Subway Has 3 New Footlong Treats (And A Clear Winner)

Subway's newest menu has officially launched nationwide, and the three new lengthy treats, though equal in size, are not so evenly matched when it comes to quality. The Subway Sidekicks menu doesn't have a sandwich in sight—it includes a footlong cookie, footlong churro, and footlong pretzel. Which ones are worth ordering?

The original inspiration for these 12-inch additions to the menu did not come from Subway's signature $5 footlong sandwich promotion, but instead came from a 2022 National Cookie Day promotion that first unleashed the Footlong Cookie on the masses. Now, the Footlong Cookie quite literally has two sidekicks, and just as the prices vary for each treat, so does the deliciousness. Let's take a look at each in turn.

Right off the bat I will say that pretzels, both the tiny crunchy kind and the big soft kind, are not among my top snack choices, but I was willing to give Subway's collaboration with Auntie Anne's a fair shake. After all, there's no other mall establishment from which I would accept pretzel bites.

The Footlong Pretzel retails at Subway for $3, and it's meant to be enjoyed with Honey Mustard for dipping. However, I did not realize my Subway failed to included the dipping sauce until it was too late to return. I won't dock points from the pretzel for this mistake, but it should be noted that this lengthy piece of bread is not easy to enjoy dry. Literally give me anything to soften the tough bite of pretzel bread I had to chew a million times and force down.

In terms of visual appeal, the footlong pretzel looks more like a twist of bread shaped into a long tube, but I give Subway and Auntie Anne's points for not over-salting this offering. True pretzel fans might be put off by the paltry sprinkle of salt decorating the top of the pretzel, but it actually makes the bread itself palatable. Unfortunately, there just wasn't anything impressive about this sidekick.

The Footlong Churro is another partnership between Subway and a brand well known for its place in U.S. shopping malls: Cinnabon, which lends its cinnamon sugar finesse to the creation of this 12-inch churro. If Subway knows footlongs, then Cinnabon knows cinnamon sugar.

The churro sells for $2 and includes just the right balance of cinnamon sugar dusting all over it. The churro is crispy, almost teetering on overdone, but is soft enough at its core to not be considered stale. There's an audible crunch in each bite of the churro despite it being baked and not fried as churros normally are. For $2, this sidekick could stand its ground next to the big heroes.

The Sidekick that started it all is built to be more than a sidekick. Subway's Footlong Cookie satisfies the tastes of different cookie lovers, offering the perfect amount of chocolate chips to satisfy a sweet tooth without rotting it.

At $5, the Footlong Cookie is the heaviest option of the Sidekicks, but it's well worth the price. This cookie is so dense compared to the other Sidekicks that it's the only one served in its own container. The middle of the ruler-shaped cookie is so soft and gooey you could even say it's slightly underdone, and because of that, taking the cookie out of its tray resulted in immediate collapse. I noticed the cookie also had a heavy grease factor—the bottom of the tin glistened after removal—but I didn't mind. At the same time, the outer edges of the cookie are more firm and visibly more baked, with a darker brown color. The shape of the cookie aside, it brings back memories of the massive chocolate chip cookies sold in the high school cafeteria with some potentially raw dough in the center. Those cookies were gold.

Even though the Footlong Cookie is the saving grace of Subway's Sidekicks menu, there are many questions this new category creates. What is Subway trying to achieve with these offerings? The name of the category, Sidekicks, gives the impression that they should be a side or add-on to any sandwich order.

However, each item ranges in terms of width and heftiness. The cookie is heavier than the other two offerings, and it's far too filling to be considered a mere "sidekick." Meanwhile, the pretzel falls in the middle of the pack, perhaps too substantial and bready to tack on to an order off the Subway Series menu. The churro is light enough to be a snack, side order, or a post-sandwich treat, but might be slightly harder to share.

Subway Sidekicks might not have found their leader just yet, but that big cookie definitely has hero potential written all over it.