While fried chicken sandwiches have been around for a very long time, it’s only been in the past few years that competition for the best fast-food fried chicken sandwich has exploded. Today’s chicken sandwiches are more innovative and often spicer than ever. And today’s consumers have more options on where to buy a chicken sandwich than ever before. Whether you like yours dripping in special sauce, with a sour pickle, or topped with coleslaw, we’ve got you covered. (For other tasty sandwiches, check out the most famous sandwiches in the US.)
To find out whose chicken sandwich is actually the best, Brian and Scott Wilson, who style themselves “the Mashed Brothers,” set out to discover just that and compiled their results in a list titled “21 Chicken Sandwiches, Ranked: The Ultimate Tier List” found on the food website Mashed. They shared these results with 24/7 Tempo. The Mashed Brothers tasted chicken sandwiches from 21 chains in the course of one 24-hour period, grading them on “taste, fixings, outer crispiness, inner moistness, and meat fibers/thread count, similar to the way that picky hotel guests judge their sheets by the thread count….” (Scott notes “Big thick threads is when you know it’s real.”)
21. McDonald’s
- Headquartered: Chicago, Illinois
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 67.9 billion
- TikTok hashtag: #mcdonalds
- Rating: Burger Time Award
20. White Castle
- Headquartered: Columbus, Ohio
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 263.1 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #whitecastle
- Rating: F
19. Burger King
- Headquartered: Miami, Florida
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 9.4 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #burgerking
- Rating: F
18. Portillo’s
- Headquartered: Oak Brook, Illinois
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 156.3 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #portillos
- Rating: D
17. Rally’s Drive-In
- Headquartered: Tampa, Florida
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 107.2 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #rallys
- Rating: D
16. Dairy Queen
- Headquartered: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 5.0 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #dairyqueen
- Rating: D
15. Sonic Drive-In
- Headquartered: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 22.7 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #sonic
- Rating: D
14. Arby’s
- Headquartered: Sandy Springs, Georgia
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 1.4 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #arbys
- Rating: C
13. Hardee’s
- Headquartered: Franklin, Tennessee
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 363.9 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #hardees
- Rating: C
12. Popeyes
- Headquartered: Miami, Florida
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 3.2 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #popeyes
- Rating: C
11. Zaxby’s
- Headquartered: Athens, Georgia
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 240.1 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #zaxbys
- Rating: C
10. Shake Shack
- Headquartered: New York, New York
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 370.6 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #shakeshack
- Rating: B
9. Jack in the Box
- Headquartered: San Diego, California
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 29.9 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #jackinabox
- Rating: B
8. KFC
- Headquartered: Louisville, Kentucky
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 19.1 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #kfc
- Rating: B
7. Chick-fil-A
- Headquartered: Atlanta, Georgia
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 8.6 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #chickfila
- Rating: B
6. Wendy’s
- Headquartered: Dublin, Ohio
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 3.9 Billion
- TikTok hashtag: #wendys
- Rating: B
5. Jaggers
- Headquartered: Louisville, Kentucky
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 1.1 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #jaggers
- Rating: A
4. Culver’s
- Headquartered: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 409.7 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #culvers
- Rating: A
3. CityBird
- Headquartered: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 759.5 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #citybird
- Rating: S
2. Church’s Texas Chicken
- Headquartered: Atlanta, Georgia
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 54.4 Million
- TikTok hashtag: #churchschicken
- Rating: S
1. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
- Headquartered: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Total chain TikTok views to Nov. 9, 2023: 1.9 billion
- TikTok hashtag: #raisingcames
- Rating: Mashelin Star