Holiday Cheer is Coming to Hardee's With Special Menu Items to Celebrate the Season
As the fast-food holiday menu race kicks into gear, Hardee’s is leaning into comfort, nostalgia and a heavy dose of cheese. The chain is reviving its cult-favorite Cinnamon ’N’ Raisin Biscuit, debuting a new Grilled Cheese lineup and introducing the Holly Jolly Sparkler, a seasonal beverage that’s part cranberry, part lime, part Sprite, and all festive. The campaign is as much about memory as it is about menu innovation.
First up: the Cinnamon ’N’ Raisin Biscuit. According to the brand, the biscuit is “back by overwhelming demand.” Made in-house, these buttery biscuits are swirled with cinnamon and studded with juicy raisins, offered in single, two-pack or four-pack options. They’re available during breakfast hours at participating locations now through Feb. 17.
Next, Hardee’s is elevating the grilled cheese. You’ll find a Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich (sausage or bacon + fried egg + American & Swiss cheese on toasted sourdough) and a Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger (100 % U.S. Angus beef, same cheese combo, toasted sourdough). The chain describes it as a “modern twist on a childhood favorite” with an “ultimate cheese pull.”
On the drink front: the new Holly Jolly Sparkler blends real cranberry and lime with Sprite for a holiday-ready refreshment. As the company puts it, “a crisp, refreshing holiday drink that’s as fun as it is festive.”
Hardee's Holiday Menu is a Smart Play
Call it strategy or just good timing, but Hardee’s knows exactly what it’s doing. The Cinnamon ’N’ Raisin Biscuit hits the nostalgia nerve that keeps people coming back, while the grilled cheese lineup leans into comfort and decadence in equal measure. Something that's perfect for cooler months. Even the Sparkler plays into the moment: bright, colorful, and built for social snaps as much as drive-thrus.
As Sarah Breymaier, vice president of brand at Hardee’s, says: “Comfort, tradition and the foods that bring us together are central to the holidays and at the heart of Hardee’s. We’re pleased to bring back the Cinnamon ’N’ Raisin Biscuit and Grilled Cheese lineup, as these flavors allow guests to revisit cherished memories and create new ones this season.”
While the press release leans hard into nostalgia, fan reactions tell a more diverse story. On Reddit, one longtime customer wrote, “Some of [Hardee's] breakfast stuff is the best fast food...you can get,” and the holiday grilled cheese biscuit looks like no exception. Some posters weren’t as charmed by the revival. “I was so so so so so excited for the return of these...” one user posted, “But I was so let down, The first I got was overly brown and hard as a rock… with barely any icing on it.” That mix of fondness and frustration captures what’s at stake when a chain digs into its archives: people remember how it used to taste, and they expect it to be exactly the same. For Hardee’s, the return is both a crowd-pleaser and a test of execution.
For readers looking for a fun seasonal twist, Hardee’s holiday menu delivers in three directions: nostalgia (the biscuit), indulgence (the grilled cheese), and refreshment (the Sparkler). It’s a smart play in a fast-food landscape that prizes limited-time drops and shareable moments. Whether these items live up to the hype remains to be seen, but for now Hardee’s is betting that a little nostalgia—and a lot of cheese—will bring fans back for another taste.