The 39-Cent Chicken Sliders From KFC That People Bought By The Bagful In The '80s

The passage of time hath wrought great change upon Colonel Sanders' chicken empire, with the chain once known as "Kentucky Fried Chicken" rebranding to "KFC," leaving Kentucky altogether for new corporate headquarters in Texas, and discontinuing most (though not all!) of its buffet locations. The big, in-your-face changes aren't the only ones that cut like a knife, either. On its current menu, KFC offers a diminutive chicken sandwich, appropriately called a "Chicken Little," that features an Original Recipe tender on a small bun with mayo and pickles. It sells for $3.19 (as of this writing), or you can get two of them in a combo with a side and drink for $7.99. However, today's Chicken Little is a sad shadow of what was once a mighty force in fast food: the '80s Chicken Little slider, which cost just 39 cents and inspired customers to buy in bulk.

Today, commercials for the old Chicken Little live on in YouTube glory, with catchy, doo-wop inspired jingles touting their deliciousness and low price. At their inception, Chicken Littles didn't contain a tender, but a petite chicken patty that was like a bigger, flatter nugget. The price was undoubtedly a big factor in the Chicken Little love, as 39 cents was low even for the '80s, as evidenced by the fact that the CPI Inflation Calculator puts 39 cents in 1988 dollars — the year is an approximation — at just $1.07 in 2025. Chicken Little ads tended to feature towers of sliders, making the message clear: you should take advantage and stock up.

To many, today's Chicken Little sandos are a disgrace to the name of the beloved originals. The buns don't earn especially high marks for durability or taste, for one thing, and it's been reported that the generous slick of mayonnaise overwhelms the flavor of the actual chicken. This is, of course, to say nothing of the incredible price hike.

"I loved the old Chicken Littles that were patties," one Redditor reminisced fondly. "The ones today are just a chicken strip in a roll." On Food Talk Central, a gentleman of a certain age reinforced the appeal of the sliders: "At $0.35 each, they were perfect for a starving teenager. I ate a ton of those things." And a Facebook user had some tough words for KFC regarding original Chicken Littles: "[Customers are] still calling for their return because these were one of the best slider sized sandwiches to ever exist. Even as a little kid I could eat a dozen. That c**p imposter one today is nowhere near the same."

In a fast food landscape where value reigns supreme, it's not surprising that customers yearn for the cheap and delicious Chicken Littles they lost in the 80s. There's nothing in the American drive-thru multiverse that comes close to hitting that sweet spot for pricing ... 39 cents may never be seen again for any menu item more substantial than a sauce packet, but we can certainly sigh over the good old days.