Definitive ranking of the best fast food fried chicken sandwiches: Chick-fil-A, Popeyes & more

According to a recent study, fried chicken sandwiches are taking over hamburgers for the first time in fast food history, so it’s about time we ranked them so you don’t have to.

Fried chicken is great, but it’s even better when it’s between a soft bun and slathered with some great topping and sauce combos.

But, the real question is, who makes the best fried chicken sandwich in the biz? Is it Chick-fil-A? McDonald’s? Wendy’s? Or a mysterious underdog?

The best fast food fried chicken sandwiches: Ranked

This list will only contain chicken sandwiches that are permanent fixtures on each menu so that you can try them out whenever you’d like. The ranking parameters for these chicken sandwiches will go as follows:

• The quality of the chicken itself
• The coating on the chicken
• The crispiness
• The toppings and sauces

15. Wendy’s Classic Chicken Sandwich

Wendy’s chicken sandwich is classic indeed. It contains fried chicken that isn’t spicy, in a soft bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and a spread of Heinz mayo. They’ve kept things fresh with the toppings and their iconic pickles make everything better. The main downfall of this particular sandwich is the plainness compared to other chains, and the fried chicken coating could be a little thicker and more flavorful.

• Chicken quality: 10/10
• Chicken coating: 6/10
• Crispiness: 6/10
• Toppings: 7/10

14. Arby’s Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich

This sandwich is made of a star-cut bun, buttermilk breaded chicken fillet, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and mayonnaise. This sandwich doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it makes a solid attempt at it. The coating has a nice pepperiness to it, but the chicken is kind of dry and there’s not enough mayo on the bun to compensate.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 8/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 6/10

13. Checkers & Rally’s Mother Cruncher Sandwich

The makeup of this one is pretty similar to the others, so far. Chicken breast coated in a crunchy breading and lightly fried then topped with mayo, pickles, crisp iceberg lettuce, a slice of red ripe tomato and served on a toasted, bakery-style bun. The chicken is nice and light, the coating is never greasy, but again, the toppings are nothing special.

• Chicken quality: 10/10
• Chicken coating: 6/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 6/10

12. Culver’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich

This one comes on a potato bun (as it should) and is coated with a spicy crumb and topped with lettuce and tomato. Okay so this coating has its own spicy flavor, so major points for that and the bun. The toppings are fresh, albeit standard, but overall, this is a sold fast food fried chicken option. The reason it’s not the best though? It doesn’t come with any sauce which can make it dry.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 10/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 5/10

11. Zaxby’s Kickin Chicken Sandwich

This is a classic Southern chicken sandwich. It’s two of Zaxby’s chicken tenders, coated in their spicy Tongue torch sauce and ranch, all inside two pieces of Texas toast. This itieration of classic Southern chicken flavors is really good, and the heat and the creaminess from the sauces make this one special. The only downfall is the chicken itself which can be dry. The coating, however, has a nice sweetness to the coating.

• Chicken quality: 6/10
• Chicken coating: 9/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 6/10

10. Church’s Chicken Sandwich

This sandwich comes with dill pickle slices, a slathering of mayo, and a chicken breast filet. What sets it apart though, is the honey butter brushed brioche bun. This gives it a nice touch, sure, but the rest of the sandwich is pretty standard. The nicest bit is that the chicken filet is bigger than the bun and is always crispy. The only problem is that the coating is a little bland.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 7/10
• Crispiness: 9/10
• Toppings: 9/10

9. KFC Zinger

The zinger burger has been a popular staple in the UK but made its way to the US in 2017. It comes with a very dry bun, some limp lettuce, and a decent spread of slightly sweet mayo. The chicken, though, is top-notch. It’s always juicy and the coating is nice and spicy. The only downfall is that it can be a little less on the crispy side and more on the greasy side.

• Chicken quality: 9/10
• Chicken coating: 8/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 6/10

8. Shake Shack Chicken Shack Sandwich

Shake Shack serves their iteration of the fast food fried chicken sandwich on the correct choice, a potato bun. On top of this, the chicken is coated in a spicy crumb that is nearly red in color to show that it has a bit of kick to it. The sandwich is served with lettuce, pickles, and a buttermilk herb mayo, which is a nice touch considering most fried chicken sandwiches are made with buttermilk.

• Chicken quality: 8/10
• Chicken coating: 9/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 9/10

7. Slim Chicken’s Hot Buffalo Sandwich

Slim Chicken’s is a fried chicken chain that originated in Arkansas, and is less well-known than other chains. However, their fried chicken is really authentic and is served with fresh fries and Texas toast. This burger is served on a soft bun with a big piece of their chicken tenders coated in buffalo sauce served with pickles, lettuce, fried onions, and blue cheese sauce. It’s just a really good, underrated chicken sandwich.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 9/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 9/10

6. Wingstop Big Flavor Burger

Wingstop’s chicken burgers get extra-points for the fact that they are customizable. You can order the burger containing chicken tenders tossed in any of their 11 sauces. If you don’t know what one to choose, check out our ranking of all of their flavors. It’s served with crunchy slaw, pickles, and house ranch in a toasted brioche bun. The slaw is tangy, the bun is sweet, and the chicken is juicy.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 7/10
• Crispiness: 6/10
• Toppings: 9/10

5. McDonald’s McChicken

McDonald’s have said that their chicken is the most popular thing on their menu at the minute, and their McChicken many not be the best fast food fried chicken sandwich, but it’s a pretty safe bet. It comes in that classic sesame bun, with a chicken filet, lettuce, and a lemony mayo. This fried chicken filet is thinner than others and is less of a breadcrumb and more like a massive chicken nugget. However, it has that signature McDonald’s taste that’s hard not to crave.

• Chicken quality: 6/10
• Chicken coating: 7/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 8/10

4.Burger King Chicken Jr.

This sandwich is similar to the McChicken. It comes with a thin chicken filet with a crispy coating, lettuce, and mayo. The chicken filet is mostly the same as the McDonald’s one, however, the Burger King filet is bigger, and the crispy coating has better seasoning.

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 8/10
• Crispiness: 7/10
• Toppings: 8/10

3. Raising Cane’s The Sandwich

Raising Cane’s is quickly becoming a staple of Gen Z culture, and TikTok has been obsessed with their Cane’s for some time now. The Sandwich comes with three chicken tenders, which are crispy and delicious, lettuce, and Cane’s sauce, all on a soft bun. The coating wins, the sauce wins, but it’s still not the best fried fast food chicken burger in the biz…

• Chicken quality: 7/10
• Chicken coating: 10/10
• Crispiness: 8/10
• Toppings: 11/10

2. Chick-fil-A Classic Chicken Sandwich

You can’t beat the classics, which is a rule that is proven true again and again with our fast food ranking lists. This sandwich contains seasoned, breaded, and fried boneless chicken breast on a toasted bun with only pickle chips. No lettuce, no mayo, but it doesn’t need it. The chicken is juicy enough and the bread fresh enough that it’s never dry and the coating mixed with the sourness of the pickle is a match made in heaven.

• Chicken quality: 8/10
• Chicken coating: 10/10
• Crispiness: 10/10
• Toppings: 10/10

1. Popeye’s Classic Chicken Sandwich

The coating on this chicken is so thick that the filet pokes out of the glazed bun that it’s nestled in. However, it’s never greasy, always crispy, and so perfectly seasoned it could make you cry. The mayo is simple, the pickles are simple, but the chicken is so good it doesn’t even taste like fast food. It tastes homemade from your grandma’s house, in the best way possible.

• Chicken quality: 10/10
• Chicken coating: 10/10
• Crispiness: 10/10
• Toppings: 10/10

The rise of the fast food fried chicken sandwich

Move over hamburgers, because chicken sandwiches are pushing their way to the top. Any fast foodie will have noticed that chicken is all the rage on menus right now, and when Wendy’s launched their new saucy nuggets, they did some research into why this is.

In order to prepare the new products, Wendy’s looked specifically to the Gen-Z demographic, and according to the results, “what they want to eat protein-wise [is] chicken, chicken, chicken,” said Wendy’s Global Vice President of Culinary Innovation, John Li.

This is true according to a survey conducted by Piper Sandler, who found that Chick-fil-A was the most popular restaurant among teens. Take that, and Raising Cane’s rise to fame, and it looks like chicken is dominating the market.

The fact that it is cheaper to produce is, of course, part of the reason, especially with the recent fast food inflation rates that found Big Macs costing up to $18, but on top of that, the trendy flavors that people love at the minute are lending themselves to chicken.

People are loving pickles, ‘swicy foods’ (sweet and spicy’ and anything that comes with a creamy sauce, all of which, is totally delicious packed on to a big ol’ piece of fried chicken.

However, If you’re still a die-hard hamburger fan have no fear, because we’ve ranked those too.