Here's what's on the fall menu in 2024 at fast food restaurants

Which is a bigger social media fad: pumpkin desserts or Crumbl Cookies?

A more cringeworthy trend: oversized flannels or adult Happy Meals ?

SMH moment: Brach's candy corn or lining up down the side of a highway for Chick-fil-A?

Great news, diners — we've reached the glorious time of year where you can have all of those things at once!

Fast food restaurants across the country have been updating their menus with carefully-designed fall dishes meant to please the palate through the nostalgic evocation of warm autumn memories. They've considered the connection of the season with our olfactory senses, and the way the two work together to send us back to the cinnamon-scented kitchen of our grandmas.

Just kidding, they're serving pumpkin spice Slim-N-Trim smoothies.

Here are all of the fall items available at America's most popular restaurant chains.

McDonald's

It's all drinks and desserts at the Golden Arches this fall, as a pumpkin-spiced cheeseburger would be revolting and the team seems to have some sense of consumer demand. Starting on September 15, three limited edition items will be added to the menu.

First are two variations of coffees; the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Iced Coffee . To accompany those, guests will also be able to order the Pumpkin and Crème Pie , which has been a seasonal crowdpleaser since its debut in 2011.

Dunkin'

America's going to be runnin' on whipped cream and nutmeg this fall, because the coffee behemoth with an outpost on every block has ten seasonal items on the menu.

Most are making a return from previous years, such as the Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte and the Apple Cider Donut (for the first time since 2021), but others, like the Dunkalatte (a coffee milk-based latte with espresso) are new.

The other seven items include: Almond Spice Coffee (new), Loaded Hash Browns (with queso and bacon), Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf , the Maple Sugar Bacon Breakfast Sandwich , Pumpkin Donuts, Pumpkin Munchkins and the streusel-topped Pumpkin Muffin.

Starbucks

In 2003, the legend goes, a Starbucks espresso executive invented the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Whether or not that statement is true (though I believe it), the brand has since been associated with the iconic fall drink. This year, the cultural beverage staple returns for yet another season.

Alongside the PSL , Starbucks' 2024 fall drink lineup also includes the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew , Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato , Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai , Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso , Iced Apple Crisp and Nondairy Cream Chai (new). Food items include the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin , Baked Apple Croissant , Pumpkin and Pepita Loaf and an adorable Racoon Cake Pop (vanilla cake in chocolate icing).

Chick-fil-A

Whoever's in charge of product development at Chick-fil-A clearly didn't give a damn about pumpkin, cloves, scarecrows or corn mazes when they designed the chain's 2024 fall menu.

Offered for autumn are the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich , Spicy Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich (new) and Banana Pudding Milkshake — none of which have a fall flavor in their densely-caloric bodies.

The Banana Pudding Milkshake makes a comeback after a 13-year hiatus (and much consumer demand), however, so I'd guess that move was strategically done to overshadow the hype of the returning PSL.

Playa Bowls

I love Playa Bowls .

And, now that it's offering a Jack-O-Lantern Acai Bowl topped with pumpkin granola, banana, pumpkin butter and pumpkin spice, I love it even more.

In fact, if I happen to die on this year's Day of the Dead? Just bury me in the chain's blueberry flax granola and a bath of the creamy coconut base.

PS: The other items on Playa's fall menu include the Apple Turn Up Acai Bowl (acai base with granola, banana, apple slices, apple butter, chopped peanuts and cinnamon), Pumpkin Pie Smoothie , Pumpkin Sweet Cream Cold Brew and Pumpkin Protein Bites (made with peanut butter and honey).

Panera

The fall menu at Panera (as well as the aforementioned Chick-fil-A and many other chain restaurants) proves the pumpkin spice trend is slowing — maybe even dying — throughout America. This year, the team's autumn offerings only include one pumpkin-themed dish, the Pumpkin-Shaped Sugar Cookie , which (as the name implies) isn't even pumpkin flavored at all.

Outside of the adorable cookie, the menu features a couple other cold weather-inspired treats (the Cranberry Orange Slice and new Tart Cherry Pastry ), but the rest of the seasonal items have little flavor correlation with the fall. They include an Almond Pastry (new), Coconut Macaroon (new) and Chocolate Coconut Macaroon (new) from the bakery section, and Croissant Egg Sandwiches with bacon, sausage and/or white cheddar from the meal section.

Smoothie King

I'm super thankful we now have a Smoothie King in Montclair, but I'm not sure how thankful I am for the brand's fall lineup. Centered around pumpkin purée-infused smoothies, the offerings include a lot of liquid-y creations with many flavors that — even if they actually taste good — don't sound super appealing.

On the menu are a Pumpkin Coffee High Protein Smoothie , Pumpkin Espresso High Protein Smoothie , Pumpkin Slim-N-Trim Smoothie (weight management), Power Meal Pumpkin Smoothie (two proteins and a multivitamin enhancer), Pumpkin Vegan Smoothie and a frozen yogurt-based Pumpkin D-lite Smoothie .

So, if someone wants to try them and let me know how they are? Great — DM @northjerseyeats . Otherwise, I'm sticking to the Chocolate Peanut Power Plus.

Krispy Kreme

If pumpkin spice is on its way out, Krispy Kreme sure didn't get the memo, because its fall menu only features items in that flavor.

First is the Pumpkin Spice Latte , which is available hot, iced or frozen. The Pumpkin Spice Coffee is also on the lineup (hot or iced), but neither compare to the Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut , which might be my favorite sweet treat of the season.

Dairy Queen

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't like Dairy Queen. The Blizzards are watery and gross, and I hate how it looks when the ice cream melts into semi-clear liquid and drips down my hand like a liquid-y, white version of Yoo-hoo.

I just really don't think ice cream should be a beverage .

Nonetheless, some of you do.

So, if you plan on heading to DQ this fall, here is the seasonal Blizzard menu: Pumpkin Pie , Oreo Fudge Brownie , Reese's Pieces Cookie Dough , Caramel Java Chip (new), French Silk Pie and Salted Caramel Truffle .

IHOP

Ok, actually, when I said Krispy Kreme's pumpkin cake doughnut was my favorite pumpkin item of the season, I totally forgot about IHOP 's warm, fluffy Pumpkin Spice Pancakes .

Accompanied by Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Pancakes and Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam Cold Brew , the comforting stack leads a small-but-mighty menu of stellar fall wins.

Paris Baguette

Paris Baguette 's fall menu is huge, so let's cut to the chase:

Drinks include Pumpkin Spice Lattes , Maple Oat Milk Lattes and a Maple Sweet Cream Cold Brew , while food items include a Pumpkin Danish , Pumpkin King Cream Donut (the tastiest of the offerings), Pecan Tart , Maple Pecan Layer Cake & Cake Slice , Chocolate Cream Puff Tart , Chocolate Chip Scone and Cookies & Cream Mochi Donut .

Cheesecake Factory

With pumpkin often paired with cream cheese, it makes sense that The Cheesecake Factory — whose decadent cakes boast the same tangy flavor — be a hotspot for fall-flavored items.

This season, the dessert chain welcomes back both its Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake ; both of which are comforting and delicious.

Burger King

And then there's Burger King .

Who — in an autumn-inspired world of nutmeg and allspice — launched Frozen Pink Lemonade .

Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can't find her in Jersey's best restaurants, she's probably off running a race course in the mountains. Catch her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeats , and sign up for her North Jersey Eats newsletter .

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Here's what's on the fall menu in 2024 at fast food restaurants