10 Restaurant Chains With the Best Family Meal Deals
At a time when rising food prices are making consumers hold their wallets more tightly, meal deals have become increasingly more enticing. Just look at America's biggest fast-food chains. McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Taco Bell have all directed their focus on affordability this summer by rolling out new value meals. And these are just some of the chains that have hopped on the discount wagon, with plenty of others joining in on the value wars as well. Besides these newer deals, various restaurants have ongoing promotions geared toward feeding groups—because as we all know, feeding multiple people can get pricey and challenging.
If you're looking for an easy way to feed your family or friends, many national chains offer family meal deals that are worth keeping on your radar. From dine-in eateries to fast-food joints, here are 10 restaurants with some enticing family meal deals. Keep in mind that prices can vary by location.
Cracker Barrel
If your family is craving comfort food like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, Cracker Barrel's family-style meals are sure to capture your attention. The country-themed restaurant chain offers a variety of options that serve five people and start at around $40. One of these is Chicken 'N Dumplins Family meal, which includes chicken tenderloins and the chain's homemade "dumplins" simmered in chicken stock, plus buttermilk biscuits and a choice of two sides like broccoli, corn, and coleslaw. All of this starts at $39.99, with certain sides, such as loaded mashed potatoes, being higher in price.
Need to serve a crowd-friendly breakfast? Consider ordering Cracker Barrel's Pancake Breakfast Family Meal, which comes with buttermilk pancakes and scrambled eggs, along with a choice of bacon or sausage patties and hashbrown casserole or fried apples. This offering starts at $39.99.
Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen
Texas-based Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen offers a few different family bundles that include a choice of 16 hand-breaded tenders and a dipping sauce, four 5-ounce grilled salmon filets served on a bed of seasoned rice, or eight chicken tenders and two salmon filets. All three options include a choice of two family-sized sides, such as mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, plus six honey butter croissants.
The chain's Chicken Tender Bundle starts at $27.99, while the Grilled Salmon Bundle is an extra $10. Meanwhile, the Salmon & Tenders Bundle starts at $35.99.
Olive Garden
Chicken parmesan. Lasagna. Fettuccine Alfredo. These are just some of the family-sized meal options at Olive Garden. Choose from a selection of family-sized pans, which feed four to six people and range in price from around $50 to $70. Or, go for the family-style lasagna bundles, which feed four to six people for $64.99 or up to 12 people for $95.99. These lasagna meals are complete with Olive Garden's famous salad and breadsticks. If you'd prefer to just stick with soup, salad, and breadsticks, Olive Garden also offers family-sized portions of these.
Chili's
Chili's offers all sorts of party platters featuring menu favorites like fajitas, ribs, chicken crispers, and Southwestern egg rolls. For a little bit of everything, you can opt for the Party Platter Triple Dipper, which includes any three appetizers, such as wings, fried mozzarella, and Big Mouth Bites—aka Chili's mini burgers. This platter serves eight people and clocks in at $52.
For the same price, you can also score the Party Platter Fajita Trio. This comes with a selection of three proteins, including grilled chicken, grilled steak, and seared shrimp, as well as cilantro, bell peppers and onions, Mexican rice, black beans, and flour tortillas. Sour cream, pico de gallo, and shredded cheese are also included on the side, while customers will have to request guacamole.
Panera
In the mood for soups, sandwiches, and salads? Panera can help you get your fix with its Family Feast value meals, which include different combinations of these menu items. Take the Family Feast, for example. This serves four to six people and includes four half-sandwiches, one whole salad, one group soup, and one whole French baguette. All of this costs $36. For five extra dollars, you can order the Family Feast with Cookies, which includes the same offerings plus four Chocolate Chipper Cookies. The bakery café chain also offers group-sized portions of its famous mac and cheese, soups, and bakery items.
Moe's Southwest Grill
Build-your-own meal kind of nights can be especially fun when eating with a group, and Moe's does all the work for you. The fast-casual Mexican chain offers taco, fajita, and nacho kits that feed four to six people. These include a choice of two proteins, plus other Tex-Mex staples like queso, beans, pico de gallo, and sour cream. The nacho kit costs $39.99, while the taco kit is $43.99 and fajita kits is $49.99.
Panda Express
Chinese-American chain Panda Express lets customers build a family-sized meal that starts at $35. As part of this deal, you can select two sides, such as chow mein and fried rice, plus three entrées, like the Original Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, and Beijing Beef. This offering is designed to feed five people. Certain dishes like the new Beyond Original Orange Chicken and Black Pepper Angus Steak are available for a higher price.
KFC
In April, KFC expanded its value offerings with its new "Taste of KFC Deals" value menu. One of these is the $20 Family Deal. This is complete with six pieces of crispy fried chicken, including two drumsticks, two thighs, one breast, and one wing, along with mac and cheese, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, and four buttermilk biscuits.
This is just one of numerous family meal options offered at KFC. The fried chicken chain also offers all sorts of fried chicken and side combos, such as its $20 Fill Up Box, which includes four pieces of fried chicken, 12 chicken nuggets, Secret Recipe French fries, four biscuits, and four dipping sauces of your choice.
Popeyes
If you love that chicken from Popeyes, the Louisiana Kitchen has a range of family meals featuring the chain's most iconic menu item. The Signature Chicken Family meal features a choice of the chain's eight-, 12-, or 16-piece chicken, along with one to three sides and four to eight biscuits depending on the meal you choose. A few side options include Cajun fries, red beans and rice, and mashed potatoes with Cajun gravy. Prices range from $25.99 to $48.99.
Additionally, as a relatively new player in the chicken wing game, Popeyes offers an 18-count box of wings for $19.99. Choose up to three flavors from six choices, including Ghost Pepper, Honey BBQ, Honey Lemon Pepper, Roasted Garlic Parmesan, Sweet 'N Spicy, and Signature Hot.
Popeyes also offers family-sized chicken tender meals, as well as chicken-only meals.
Domino's
Pizza night, anyone? Domino's aims to make mealtime even easier with one of its signature promotions: the Perfect Combo Deal. This starts at $19.99 and includes two medium one-topping pizzas, a 16-piece order of Parmesan Bread Bites, and an eight-piece order of Cinnamon Bread Twists. Another popular Domino's offering is the Mix & Match deal, which includes a choice of any two items, which are each priced at $6.99. These items can include medium two-topping pizzas, breads, Loaded Tots, boneless chicken, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and desserts.
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