Ranking Fast Food Fried Chicken Sandwiches, From First To Worst

It’s easy to see why Food Fried Chicken Sandwiches have taken the fast food business by storm. Many people who like fast food go for this fried, juicy, and tasty treat.

With so many fast food chains trying to make the best-fried chicken sandwich, it can be hard to know which one to choose.

Don’t worry, because we’ve put together the best list of fast-food fried chicken sandwiches to help you decide. In this piece, we’ll take a closer look at fried chicken sandwiches from some of the most popular fast-food chains.

So, get ready for a trip through the best-fried chicken sandwiches in the fast food business.

Here, Full information about the fast food  Bojangles Menu with Prices.

1. Shake Shack Chick’n Shack

In recent years, Shake Shack has become very popular because of one easy idea: take fast food to its highest level and serve it quickly to keep the line moving.

The practice continues with the Chick’n Shack, Shake Shack’s much-hyped move into the world of fried chicken sandwiches.

The first thing you notice is the huge piece of fried chicken breast that is bigger than the soft, toasted potato bun it is served on. Its seasoned, craggy sides hang out like college students at Mardi Gras.

In fact, it doesn’t look like a piece of chicken is sitting on a bun. Instead, it looks like a piece of chicken is wrapped around a bun.

Even though the chicken is huge, it stays incredibly crunchy. Each bite of spicy breading breaks into a juicy chicken breast with a natural texture.

A thick layer of what look like artisanal pickles (not the weird, yellowed cheap dills served at other fast food places) goes well with the chicken’s fattiness and adds a lot of acid to cut through all that richness.

The lettuce isn’t anything special (lettuce rarely is), but it’s topped with Shake Shack’s herbed mayonnaise, which tastes like thyme, green onion, parsley, and pepper.

The Chick’n Shack, like much of Shake Shack’s menu, is a great example of how even a simple chicken sandwich can be delicious if you take the time to balance the different parts and find good ingredients.

It looks easy, but it’s really not. It’s delicious and should be the new standard for fried chicken sandwiches.

2. Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Chick-fil-A puts a lot of extra effort into making a tasty meal. If you look at the list of chemicals, you might be surprised to see vinegar. That’s the secret.

It’s a science trick that tricks your brain into thinking that the food you’re eating is bright and fresh. Pressure cooking is what made that fried food taste so good.

It also speeds up the process and gets the fresh chicken out faster. The crazy part is that it’s so easy. It’s just a bun, a piece of chicken, and a surprise pickle under the chicken that gives it a bit more sour crunch.

The fact that it’s so simple takes it to a whole new level… and almost makes it the best.

Chick-fil-A is what pizza is like in the twenty-first century. People say that there’s no such thing as bad pizza, but it’s not true. You can never get bad Chick-fil-A.

3. Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

Good for Popeyes! They made a few sandwiches—keyword: few—and then watched as the viral world turned all the free press they could handle (and maybe a little more) into the great chicken wars of 2019—literally wars.

All of that is great for Popeyes, but what really matters is how the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich tastes.

For the build, they are going with pickles, like Chick-fil-A, and adding a few to a buttered brioche bun. At Chick-fil-A, you can add your own sauces to your chicken.

At Popeyes, the mayo is already on the bun, so you don’t have to. There is a lot of mayonnaise, and the chicken is really crunchy.

That really sets it apart from other chicken burgers; most give up taste for crunch, but Popeyes gives you a little bit of both. The bad thing about a lot of crunches is that it takes oil to make it, so this sandwich may have a lot more grease than most others.

Once you get past the double-breaded breast, you’ll notice that the chicken tastes like chicken. That makes sense, since, well, it does, but the taste is different when other places salt their chicken and Popeyes doesn’t.

Even though the sandwich might not be everyone’s choice, it is a favorite of many. Our readers voted Popeyes’ Chicken as the place with the best-fried chicken.

4. KFC Crispy Colonel Sandwich

For more than 70 years, KFC has been known for making great pressure-fried chicken, and its version of a fried chicken sandwich helps show why.

This chicken sandwich is sure of what it is at its core: A huge piece of thickly cut chicken breast, fried to crispy perfection in the Colonel’s secret mix of original herbs and spices, wrapped in a soft, warm potato bun and topped with just a few pickles and a swipe of mayonnaise.

The thick, juicy, and highly flavored chicken is the main attraction here. But KFC really starts to stand out from its competitors when it comes to sauces.

Customers can add more flavor to their Crispy Colonel Sandwich with the company’s Smoky Mountain BBQ, Georgia Gold, or Nashville Hot sauces.

These sauces are made with oil, so they add a lot of flavor without making the sandwich less crunchy.

Whether you like your free chicken taste to be sweet and smoky or hot and spicy, KFC gives you a variety of choices that put the chicken itself front and center, where it belongs.

5. Raising Cane’s Chicken Sandwich

It’s hard to go somewhere and not get what they’re known for. Raising Cane’s is a place to get chicken fingers, so we don’t blame you if you never even looked at the sandwich menu. The chicken at Cane’s is just good.

They’re known as a “signature sauce” restaurant, and a lot of people will think it’s just the sauce that makes the chicken good, but it’s not.

But what if you put it between two rolls?

Even though they have great chicken, they know that the sauce is the boss. The normal chicken sandwich is just three chicken fingers on a bun with lettuce.

The trick is that they put the sauce on for you. In fact, they put Cane’s sauce on both the top and bottom buns to “double sauce” it.

If you like the chicken and the sauce, just put them between two pieces of bread and add some lettuce. It’s so easy, but it tastes so good. Sometimes it’s that easy: don’t try to change the chicken finger, just put it on a bun and eat it.

6. PDQ Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Do you know about PDQ? You will. When it comes to quick service, they’re one of the places to keep an eye on. The Tampa-based chain is growing all over the country thanks to its tasty chicken.

What does PDQ mean? Zaxby’s or Raising Cane’s come to mind: A place that serves chicken fingers and is known for its sauce, or sauces, in this case. But just like those places, they have a chicken burger.

And, since you asked, the signs inside the shops say that PDQ stands for “People Dedicated to Quality.”

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich is PDQ’s basic sandwich. It has crunchy fried chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and pickles.

The reason PDQ is becoming more popular is that their chicken is really good. For a “sauce place,” they bring really tasty chicken with just a touch of heat and a perfectly crunchy chicken breast that isn’t too crunchy for a sandwich.

When a PDQ opens in your area, skip the chicken strips and go straight for the crispy burger. You’ll be surprised by how good it tastes. The only bad thing about the sandwich is that it has too much lettuce.

About half of the greens would be better. A chicken burger with pimento cheese and potato chips is also available. We’re not rating specialty chicken sandwiches, but if we were, oh boy… if that doesn’t make you want a PDQ close, you don’t have taste buds.

7. Culver’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich

You should find a Culver’s if you’ve never been there. They really care about using good products, and every time they take your order, they do so in a friendly way.

If you don’t already know, Culver’s puts their bread and butter on… butter burgers. They also have a chicken sandwich, though. And what do you know? That’s one delicious meal.

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich is “Southern style.” It tastes like a real piece of chicken and has a nice feel. The standard toppings at Culver are not what you might think.

You get lettuce, tomato, and pickles, but there is no sauce. No mayo, no mustard, no special sauce. Still, you won’t miss it at all. This chicken sandwich has all the water it needs from the tomato.

When you think of Culver’s, you don’t think of chicken, but this is a great and surprising chicken sandwich that you should add to your list of ways to eat chicken.

8. McDonald’s Classic Chicken Sandwich

You expected this to be higher on the list. didn’t you? We did too, to be honest.

The Classic Chicken Sandwich, which is the most expensive item on McDonald’s “$1-$2-$3” value menu, seems to be a straight shot at rival Chick-fil-A’s continued success and growth.

The sandwich takes out all the extra parts and has a big piece of fried chicken on a bun with a few pickle slices and a new “Signature Sauce.” The chicken is so big that it breaks the bun.

It’s a lot like the chain’s “Mac Sauce,” but it has a little bit of heat.

The first big thing you can’t miss about this sandwich is that it won’t look like the picture on the menu. Instead, your Classic Chicken Sandwich will look like it was thrown out of a moving car window.

Every single one we tried and every single one we’ve seen online has a lot of squishing as if the last step of making the sandwich is for the line cook to slam both hands into it and then lovingly wrap it in the paper.

Even so, there is a lot of chicken filet, and the pickles are a nice contrast to the salty buttermilk-fried chicken. The “Signature Sauce” doesn’t overpower the rest of the dish, but it does add delicious messiness.

9. Wendy’s Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Before a simple fried chicken sandwich became the “it” fast food item, the Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich was our gold standard for what a chicken sandwich from a drive-thru could be.

It has always stood out among fried chicken sandwiches that try to be like it. It has a perfectly balanced mix of spicy peppered breaded chicken that will wake you up without being too much.

It’s served on a faux-Brioche style bun and topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. But with more companies making chicken sandwiches, Wendy’s might not be able to keep up with the new competition.

The chicken on this sandwich is thinner than the chicken on many of the other sandwiches we tried, but it doesn’t taste any less good.

The usual Wendy’s heat is still there, and the sandwich still seems to be the most well-balanced of the ones we have.

The biggest differences are in the quality and crunch of the breading, which can be “crunchy” on a freshly made sandwich or “soggy and lifeless” on a chicken patty that has been sitting around for a while, and in the tomato, which is almost always mealy and lifeless.

Even if you only have two of the five ingredients, this sandwich is still a winner.

10. Arby’s Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich

In 2016, Arby’s came out with the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which was their take on the “buttermilk” fried crispy chicken sandwich style.

It has a filet of fried chicken soaked in buttermilk and topped with shredded lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. It comes on Arby’s “Star Cut” bun.

The chicken itself was a bit of a letdown. It was too dry, lacked flavor (especially any tanginess or sweetness from the buttermilk), and had a breading that tasted mostly like “all the salt in the world.”

The thick-cut tomato was surprisingly juicy and full of flavor, and for once we got to try a fried chicken sandwich that didn’t have gallons of off-brand mayonnaise ruining it.

The “Star Cut” bun looked nice, but that was about it. We liked how soft it was, but it had an odd depth that made the sandwich feel too bready and out of balance.

11. Zaxby’s Southern TLC Sandwich

People eat chicken fingers, and their favorite places are very important to them. Here’s the secret: they’re all just selling sauce, and the “spoon” is a chicken finger.

But all the big restaurants out there make pretty good chicken. Even though “fingers” are what Zaxby’s is known for, you can also get a burger there if you want to.

For this post, let’s talk about both of them. The Chicken Fingers Sandwich is just chicken fingers on a bun. It comes with their unique “Zax” sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes.

On paper, this makes sense. But something doesn’t work right with Zaxby’s chicken, sauce, and greens on a bun. Even though it doesn’t make much sense, it’s probably the one thing at Zaxby’s you don’t want to get.

There are also a few other classic chicken burgers. We’re going to focus on the regular old Southern TLC sandwich for our goals.

It doesn’t get much more “southern homestyle” than lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. It’s hard not to want to put a Zax’s sauce on this, but if you do, you’re just back to the Chicken Fingers Sandwich (without the fingers).

It’s not that great, and you’d be better off getting another meal or just sticking with chicken fingers.

12. Bojangles’ Cajun Filet

Have you ever gone to Bojangles’ for lunch or even dinner, and the next thing you know, you’re ordering breakfast?

Even though it’s not breakfast time, the thought of a chicken biscuit or a chicken and egg biscuit is so tempting, but they also have standard sandwiches.

Bojangles has some fancy chicken sandwiches, but the Cajun Filet burger is the most popular.

There is lettuce, tomato, and mayo on the sandwich. The chicken is the standard tasty food from Bojangles’, which is always worth the drive.

The chicken is crunchy and juicy at the same time, and the spice of the fried goodness makes it a tasty win. The problem is the bun, which is too big and takes attention away from the chicken.

Or maybe it’s just because there’s a biscuit on the menu and there aren’t many times when you should choose a bun over a biscuit. The chicken at Bojangles’ is great, but you should eat it with a biscuit.

13. Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s Big Chicken Fillet

Depending on where you live in the United States, you either have a Hardee’s or a Carl’s Jr. or neither. No matter where you go, the chicken is the same. It comes from the same place and tastes the same.

The Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich is made with their chicken. Everything they serve is “big” because it’s so big. On a huge brioche bun, the sandwich has lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo.

When they say “big,” they really mean “big.” This piece of chicken is HUGE. It’s not that bad, really. It’s not very tasty, but it’s pretty good to eat, with a light spice and tender chicken. Too big.

If you just got off a three-year stay on a desert island, this might be a good first stop. If not, that sounds like a lot of chicken. Buyer beware.

14. Burger Fi Grilled Chicken Sandwich

So to speak, Burger Fi is the new kid on the block, and it’s proud of its super fresh products. In 2018, they added chicken to the menu, which had mostly been meat before.

They serve roasted chicken and, in some places, crispy chicken as well. The standard comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and honey mustard BBQ sauce.

If that sounds like a deluxe burger from Chick-fil-A with some CFA sauce on it, you’re right. We thought the same thing. If you’re going to look for ideas, you might as well go for the big stuff.

People say a lot about how good the chicken tastes because it comes from a free-range farm. The main trouble is that the chicken doesn’t have much taste.

The honey mustard doesn’t do much to help this, so the lettuce and tomato are really what gives it flavor (and there’s a lot of lettuce!).

The price is the other very big problem. Prices change by location, but you can’t get this for less than $6, and that’s without a side or a drink. It’s not Chicken Fi, but Burger Fi. If you’re going to pay for this place, stick with the burgers.

15. Sonic Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Sonic Drive-In is hard to beat for those of us who like to eat in our cars and drink sweet iced drinks that taste like pickles.

The chain continues to serve rock-solid versions of standard drive-in food at low prices and with friendly service. The Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich carries on this practice, with a few exceptions.

The Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich is usually served on a Brioche bun with lettuce, tomato slices, and mayonnaise.

As with most of the other fried chicken sandwiches we tried, the bun is soft and warm, and the lettuce and tomatoes don’t add or take away much from the experience.

The chicken has a natural feel and is breaded in a way that makes it crisp and even. The chicken stays crunchy, but it tends to not have enough seasoning.

We don’t like how dry the sandwich is overall, which is kind of a problem with everything on the Sonic menu. I’m glad they have more than a million drinks to choose from…

16. Burger King Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Oh, Burger King. Sweet, sweet little Burger King. You’ve lost your way because you’re so focused on putting generic, flavorless shaved steak on burgers and cereal in drinks.

In order to make things easier, Burger King got rid of the “Tendercrisp” sandwich, which almost everyone hated, and replaced it with the “Crispy Chicken Sandwich.”

It’s a stripped-down, bare-bones return to the basics, with a filet of 100% white meat chicken that’s been breaded and served on a soft potato roll with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

What should have been a reminder of how important the classics are turns out to be mostly a failure.

Even though the chicken filet itself is pretty crispy (if a little small and thin), most of the chopped lettuce ends up on your lap or in the cracks of your car seat, and the tomato is a sad, tasteless slab of mealy, flavorless water.

The “Spicy” version of this sandwich did slightly better in our tests because it had more flavor. However, the original version shows that simple ingredients can’t stand on their own if they aren’t put together properly.

17. White Castle Chicken Breast Slider

You may not have had the opportunity to eat at a White Castle recently unless you reside in one of the few states that likes its sackfuls of little hamburgers – the 100-year-old chain of castle-shaped roadside restaurants that were once the pride of roadside American dining.

Many people still crave its small, 2×2-inch steamed burgers, but the chain’s efforts to expand into other pocket-sized sandwiches have been mixed at best.

White Castle offers several ways to get your chicken fix: One is the Chicken Ring Slider, a weird, practically flavorless feat of food engineering produced from shaped, highly processed chicken breast.

The Chicken Breast Slider is another option that is more natural and appealing. These little sandwiches pack a surprise taste punch, with a portion of moist and succulent chicken breast topped simply with American cheese and served on one of White Castle’s iconic steamed slider buns.

The entire effect is similar to someone softly whispering a little puff of chicken breath into your ear while you are sleeping comfortably; it gives the appearance of having eaten food without providing any evidence other than a sad scattering of empty cardboard slider boxes to support the consumption of a meal.

18. Jack In The Box Chicken Sandwich

If you don’t live near a Jack In The Box, the only thing you might know about them is that they have a bizarre clown mascot named Jack.

If one exists in your neighborhood, think of it as The Last Jedi of restaurants: you either adore it or despise it; there is no in-between.

Although Jack is best known for their burgers, they also serve a range of chicken sandwiches. In general, you’d go for one of their spicy options, although they also have a normal, plain old chicken sandwich.

“Plain” is about right; it’s adequate for a chicken sandwich. Nothing fancy, simply shredded lettuce and mayo on a bun (some locations use whole lettuce).

other locations charge $1 for it, but like with other dollar chicken, you have to wonder what it did to be so cheap. If you adore Tyson chicken patties, consider Jack’s chicken to be the Rolls Royce of probably-frozen chicken.

If you’re in a pinch for an affordable chicken sandwich and there’s a Jack In The Box on your side of the road, it’ll suffice. But you don’t want to cross the street to eat it.

19. Checkers Big Chicken

Checkers’ Big Chicken sandwich places the emphasis squarely on a quarter-pound of fried chicken breast, served simply with shredded lettuce and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun.

Unfortunately, the majority of the good news ends there, as this sandwich appears to be a lot better idea on paper than it is in practice.

The finished product appears a little wimpy, despite the promotion of the pre-cooked weight of the (weirdly ridged and bumpy) processed chicken filet; there’s not much in the way of plumpness or moisture, with a soggy, nearly flavorless breading that starts to fuse with the mayonnaise-covered cut interior of the bun into a pasty sludge long before you’ve worked your way through even half of the sandwich.

At their best, good fast-food fried chicken sandwiches can rely entirely on the quality of their components. The Checkers Big Chicken sandwich takes a different approach.

20. Dairy Queen Crispy Chicken Sandwich

There are apparently folks who go to Dairy Queen for purposes other than buying a Blizzard with a whole cheesecake chopped up inside, which makes no sense to us.

The “Grill” section of the menu, on the other hand, offers a big meal at a low price, such as the “Crispy Chicken Sandwich Meal,” which includes a drink, fries, and a small sundae for only $6 (depending on your region).

The fried chicken sandwich at Dairy Queen is considered to be on par with the quality of a sandwich that one might get while wandering through a semi-abandoned airport terminal late at night.

It is lacking in flavor and seems to have been cooked before coating and frying, with no discernible seasoning.

The bun disintegrates fairly rapidly, and the lettuce and tomato add nothing beyond a slightly improved aesthetic to the sandwich. It’s an extremely dismal supper.

On the other hand, it does come with a sundae, so enduring it may be worthwhile for some.

Conclusion

But other choices, like the McChicken from McDonald’s and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Wendy’s, have their own unique tastes and are worth trying.

People have different tastes when it comes to fast food fried chicken sandwiches. There is a sandwich for everyone, whether you like yours with pickles, lettuce, tomato, or even a little spice.

So, the next time you’re at a fast food place, try one of these top-rated sandwiches and see for yourself why they’ve become so popular.

FAQs About Ranking Fast Food Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Why do so many people like fried chicken sandwiches?

Fried chicken sandwiches are popular because they are tasty and easy to eat when you are in a hurry or want a quick meal that will fill you up. Crispy fried chicken, soft bread, and tasty toppings come together to make a satisfying and tasty sandwich.

What makes a good burger with fried chicken?

A good fried chicken sandwich should have chicken that is crispy and full of flavor, soft bread that goes well with the chicken, and tasty toppings that add to the sandwich’s overall taste.

What’s the difference between the Original Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-A and the Chicken Sandwich from Popeyes?

The Original Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-A has a simple taste. It has a chicken filet that is lightly fried, pickles, and a buttered bun. With a crispy chicken filet, spicy mayo, pickles, and a toasted bun, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich has a more complicated taste.

Why do so many people like the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich?

The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich became famous for a number of reasons, including a social media campaign that went viral, the fact that it was hard to get, and the fact that it tasted great.

How does the McChicken from McDonald’s compare to other fried chicken meals from fast food restaurants?

The McChicken from McDonald’s is a simple meal with a piece of breaded chicken, lettuce, and mayonnaise on a bun. Even though it doesn’t have as many flavors as some other sandwiches, it’s a standard and cheap choice for people on a budget.

What is hot about Wendy’s hot Chicken Sandwich?

The spicy flavor of Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich comes from a mix of spices that are added to the chicken filet’s breading.

Some fast food places offer fried chicken burgers that are vegetarian or vegan by using plant-based proteins like tofu or seitan.

Are there any fast food places in my area that serve tasty fried chicken sandwiches?

Yes, there are many fast food places like Zaxby’s in the southern United States that serve tasty fried chicken sandwiches.

What kind of bread goes best with fried chicken?