KFC’s Cheetos Sandwich? Only 3 states (not Illinois, alas) getting a test trial

Chester Cheetah, meet Col. Sanders.

KFC is testing a new Cheetos Sandwich in select restaurants in the Greensboro, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Roanoke, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; and Greenville, Georgia, areas.

The new menu item is a hand-breaded Extra Crispy chicken filet with special Cheetos sauce on a toasted bun with mayo and a layer of Cheetos.

The $4.79 sandwich will be available until March 24 or as long as supplies last, according to the company.

“Both KFC and Cheetos have dedicated fan bases loyal to each new creation, so it only made sense to merge these two iconic brands together to provide an irresistible and flavorful sandwich that gives the best of both worlds,” KFC said.

What KFC did was take its signature Crispy Colonel Sandwich, which it introduced in April, and “Cheeto-fied it for an extra crunch and a double punch of flavor,” the chicken chain added.

This isn’t the first time Cheetos has partnered with a major fast-food company. In 2016, Burger King launched Mac n’ Cheetos, deep fried sticks of macaroni and cheese with a crunchy Cheetos-flavored breading, and then brought them back in Flamin’ Hot Mac n’ Cheetos form in 2017.

And Cheetos itself has ventured into the restaurant business. In 2017, the brand opened a pop-up eatery in New York City called The Spotted Cheetah and this past September, it did again, but on the other side of the country – The Flamin’ Hot Spot in Hollywood Hills, California.

The Cheetos brand is part of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division.

Zlati Meyer, USA TODAY