Popeyes' New Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich Review: The Truffle Mayo Adds A Luxurious Touch

Popeyes has been expanding its menu rapidly this year. Major releases in 2023 include the Ghost Pepper and Sweet N' Spicy wings as well as the new option to add bacon and cheese to any of the chain's chicken sandwiches. The Popeyes Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich isn't essential in the way some might say wings and bacon are, but this item offers a whole new flavor profile for the fast food chicken chain. While this latest item won't stick around full-time, we felt it was worth trying to see if the inevitable hype would be worth it.

For this promotion, Popeyes has partnered with condiment brand TRUFF. Known for its use of truffles in its products, TRUFF is bringing its signature spicy truffle mayonnaise to the king of fast food chicken sandwiches. And that's not all. For the month that this promotion is running, you can also purchase a side of Truffle mayo with any Popeyes order. This has been broken out into its own special menu on the Popeyes app and website, where you can find a whole TRUFF menu listing TRUFF fries, mac & cheese, and more.

Essentially, what you are getting is a side of TRUFF's sauce with your entree. We decided it was best to try the promoted Spicy TRUFF chicken sandwich as well as the TRUFF fries to evaluate it properly.

Let's start with the spicy TRUFF chicken sandwich. The price of the limited-time sandwich starts at $5.99. We ordered ours using the Popeyes app for pickup from a location in Brooklyn and the sandwich cost $6.49 before tax. That's not a terrible upcharge based on what we're used to in the city.

The Spicy TRUFF chicken sandwich from Popeyes is quite good, mainly because 90% of its ingredients are already in the original spicy chicken sandwich. The fact remains that this is the best fast food chicken sandwich. It changed the game, and for good reason. However, when it came down to truffle flavor, we found it a bit scant.

There was a light spread of the truffle mayo on both the top and the bottom bun; however, it was not enough to stand up to the flavor of the massive fried chicken breast and juicy pickles the sandwich is known for. Basically, this tastes like a regular spicy Popeyes chicken sandwich, which is to say it's not even that spicy. The umami you expect from the truffle only rears its head faintly every few bites. On its own, we are not quite sure if paying for this over a regular sandwich is even worth it. However, we did find a way to improve it.

First off, the TRUFF fries on the Popeyes menu are just what is pictured: a side of Popeyes' Cajun fries served with a small cup of TRUFF's spicy truffle mayo. We picked up an order for $4.49 before tax. You can also purchase a cup of the special mayo for $1.

As with the last item, we have to state the obvious. Popeyes has good fries; they are crispy and seasoned really well. They were also a perfect vehicle for the spicy truffle mayo. At last, we got that hit of deep, savory umami flavor that we had been craving with the sandwich.

The spices on the fries enhance the subtle spice in the mayo, but the truffle flavor comes out first, and then you are hit with the spice. The sauce is the texture of an aioli. If you are a fan of Popeyes' blackened ranch sauce, this is like its upscale cousin. And for only a buck, even a small cup of this with your order is a worthwhile addition.

This sauce isn't a new product from TRUFF, but it will be new for many fast food diners, of that we are sure. A 1-tablespoon serving of the rich sauce has 90 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 150 milligrams of sodium.

The ingredients for the spicy mayo include mid-oleic sunflower oil, organic egg yolks, organic distilled white vinegar, organic whole eggs, salt, water, and black truffle oil concentrate. For flavoring, there is also organic mustard, organic garlic powder, Lemon juice concentrate, organic cumin, black truffle (tuber melanosporum), organic rosemary extract, mustard oil, red jalapeño, and jicama juice concentrate.

The Popeyes TRUFF menu is available at locations nationwide October 17 until November 26. That gives you a little over five weeks to try it officially, although after the end of November we suppose there is nothing stopping you from just buying the spicy mayo directly from TRUFF and applying it to your food from Popeyes. We admittedly do the same thing with our favorite hot sauces.

When it comes to the TRUFF items, you can order any of them in the store, but only the sandwiches are shown on the menu. The expanded "Build Your Own" TRUFF menu is available by ordering on the Popeyes website or via the app. Here, you can pair pretty much every menu item with a side of TRUFF sauce for an upcharge of $1. Of course, you can always just ask for an extra side of sauce. This is what we ultimately had to do to get our side of spicy mayo that was supposed to be served with the fries.

Popeyes doesn't miss and that's true here to some extent. The spicy and savory sauce pairs extremely well with the Popeyes items we tried, but the issue is that you don't get nearly enough spread on the sandwich to amp up the flavor profile properly. 

So, here is what we recommend if you want to try the flavor combination that was intended and get your money's worth: Instead of ordering the Spicy TRUFF chicken sandwich, order a regular chicken sandwich without mayo (or with if you want an extra wet sando). Then, order a side of the spicy truffle mayo — or TRUFF sauce — and either use the dunking method or a knife to spread it on the buns yourself. This way you will get the optimal amount of sauce and really taste the difference. While you certainly don't get a huge portion in the cup, it's enough to split between a sandwich and some fries, which is what we recommend. Try it, and thank us later.