After a seven year hiatus, Cow Appreciation Day is back at Chick-fil-A. Find out about the holiday and how you can get free chicken here.
To make sure you don’t miss any fun food holidays, check out all of our national days.
I was so excited when we first moved to North Carolina because there was a Chick-fil-A in the mall. I was ready to make Pete dress up for Cow Appreciation Day every year.
We never did. And then, in 2019, the promotion stopped.
But, it’s back. This year, 2026, is Chick-fil-A’s 80th anniversary and in honor of that, Cow Appreciation Day is back. And we have all the details.
Cow Appreciation Day is just one of the annual days when restaurant chains offer free and cheap food in celebration.
Make sure you don’t miss any annual food holidays by checking out our list of the top national days for freebies and deals.
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Cow Appreciation Day: Dates & Details
- Date & Time: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 from 7 am to 7 pm
- Location: Any Chick-fil-A location
- Details: Dress like a cow to receive a free entree
How To Get Free Chick-fil-A On Cow Appreciation Day
Getting free food on Cow Appreciation Day is really simple. Just head to your local Chick-fil-A dressed like a cow.
If you go dressed during breakfast hours (7 am to 10:30 am), you’ll receive a Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit (original) or 4-count Chick-n-Minis for free.
If you go dressed during lunch or dinner (10:30 am to 7 pm), you can choose between a free Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich (original or spicy), 8-count nuggets (original or grilled), or a 3-count Chick-n-Strips. Kids under 12 who dress up can get a free entrée and kids prize.
This is valid in-person (dine in, carry-out, or drive-thru orders) and isn’t valid on mobile or delivery orders.
It’s valid per person, not per family or per car, so you can bring the whole herd in. But, everyone has to be dressed up to get their free food.
What To Wear For Cow Appreciation Day
If you want, you can purchase a cow costume online and just wear that. If Chick-fil-A goes back to having this promo annually, you can just wear it every year.
But, you don’t have to buy a new outfit to get your free food.
Chick-fil-A has printables (here) that you can download for free. There’s one for a mask, cow spots (that you can tape onto a white shirt) and a sign that says, “Eat Mor Chikin”.
Personally, I have a white sweatshirt with black polka dots on it, so I think that and a mask will get me some free chicken.
More Free Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A will have a new game in its app on July 7 called Spot the Cows.
When you’re done playing, you’ll get a reward for a free order of medium waffle fries, valid through July 13 (the day before Cow Appreciation Day, so unfortunately, you can’t combine the offers).
There are only a certain number of rewards available, so play sooner rather than later.
This game will replace the Code Moo game in the app, which we’ve been playing since 2023 to get free Chick-fil-A weekly.
Are you going to dress up for Cow Appreciation Day this year? Let us know in the comments.