Applebee’s Just Dropped 2 New ‘Melt in My Mouth’ Menu Items—and Extended Its $10 Meal Deal

Allrecipes team members have a bit of an obsession with cast iron skillets. Whether it’s the value workhorse Lodge, a pretty enameled Le Creuset, or the hang-on-your-wall-because-it’s-too-cool-to-use Dolly Parton guitar-shaped skillet, it’s hard to imagine our kitchens without at least one cast iron skillet. These skillets can cook everything from cornbread to chicken to apple pie and go from the stovetop to the oven to the table.

Applebee’s has a cast iron skillet obsession, too, and frequently adds limited-time menu items that are cooked in cast iron and brought right to the table in the same skillet, ensuring the dish stays hot while you savor your meal. 

Applebee’s New Hot Honey Chicken & Bacon Skillet and Sizzlin’ Caramel Apple Pie

You can start out with the new Hot Honey Chicken & Bacon Skillet, which has slices of grilled chicken breast topped with a hot honey glaze, Applewood, and smoked bacon, served sizzling with sautéed mushrooms and onions. A heaping side of waffle fries completes the meal.

Then, if you still have room, choose the new Sizzlin’ Caramel Apple Pie for dessert, which has layers of hot cinnamon apple pie drizzled with caramel sauce and candied pecans, and topped with vanilla ice cream.

Instagram’s @officialdaymdrops recently tried the two new menu items, raving, “Applebee’s is not playin’…Why does that chicken melt in my mouth like that?” After tasting the apple pie, he added, “Even the apple pie dessert came out on cast iron straight sizzlin’…it tastes as if the manager drove to the orchard to get them fresh farm apples.”

If all this has you craving a trip to Applebee’s, but you’re on a budget and need a meal deal, the restaurant has you covered there, too.

Applebee’s Extends Its ‘Really Big Meal Deal’

When was the last time you got an entire meal for $9.99? We’re talking a sandwich, fries, and a drink for under $10 (before taxes and tip, of course). We can’t recall the last time that happened, but this past fall, Applebee’s introduced the Really Big Meal Deal with a choice of a Big Cluckin’ Chicken Sandwich or BIG Classic Bacon Cheeseburger, both with fries and a fountain drink for $9.99. The deal was supposed to be for a limited time, but the restaurant decided to help out its customers’ pocketbooks and extend the deal for a bit longer.

What makes this a really big deal is that the fries are unlimited and the fountain drinks are refillable for free! The Classic Bacon Cheeseburger is a 6-ounce all-beef patty with two slices of American cheese, and two slices of bacon, topped with lettuce, tomato, and onions on a brioche bun. The Big Cluckin’ Chicken Sandwich—which Allrecipes editor Bailey Fink enjoyed when she tried it—has a particularly large chicken patty that’s “perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside,” stacked with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickles on a brioche bun.

Both nice-sized sandwiches come with those endless fries and refillable (not available for takeout) Pepsi-brand soft drinks, making this one of the best deals we’ve seen in quite a while. 

Applebee’s Big Meal Deal may have been extended, but it won’t be around forever. Neither will the skillet dishes so if you want to jump on any of these Applebee’s menu items, get there soon.