What Is Arby's Best-Selling Menu Item?

Arby's has long been one of America's top fast-food sandwich chains by sales, right up there with Subway and Panera Bread. While everyone has a favorite option from the menu, from the rich Beef N' Cheddar to the sweet Jamocha shake, what is Arby's best-selling menu item? As a spokesperson shared with Chowhound, it's actually the Classic Roast Beef sandwich. 

In 2024 alone, Arby's sold 144.4 million of these fan-favorite sandwiches. That's about 396,000 sandwiches a day, or 80.7 million pounds of beef per year. (For reference, that's about 180,000 cows.)

On the menu since 1964, this beloved sandwich features thin slices of roast beef piled on a toasted sesame seed bun. The meat is slow-roasted in ovens for three hours, giving it a juicy and flavorful taste. (So no, Arby's does not serve fake roast beef.) Its simplicity is its power. For an added dash of flavor, Arby's recommends pairing it with its tangy Arby's sauce or the zesty Horsey sauce for some added spice, but the choice is up to you. For more info on the sandwich, here are 11 other surprising facts about Arby's roast beef.

Arby's first opened its doors in 1964. Owners (and brothers) Leroy and Forrest Raffel were eager to get in on America's burgeoning fast food scene, and they were confident that customers wanted a chain that specialized in roast beef sandwiches instead of burgers. The brand's early commercials focused on the makeup of Arby's most popular sandwich, highlighting the many tender slices of roast beef stacked onto every bun. Later commercials honed in on its value. In 1997, for example, Arby's ran a promotion selling two roast beef sandwiches for $2, and in 2022, the chain advertised a four sandwiches for $10 deal. 

While the first-ever Arby's menu looked a little different than today's, the Classic Roast Beef Sandwich has been there since the start. Over 70 years later, the sandwich is still going strong. If it's been a while since you've had the sandwich, it might be worth stopping in for another taste. With 396,000 sandwiches sold per day, clearly fans still seem to think its smoky, tangy flavors hold up.