National Chicken Fried Steak Day 2026: October 26, Plus a $9.99 Deal

National Chicken Fried Steak Day is October 26 every year, and in 2026 it falls on a Monday. Cotton Patch Cafe is celebrating the weekend before: from Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25, 2026, Chicken Fried Steak and Chicken Fried Chicken are $9.99 with a promo code, online and in-store.

When Is National Chicken Fried Steak Day?

National Chicken Fried Steak Day is October 26 every year; in 2026 that’s a Monday. The date comes from Texas: in 2011, the Texas House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 1419, recognizing October 26 as Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. Food-holiday calendars now list the same date as National Chicken Fried Steak Day, so the two names mean the same day.

How Did Chicken Fried Steak Get Its Own Day in Texas?

Chicken fried steak got its own Texas day through a 2011 House resolution sponsored by Representative Ralph Sheffield of Temple. According to KERA News, the push came from Dallas public-relations man Jeffrey Yarbrough, a former president of the Texas Restaurant Association, after the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Beef Council each told him they couldn’t name a holiday. The resolution itself notes that restaurants across Texas were already marking October 26, 2011, as the second annual Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day with special deals, so celebrating with a deal is as old as the day. It also links the dish to Wiener schnitzel, brought to Texas by European immigrants, and to pan-fried steak, a favorite of Texas cowboys. For the story behind the name, read why it’s called chicken fried steak.

What’s the Cotton Patch Chicken Fried Steak Day Deal for 2026?

The 2026 deal is $9.99 Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken Fried Chicken from Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25, with a single-use promo code. Both dishes are regularly $14.99, so the code takes $5 off the plate. It works online at cottonpatch.com and in the restaurant, and small and regular portions both qualify.

Regular prices as listed on our $9.99 Texas Value Meals page, September 2026.

How Do I Use the $9.99 Promo Code?

Using the code takes four steps, and it works the same online and in the cafe:

1. Get your single-use promo code through the Cotton Patch eClub and app before Friday, October 23.
2. Order Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken Fried Chicken, small or regular, between October 23 and 25.
3. Online or in the app, enter the code at checkout. In the cafe, give it to your server.
4. Remember it’s single use, so save it for the visit you want it on.

What’s the Difference Between Chicken Fried Steak and Chicken Fried Chicken?

Chicken fried steak is beef and chicken fried chicken is chicken; everything else about them is the same at Cotton Patch. Both are hand-breaded in our kitchens, Southern fried, and topped with scratch-made cream gravy or jalapeño gravy.

Tenderness is what separates a great one from a tough one; we explain how in the secret to tender chicken fried steak. See both plates and every side on our full menu.

Why Do Texans Celebrate Chicken Fried Steak?

Texans celebrate chicken fried steak because it’s a Texas comfort-food signature, one Texas lawmakers gave a day of its own. Cotton Patch has been hand-breading it since our first cafe opened in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1989, and today we serve it at 46 cafes across Texas and New Mexico (as of September 2026). Dallas Morning News readers voted Cotton Patch Gold for Best Comfort Food in both the 2025 and 2026 Best in DFW awards. If you’re making a list of where to eat it, start with our take on the best chicken fried steak in Texas.

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