The Most Popular Chicken Sandwiches, Ranked by Real Taste Testers
The fast-food chicken sandwich race isn't over; it's more intense than ever. What used to be simply a staple of the menu has ballooned into a battleground where every drive-thru wants to claim supremacy. The so-called "chicken sandwich wars" have driven serious innovation at fast-food chains across the U.S.
To decide which chicken sandwich really deserves the crown, food creators Brian and Scott Wilson—better known as the Mashed Bros—took on the challenge of ranking 21 sandwiches from major national fast-food chains. Over about 24 hours, they sampled each one and evaluated them based on several criteria: how they tasted overall, the toppings or "fixin's," the crispiness of the outside, the moistness of the inside, and the presence of meat "threads" (fibrous texture that they say signals more authentic chicken).
The outcome? Raising Cane's won the first-ever Mashelin Star Award from the Mashed Bros, recognized for having the best fried chicken sandwich in their test.
Other top contenders included Church's Texas Chicken and CityBird. On the flip side, chains like McDonald's fared poorly—McDonald's McCrispy sandwich got an F grade and took home the "Burger Time Award," indicating it was the worst among their set in this test.
If you're curious how your favorite stacks up, 24/7 Tempo published the full rankings, so you can compare for yourself—not based on hype, but what these reviewers judged to actually taste good.
