8 Wawa Secret Menu Hacks Worth Trying

If you've ever been on an East Coast road trip, chances are you've stumbled into a Wawa. If you're new to the gas station chain, you thought you were grabbing candy and a bag of chips. But if you followed your taste buds to the ordering kiosks, you probably left with a hoagie, a specialty latte, and enough sides to satisfy a small country.

Wawa started in the greater Philadelphia area, but now has almost 1,200 locations across the eastern seaboard. The chain is known as one of the best gas stations for ordering food, especially if your appetite is calling for a customized sandwich, gooey mac and cheese, or a milkshake in literally any flavor. If you're looking for snacky combos with regional flair like Pennsylvania's favorite soft pretzels and iced tea, Wawa's got you covered in spades there, too.

I'm a longtime Wawa fan: I've been known to request Wawa subs after giving birth to my children, and there isn't a late-night craving that Wawa can't cure. And while I know a lot about Wawa, the so-called secret menu has been a mystery to me. Wawa used to have an official secret menu that you accessed at the kiosks by pressing on a goose icon on the bottom left-hand corner. That's no longer available, but Wawa aficionados are a resourceful bunch, and they have hacked their way through the menu for the best flavor combinations available. I taste-tested several popular orders to see if they're worth the hype.

This menu hack requires extra effort because you actually have to speak with a Wawa associate to make it happen. Gasp, I know, but it's worth it. Several people online say that how you toast your hoagies at Wawa makes all the difference. According to Reddit, toasting your Breaded Chicken Strips hot hoagie with the tenders and cheese already on it is a game-changer, instead of getting the roll toasted by itself.

I based my order on a favorite from Dominique Damerjian, a New Jersey-based food reviewer. Order the sandwich with the toppings below (or the ones you personally like), then ask the associate behind the counter to toast the bread with the tenders and cheese already on it. The cheese gets melted onto the chicken in the best possible combination, but the other ingredients stay fresh on top for texture and flavor contrast. The toppings Damerjian suggests are a classic combo, though I might try adding pickles the next time for extra zip. For just $6.39 for a Shorti (Wawa's 6-inch roll), this is flavorful, hearty, and well worth the time to ask — politely — for the specialty toasting.

How to order: At the kiosk, select a custom Breaded Chicken Strips hot hoagie with American cheese. Add lettuce, tomato, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and mayo. Once your order is complete, ask the associate to toast the sandwich with the chicken tenders and cheese already on it.

If you set calendar reminders for when McDonald's releases the Shamrock Shake each spring, I humbly suggest hacking the Wawa menu to get what you want instead. It's available all year, and you can customize it with add-ins that make the smoothie taste just like a Girl Scout Thin Mint, if that's your jam. (It is absolutely mine.)

Wawa's Mint Cream Smoothie began as an official secret menu item in 2019, but stuck around full-time ever since. Lucky us. (Wawa associates explain that the chain's cream smoothies are "icier" versions of milkshakes, and compare them to Frappuccinos.) If you want a straightforward, smooth mint flavor, order it as-is and leave happy. The mint flavor itself is addicting and incredibly reminiscent of the Shamrock Shakes at the Golden Arches — just without the acid-green food coloring. It's also $4.39 in my region instead of $5.09 for the same size at McDonald's.

I took things a step further and added cookie pieces in the smoothie and on top, along with a chocolate drizzle. These additions are frequent menu hacks that Wawa enthusiasts love to share online, and this was no exception. The result was a perfect frozen Thin Mint replica. The add-ons take it to $5.99, but it's worth the splurge. To order, select a custom Mint Cream Smoothie, add chocolate cookie pieces in the mix, and add cookie pieces and a chocolate drizzle on top. 

Bacon tastes good with everything — there's no getting around it. But it can also come with a hefty up-charge these days, especially when you're creating a custom order at places like Wawa. If you want to add bacon to a sandwich or quesadilla at the gas station chain, expect to pay around $1.60 extra, which was the cost in the app in my local area right now.

Wawa is generous with its bacon portions — in my experience, you'll get multiple strips of crispy applewood bacon, and the flavor and crunch will be perfect. But if you want to avoid paying the extra bacon for your, uh, bacon, one genius tip might save you some cash. 

Order the Roasted Chicken Bacon Ranch quesadilla, and then customize it any way you like (take the ranch out, pick your cheeses and other toppings, etc.) It can be whatever you want, all at the regular $7.69 quesadilla price. I kept the chicken and the bacon, removed the ranch, and then added the two cheeses and other free toppings (black beans, corn, salsa roja). When I started with the Roasted Chicken quesadilla and added the bacon as an up-charge instead, the ingredients were exactly the same, but for a whopping $9.29. Now that's ordering smarter. To order, select the Roasted Chicken Bacon Ranch quesadilla at the kiosk, remove the ranch if desired, and choose your other ingredients — with the bacon already included. 

If the extensive specialty coffee choices on Wawa's menu just aren't doing it for you, a self-proclaimed "Wawa girl" on TikTok shows that you can have your latte any way you want it, with a trip to Wawa's refrigerator cases.

She often creates custom lattes by ordering a Double Shot of Espresso at the kiosk, then adding Wawa's store-branded milks or creams from the refrigerated section. In her crave-able Cookies 'n' Cream creation, she adds the espresso to a medium cup of ice, Wawa's Cookies & Cream Milk (which has its own cult following), and tops it with half a container of Mini Melts Cookies & Cream ice cream.

I mixed mine in a large cup for extra room, though the ice diluted the drink too much over time. I'd stick with the 16-ounce version, which leaves plenty of milk left over for another latte. Either way, the espresso and milk totals $4.44 — less than most of the specialty drinks on Wawa's menu. The addition of the ice cream in this one is expensive — an additional $3.99 — for a total charge of $8.43. While the result was incredibly creamy and evoked a delicious cookies & cream vibe, I'd likely skip the ice cream next time. To order, choose a Double Shot of Espresso from the kiosk, then add it to a 16-ounce cup of ice. Add Wawa's Cookies & Cream Milk, and the Mini Melts ice cream if you're splurging. 

Hacking the Wawa menu can start at sunrise, if you're up for a little bit of breakfast sandwich DIY. I came across several references to toasting breakfast burritos and Sizzlis — Wawa's line of breakfast sandwiches — with a hash brown inside for extra flavor and crunch.

Sadly, that same research showed that asking the Wawa associates to do that for you will now end in disappointment, as several Wawa employees confirmed online that they're no longer allowed to toast the hash brown with the sandwich in their built-to-order ovens. Something about food safety and temperature guidelines, etc. But savvy customers simply buy their sandwich of choice, then add the hash brown to it before chowing down.

I did this with a Bacon burrito, and was surprised by how much adding the hash brown elevated the other ingredients in one bite. The hash brown added bulk to the burrito, along with a little bit of crunch and shredded potato goodness. Eating it inside the burrito was a lot more satisfying than just taking a bite of the hash brown on the side, though I can't fully explain the magic of why. The total was $6.98 before tax — $4.99 for the burrito and $1.99 for the hash brown. It wasn't the cheapest, but it was a filling and appetizing start to the day. To order, a burrito or Sizzli from the kiosk, along with a hash brown. Add the hash brown inside.

I'm no stranger to Wawa's mac and cheese: I have three children under 10, and sometimes sneak a few bites before dishing out cheesy noodles to hungry mouths. Normally, it's what you'd expect from standard macaroni. The same is true for the mashed potatoes. They're fine, but nothing to rave about.

If you're craving a flavorful bowl of side-dish carbs, Reddit is chock full of ideas for customizing either one for unique improvements. In my case, I ordered the Garlic Aioli Mac & Cheese, and then asked the associate to add Old Bay seasoning and Parmesan on top. You can order Old Bay from the kiosk on plain Mac & Cheese, but not the flavored varieties — which is a bit of an oversight in the kiosk menu, if you ask me.

Regardless, one associate online noted that as long as you're not asking for extra premium ingredients that result in an up-charge (like extra protein or sliced cheese), they can usually make it for you. My version was a large improvement over the original, if a bit salty. I blame the Old Bay for the salt content, but also the flavor boost. The garlic aioli added depth of flavor, and the Parmesan added a spin on the cheesy flavor with a slight texture variation, too. To order, order the Garlic Aioli Mac & Cheese, then ask the associate to add Old Bay and Parmesan, or other seasonings of your choice.

TikTok is littered with Wawa fans who swear they're never going back to Starbucks' Pink Drink after trying dupes from their neighborhood gas station. Wawa has several preset Iced Refreshers that look almost identical to the drink that Starbucks first popularized, with some notable differences.

While genius ordering hacks at Starbucks abound as well, the customization from Wawa is unmatched. One version of this (literally) pink drink details the order in a close-up of the large (24-ounce) cup, and includes dragonfruit juice, strawberry flavoring, oat milk, vanilla, freeze-dried strawberries, and mango popping bubbles that are similar to boba. Those bubbles weren't available at my Wawa, but I otherwise recreated this order exactly to see how it compared to the OG from the shop with green aprons across town.

Many fans like Wawa's version because it uses oat milk instead of coconut milk for creaminess. I liked the smoothness of this drink, but missed the coconut flavor — I would likely add that in my next variation. I also found this drink to be a bit overly sweet, but with the strawberries and dragonfruit juice, it was a tropical paradise in a cup. At $5.09, it's also less than the same-sized drink from Starbucks ($5.75 for a venti), so if you like this combo or something similar, you'll save some money. To order, select the Build Your Own Refresher, then choose 24 ounces, dragonfruit juice, strawberry puree, oat milk, dried strawberries, and vanilla syrup. 

This might be the simplest menu hack of all, but it comes with a major cinnamon-sugar flavor boost. All you need to do is use the complementary (free!) toppings available at Wawa's coffee bar for this tasty bagel upgrade.

Cinnamon sugar bagels aren't available on Wawa's Baked Goods menu, but one Wawa employee said they make their own by ordering the Plain Bagel with butter or cream cheese, then adding a dusting of sugar and cinnamon over the top. The associate suggests mixing the two toppings together in a coffee cup: Everything you need is available free of charge at the coffee bar, and it becomes a great improvement.

I asked for a regular amount of cream cheese, and it barely covered the surface of both halves, so I would likely ask for the extra amount in the future. I also made the critical error of sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar on separately instead of pre-mixing them in a cup. I would definitely mix them together ahead of time, as the cinnamon didn't spread evenly over my cream cheese. But pro tip: If you get yours toasted, put the two halves back together afterward for a minute while the bagel is still warm. The sugar crystals will melt just a bit, making for a luxurious bite. As simple hacks go, this one is a winner. To order, order a bagel from the kiosk, then add cinnamon and sugar from the coffee bar. 

I was sad to see that Wawa's goose icon is no longer available on store kiosks, but I wasn't surprised, given that the last official reports about "secret menu" items were from 2023. Undeterred, I knew that plenty of Wawa's loyal customers — and even many enterprising Wawa associates — were in the know about how to get the most out of Wawa's already highly customizable menu. I pulled several popular menu hacks from forums like Reddit, TikTok, and other online resources and decided to put them to the test.

I evaluated the menu hacks based first on taste, and then on other aspects like appearance, overall quality, and price (which varies by location, and is listed before taxes). Luckily for me, the Wawa fanbase is a discerning bunch, and most of the menu items were delicious on the first try. If I plan to make minor tweaks for my own ordering in the future, I note those details with the specific menu item. With each menu hack, I list ordering instructions so you can replicate it — or customize it to your liking even further.