Popeyes introduced a breading-free blackened chicken sandwich. The new sandwich is made with chicken that is marinated in a blend of Cajun and Creole spices and served on a brioche bun with classic or spicy mayo and pickles.

"After the immense success of the Chicken Sandwich, we wanted to reinvent the category of traditional grilled chicken sandwiches with our all-new take on a non-breaded option, the Popeyes Blackened Chicken Sandwich,” said Sami Siddiqui, president of Popeyes North America.

Wendy’s will offer a peppermint Frosty for a limited time, starting Nov. 15 and throughout the holiday season. They will be available in restaurants nationwide or through Wendy’s mobile app.

Jamba added a seasonal smoothie to menus across the United States. The merry orange cranberry smoothie blends the flavors of cranberries and citrus, served on top of a layer of coconut whip.

Applebee’s is bringing back Sizzlin’ Skillets to its winter menu. The skillets are available in three varieties, including chicken and shrimp scampi, parmesan sirloin, and cheddar bacon and chicken.

Krispy Kreme is bringing back its Santa’s Bake Shop menu, featuring three new donuts and two returning donuts.

The three new donuts are:

• Sugar cookie: a glazed donut, topped with sugar cookie icing and a sugar cookie sprinkle blend.
• Gingerbread cookie crumb donut: a donut filled with gingerbread cream cheese, which is then dipped in white icing and topped with gingerbread cookie crumbs, a holiday sprinkle blend and a gingerbread icing drizzle.
• Red velvet cake donut: a glazed red velvet cake donut topped with cream cheese icing and a red velvet cake crumble.

The two returning items include the Santa Belly donut and the chocolate iced with holiday sprinkle donut.

“We’re bringing the fun, flavors and joy of the Christmas season to life by turning Krispy Kreme shops into Santa’s Bake Shop,” said Dave Skena, global chief brand officer at Krispy Kreme. “We hope our fans pick up these delicious, fresh treats to share with family and friends at holiday gatherings.” 

MOD Superfast Pizza introduced a limited-edition holiday ‘No Name Cake,’ which is available in a chocolate peppermint flavor.

The chocolate cake is filled with a peppermint frosting, then coasted in dark chocolate and peppermint candy-cane sprinkles.

Red Lobster Seafood Co. added a new shrimp item to its menu, inspired by the quick service seafood restaurant’s cheddar bay biscuits.

The cheddar bay shrimp are breaded and seasoned like the restaurant’s cheddar bay biscuits.

"Everyone loves our cheddar bay biscuits, and our shrimp is a close second favorite, so it just made sense to finally put the two together,” said Patty Trevino, chief marketing officer at Red Lobster. “This first-ever mash-up is crispy, crunchy and full of flavor that will keep you coming back for more.”

Red Lobster also added three cocktails to menus, including the snowglobe sangria, fireside martini and cran-apple smash.

Self-serve frozen yogurt brand Yogurtland added two holiday flavors to its menu, including snickerdoodle and chocolate peppermint cookie.

Wendy’s has added an Italian mozzarella chicken sandwich, an Italian mozzarella cheeseburger and garlic fries to its menu.

The chicken sandwich features a chicken breast topped with fried mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and asiago cheese inside a toasted garlic knot bun. It tastes like a chicken Parmesan sandwich, said Becky Davis, director of culinary innovation for Dublin-based Wendy’s. The mozzarella cheeseburger comes with the same ingredients and tastes like a meatball sub, she said.

The new fries are coated in a garlic herb sauce.