Popeyes Drinks in 2024: A Comprehensive Guide
With over 3,600 locations worldwide, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is one of America‘s largest quick-service restaurant chains. While known for their Cajun-inspired chicken and sides, Popeyes also offers a wide selection of thirst-quenching drinks. In fact, fountain beverages accounted for 9.1% of Popeyes‘ sales revenue in 2022.
As consumers pay more attention to reducing sugar and calories, Popeyes has focused on expanding their drink lineup. Here is a detailed guide to Popeyes‘ drinks, including nutritional information, popular picks, customization tips, and how they compare to competitors.
The Complete Popeyes Drink Menu
Popeyes features standard fast food soda fountain drinks, along with juices, teas, lemonades, milkshakes, coffee, and bottled beverages. Here is the full list of Popeyes drink options with calorie counts:
Fountain Drinks
| Beverage | Small (22 oz) | Medium (30 oz) | Large (40 oz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola | 270 calories | 390 calories | 540 calories |
| Sprite | 260 calories | 380 calories | 520 calories |
| Dr. Pepper | 260 calories | 380 calories | 520 calories |
| Diet Coke | 0 calories | 0 calories | 0 calories |
Full nutrition facts for 40+ fountain drink options below
Lemonades, Teas & Juices
| Beverage | Calorie Count |
|---|---|
| Classic Lemonade | 140-200 calories |
| Strawberry Lemonade | 150-210 calories |
| Sweet Tea | 180-311 calories |
| Unsweetened Tea | 0-5 calories |
| Orange Juice | 210 calories |
| Apple Juice | 225 calories |
| Cranberry Juice | 200 calories |
| Hi-C Fruit Punch | 150 calories |
Coffee & Milkshakes
| Beverage | Calorie Count |
|---|---|
| Hot Coffee | 5 calories |
| Iced Coffee | 112 calories |
| Decaf Coffee | 5 calories |
| Hot Chocolate | 100 calories |
| Chocolate Milkshake | 530 calories |
| Vanilla Milkshake | 470 calories |
Bottled Drinks
| Beverage | Calorie Count |
|---|---|
| Bottled Water | 0 calories |
| Sparkling Water | 0 calories |
| Sports Drinks | 60-130 calories |
| Juice Boxes | 80-120 calories |
| Bottled Frappuccinos | 190-530 calories |
Nutrition facts for all menu items sourced directly from Popeyes.com
Most Popular Drinks at Popeyes
Based on customer surveys and food industry analysis, these are Popeyes‘ top-selling beverages:
Sweet Tea – The signature Popeyes sweet tea accounts for nearly 25% of drink sales. Customers love its authentic bold flavor.
Soft Drinks – Classic Coke and Sprite make up 20% of Popeyes drink purchases.
Lemonade – Tart and refreshing, lemonade is the 3rd most popular Popeyes drink. The strawberry flavor launched in 2020 is also a hit.
Iced Coffee – Popeyes has doubled down on specialty iced coffee in recent years, as the Category is growing over 50% annually according to Technomic.
How Popeyes Drink Sizes Compare
Popeyes fountain drinks are available in small (22 oz), medium (30 oz), and large (40 oz). Here‘s how Popeyes drink sizes stack up against two competitors:
| Drink Size | Popeyes | Chick-fil-A | KFC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 22 oz | 12 oz | 20 oz |
| Medium | 30 oz | 16 oz | 30 oz |
| Large | 40 oz | 30 oz | 32 oz |
So Popeyes small drink is nearly double a Chick-fil-A small, while the large is bigger than both KFC and Chick-fil-A‘s large size.
Customizing Your Drink Order
While the standard Popeyes drinks are tasty, customizing your beverage is easy for a more personalized flavor. Some ideas:
Ask for extra ice to make drinks chilled and refreshing on hot days.
Light ice gives you more liquid and less dilution.
Easy on the sweetener reduces excess sugar.
Add extra lemon for more tart lemonade or tea.
Try a half-and-half combo like sweet and unsweetened tea.
Substitute diet soda to eliminate calories.
Kid‘s size drinks are available upon request for smaller portions.
Knowing how to tweak your drink order can help enjoy your meal your way.
Popeyes‘ Seasonal & Limited-Time Drink Flavors
Beyond the core drink lineup, Popeyes brings in special flavors on a rotating basis.
Recent limited-time offers have included:
Watermelon Lemonade in summer 2022
Pineapple Orange Smoothies in spring 2021
Salted Caramel Iced Coffee in fall 2020
Cranberry Apple Juice during winter holidays
Following seasonal patterns, I predict summer 2023 will feature a pineapple or mango lemonade. For fall 2023, look for a pumpkin spice latte or apple cider iced coffee.
How Popeyes Drinks Compare to Competitors
Compared to McDonald‘s and Chick-fil-A, Popeyes offers a comparable beverage menu:
All 3 chains have fountain drinks, lemonade, juices and coffee drinks.
Popeyes has the most tea options with sweet, unsweet, peach and seasonal flavors.
Chick-fil-A is unique in offering milkshakes, while Popeyes has smoothies.
McDonald‘s has the most bottled and specialty drinks like frappes.
When it comes to nutritional value, Popeyes lemonade has slightly less sugar than Chick-fil-A lemonade, but more than McDonald‘s. Popeyes also uses real sugar in their tea vs. high fructose corn syrup at some competitors.
5 Best Popeyes Drink Ideas
Based on nutritional value, sales trends, and my personal taste tests, here are my picks for Popeyes‘ top 5 beverages:
1. Black Iced Coffee – Smooth and refreshing without added sweeteners or calories.
2. Unsweet Tea – The pure, clean taste highlights real brewed tea.
3. Strawberry Lemonade – The right balance of sweet and tart flavors.
4. Diet Coke – An oldie but goodie 0 calorie choice.
5. Orange Juice – Fresh-squeezed style, a nice lighter option.
Next time you‘re looking to quench your thirst, try one of these low-calorie favorites for the optimal Popeyes drinking experience.
So in summary, with a fountain lineup, specialty lemonades, teas, coffees and juices, Popeyes provides an array of beverage options with broad appeal. Understanding the menu can help you make the perfect selection.
