favorite: the sourdough patty melt. A beef burger patty is sandwiched between two slices of griddled sourdough along with Swiss and American cheese, grilled onions and mayo. For a limited time, you can grab it as part of a $5 combo with a small fries and drink.

Related: Taste Test: The Best Fast-Food Cheeseburger

Del Taco has added two crispy chicken tacos to its dollar menu lineup. Both include a fried chicken strip, lettuce and cheese in a flour tortilla, with either creamy ranch or creamy habanero sauce. You can also get the new crispy chicken strips in two other items: in a burrito with guac, veggies and creamy avocado caesar dressing, or in a box with fries.

Panda Express is bringing back an entree they last offered way back in 2013. Honey sesame chicken breast features crispy deep fried chunks of white meat chicken, plus string beans and bell peppers, tossed in a sweet sauce along with sesame seeds. Get it as part of any bowl or plate, or al la carte.

It's officially pumpkin season at Dairy Queen as they release their fall Blizzard lineup for this year. The crown jewel is the pumpkin pie Blizzard, made with vanilla ice cream and chunks of pumpkin pie. Other Blizzards joining it this year are the caramel apple pie, Oreo mocha fudge, choco-dipped strawberry, snickerdoodle cookie dough, and brownie dough.

Not to be outdone by their competitors, Dunkin' has also released its fall pumpkin spice items. They include the pumpkin spice latte, chai latte, pumpkin flavored coffees, apple cider donuts, pumpkin donuts, and a maple sugar bacon breakfast sandwich with egg and cheddar on a croissant.

Related: Dunkin' vs. Krispy Kreme: Who Has the Better Tasting Doughnuts?

New family meal options are available at Church's this month. The Family Go Box feeds up to 6 people starting at $20. It includes either 10 pieces of mixed chicken, 12 pieces of dark meat, or 15 chicken tenders, plus three large sides or two sides and honey butter biscuits.

Quiznos is looking toward Florida for their latest sandwich inspiration. The Cubano is layered with sliced ham and turkey, Swiss cheese, pickles, and yellow mustard on pressed Cuban-style bread. Since the sandwich generally doesn't include toppings, it comes standard with double meat, making for a half-pound 8-inch sandwich.