You might be happy to enjoy your Popeyes chicken dinner as-is, but a seasoned pro might ask for a little extra Cajun Sparkle.
Often described as a “secret” item at Popeyes, Cajun Sparkle seasoning is a Cajun-inspired blend of salt, herbs and spices designed to be sprinkled over your meal “to suit your taste,” according to the ingredients and instructions on the packet. Cajun Sparkle packets are available upon request, but many customers have suggested that they’re becoming harder and harder to find.
“So good,” one customer on Reddit claimed in a recent post. “[The employees] look at you like you’re from Mars when you ask for it though.”
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Fans, however, say the Cajun Sparkle packets are still very much available, at least depending on location. The flavor is also comparable to popular Creole-inspired seasonings or salt blends often found at supermarkets, some say.
“You know what this tastes like to me?” online food critic Dave Schratz asked aloud in a review earlier this year, after allegedly searching for the seasoning for months. “This is like the all-purpose seasoning that, I think, everybody puts on their food. It’s like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika. I’m also getting a little bit of, it almost tastes like Worcester sauce.”
“Be careful with it though, because it is kinda d— salty,” he added. “But it’s good.”
Schratz was pretty much spot-on with his assessment. While there’s no nutrition information available for Cajun Sparkle on the official Popeyes website, the packet itself lists salt, paprika, dried garlic, dried onion and Worcester sauce as its first five ingredients, followed by MSG and an anti-caking agent.
Hoping to try Cajun Sparkle for yourself? It may be wise to call ahead. When contacted, workers at a number of Popeyes locations across the country said they had the seasoning in stock, though a handful said they did not. One employee, at a location in the Northeast, said their restaurant’s supplier stopped carrying it.
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A representative for Popeyes was not immediately available to comment on the availability of Cajun Sparkle. There’s also no mention of Cajun Sparkle on the official Popeyes website (other than its inclusion in a list of trademarked phrases), but perhaps Popeyes prefers for its customers to discover the “secret” item on their own.
“How long have they had this for? Like, are you serious?” one Popeyes user remarked on TikTok earlier this month, claiming she hadn’t known about Cajun Sparkle in all her years of patronage.
“Welcome to the secret, friend,” a representative for the official Popeyes account responded.
