The Definitive Ranking Of Fast Food Chicken Nuggets And Tenders

Though America's contributions to the culinary world have the length and breadth of the country itself, it's hard to think of something that embodies this influence more effectively than bite-sized chicken. While the genesis of this fast-food snack is typically traced back to agricultural scientist Robert C. Baker, its evolution from nugget to tender has been the subject of a culinary opera decades in the making. Over the years, multiple fast-food restaurants have added this classic snack to their menu, and it's time to take the pulse of this beloved side dish.

With so many different fast-food restaurants advertising the best chicken nugget or tender, I wanted to take a critical look at the market. Thus, I visited 15 fast-food spots that either have chicken nuggets or tenders on their menu, prioritizing nuggets if they had both. The goal was to try each item on its own — though here is a guide to McDonald's McNugget sauces if you're looking for a saucy supplement. This is my overall ranking of the fast-food chicken nuggets and tenders currently on the market.

As far as side dishes go, there's a lot to love about Jack in the Box — where else can you get a sourdough bacon cheeseburger with a side of egg rolls and an Oreo cookie bar for dessert? That said, I was a bit surprised by the flattened ochre shards that showed up in my box of nuggets.

Visually, these little guys looked defeated. They were already despondent when they were tossed into the fryer, and they emerged worse for wear. The chicken had only a whiff of texture before it dissolved into nothing, and the exterior breading complemented this soggy display. There was no crispness to speak of, though the seasoning communicated a vague memory of what it was to be a chicken nugget.

Overall, the nuggets at Jack in the Box just didn't want to be there. I get it; when you're on a menu with sauced and loaded tiny tacos, it's hard to put forth the necessary effort for exceptionalism.

There were a few restaurants on the list that I knew weren't going to be terribly impressive, but Sonic's popcorn chicken was well below average. I'm not about to launch into a tirade about spongy, processed chicken meat — there are other nuggets on this list that use the stuff to great effect — but I do seem to remember that Sonic favored nice chunks of chicken breast not all that long ago.

As of today, the popcorn chicken consists of a mealy textured interior encased with a shell of overly crisp breading. What was left of the chicken inside had no flavor; it simply sat on the tongue like a bored teenager in algebra class. The one redeeming quality of these nuggets is the seasoning — they've got the right amount of salt. But other than that, these are woefully inadequate. I'll always be happy to hit up Sonic for a drink during happy hour, but I'll be skipping the popcorn chicken indefinitely.

Proving that avoiding processed chicken isn't enough to be among the golden great ones of nugget history, the premium chicken nuggets at Arby's have some major pitfalls. Perhaps chief among them is the interior chicken. Yes, it's a chunk of white meat chicken breast, but the flavor is so brief and muted that it's hard to remember what you're eating at all.

The same issue was present with the breading. It's thick, crenulated, and provides a very satisfying crunch, but the flavor along with that of the seasoning disappears as soon as it hits your tongue. Though subtle, the taste of the restaurant's deep freezer tends to materialize while you're chewing your way through the morsel as you search for that specter of flavor that escaped your grasp.

Like at Jack in the Box, the nuggets at Arby's have too much menu competition to really excel at what they are. Between mozzarella sticks and curly fries, there's really not a whole lot of room for the nuggets to shine. If you're an Arby's fan, it's best to stick with the sandwiches.

One perhaps ill-advised hill that I will die on is that the original chicken sandwich at Burger King — or Hungry Jack's if you're reading this from down under — is at least among the top five best fast-food chicken sandwiches of all time. Sure, it's made from that processed chicken we all like to pretend we don't like, but it's also crispy, juicy, and tastes great with extra mayo. The chicken nuggets at Burger King follow suit with their juiciness for sure, but there are a few textural issues that anchor these guys closer to the bottom of this list.

Where the Burger King chicken sandwich balances its protein with a lot of lettuce, mayo, and a hoagie bun, the nuggets have a tough time standing on their own. A lot of that comes from the flimsier texture of the protein, and the exterior breading which wasn't quite as crispy as I'd like. The end result is a decent, but forgettable side that just makes me want to order yet another original chicken sandwich.

Logic would dictate that a fast-food chain known for Buffalo wings would have a few innovative takes on chicken nuggets — or boneless wings as they're called here. While the boneless wings here aren't horrible, unfortunately they face a few critical missteps.

The interior protein is nice — the flaky white meat imparts a good chicken flavor. It's the breading that creates a problem, as it's extremely thick and throws each bite off balance a bit. I think breading thickness is mostly preferential, so those who like their nuggets with a good amount of deep-fried crunch might be a bit more generous with their assessment of Wingstop.

I also suppose the breading might be thicker by design — all the better to toss with one of the chain's signature sauces. But, when considering these boneless wings without a sauce, there is just not a lot to them. Still, the fact that these nuggets are nearly top 10 material speaks pretty highly of their preparation.

While Culver's butter burgers have earned the affection of celebrity chefs like Andrew Zimmern, the restaurant's chicken tenders are honestly a little weird. At first glance, their flattened countenance and crumbly breading look like they're concealing a sheet of processed chicken. That's not the case — these are unprocessed white meat tenders but just ... flatter.

The chicken flavor is a bit muted, but it comes through and it's tasty enough. The breading on the outside is crispy and has the right amount of seasoning, but it has the pockmarked texture of a Tyson frozen chicken breast or the fried chicken patties they serve in school cafeterias. I suppose in a more positive light, they'd look a bit like panko bread crumbs, but anyone who has tried these tenders knows that's being a tad too generous.

Though the evocative comparisons to cafeteria food did spring to mind, I didn't hate these tenders. They're quite odd, and they're not going to win any beauty contests, but the overall package does what it set out to do.

Like Burger King, Popeyes has proven its chops when it comes to making excellent chicken sandwiches. Also like Burger King, its chicken tenders just don't cut the mustard. Honestly, I was a little surprised Popeyes didn't stand out just a bit more, because as far as fried chicken goes, it's some of the best stuff you can get.

Unfortunately, these tenders were a tad overdone, lending a rubbery texture to the chicken. On top of that, the breading only brought a bit of starchy flavor to the party and wasn't very well seasoned at all. That signature Popeyes texture is still there though, and it crumbles nicely with each bite.

This is one of the instances in my ranking experience where I just might have gotten a bad batch. I've had decent chicken tenders at Popeyes, and sometimes the chicken gets left in the fryer until you can play a game of racquetball with it. All the same, these tenders desperately needed a side of Popeyes mashed potatoes and gravy for dipping.

Given the fact that all Raising Cane's does is make chicken tenders and toast, I was expecting this place to be at least in the top five. The reason it even skirted its way into the top 10 comes from the quality of its chicken, which is quite good. It's tender, juicy, and the natural chicken flavor hasn't been fried right out of it. While the meat is a crucial part of the assessment, the breading also has to be good — I'm not out here looking for grilled chicken after all.

This is the main issue with the chicken tenders at Raising Cane's. After they've been battered and fried, they don't really have a seasoning concept. Some black pepper, cayenne, or even a dash of salt would help solve this problem. I also thought the texture had a few issues, namely that it doesn't really crunch back in the way that superior chicken tenders are known to do. Luckily these tenders can be considerably improved with Raising Cane's signature dipping sauce.

Thinking back on the Wendy's chicken nuggets, I'm fully aware that on paper these seem like bottom tier material. They're leaning on a processed chicken interior that doesn't bring a whole lot of flavor to the party, but the exterior has a lot to love, which is why they're within inches of the top five. The breading has a great texture. It's got a light, crisp crunch that contrasts well with the meat. It also has a good mix of both salt and black pepper, which is something that would go such a long way for the other nuggets and tenders that show up below this entry.

It's here that I realized that some fast-food restaurants really understand the chicken nugget's role on the menu. At Wendy's, chicken nuggets are too small and snack-sized to be considered a main, so by packaging them in the $5 Biggie Bag, the chain bridged the gap between fries and burger to create an intermediate snack that really works alongside something more substantial. I wonder how they would taste dipped in some Wendy's chili?

At first, I was going to judge Carl's Jr. based on its chicken stars because they were a bit closer to nuggets than the chicken tenders. I rethought my approach because the chicken stars primarily exist as an entree in the Carl's Jr. kids meals, which didn't seem fair to the restaurant's ranking. I'm glad I did, because Carl's Jr. is making it happen with its tenders.

Sure, this place is known for its huge, sloppy burgers, but my experience with the tenders was unexpected enough to give me pause. Right off the bat, I noticed that the quality of the chicken was excellent. These are white meat strips, and they're nice and juicy once they arrive. The breading had an almost perfect texture and flavor, albeit a little on the burned side. I liked how light the exterior was, and it worked well with the protein. As Carl's Jr. also runs one of the fastest drive-throughs around, you can get these tasty little guys at a reasonable speed next time you're out and about.

Of all the chicken nuggets on my list, I was most looking forward to tasting the ones at Shake Shack. I'm guessing my search algorithms have picked up on the fact that lately I've been looking up a lot of nuggets, and these chicken bite ads were looking mighty tasty. Shake Shack has also surprised me in the past, so I had reasonably high expectations when I came in.

Though I think they're a bit overpriced, they looked fried to perfection when they arrived. At first bite, I was pleased with the lighter, crispy texture as well as the quality of the meat. With each bite, my mouth was telling me that this was how a near-perfect chicken nugget was supposed to be. As soon as these synapses hit my brain, however, my taste buds escalated a few concerns.

The seasonings and natural flavors were great at first, but they were soon overcome by a subtle but persistent bitterness. My first guess was that they were tossed into a fryer that was in need of an oil change, which is the only thing that really made sense to me — I'll just have to try them with Shake Shack's cheese sauce next time. As it just seemed like I caught them on an off day, these nuggets cracked the top five.

It's a good bet that most chicken nugget fans got their start with a four-piece order of Chicken McNuggets in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Consequently, I wasn't terribly surprised to see them in the top five. They continue to hold their own as a combo meal with fries and a drink, but they're also awesome, snackable supplements to whatever McDonald's burger or sandwich you happen to be eating.

Like the nuggets from Wendy's, the interior isn't what you're after when the McNugget craving hits. While a McNugget offers flavorful and juicy protein, it's the light, crispy texture of the exterior that really makes them stand out. They strike exactly the right spot on the crunchy spectrum — they're not in extra crispy territory, but there is enough body to emit an audible crunch with every bite. They're also consistently well-seasoned, and that flavor is usually a bit more nuanced than just salt. There is an undeniable snack-appeal to McNuggets that hasn't really changed much in the 40 plus years they've been on the market.

I wasn't expecting the nuggets at Kentucky Fried Chicken to be bad, but I certainly didn't expect them to rank as high as they did — they've definitely made the most of Colonel Sanders' original recipe. That's not to say they taste exactly like KFC's bone-in fried chicken, but they draw upon those flavors to create an interesting profile.

From a textural and visual standpoint, these can easily go toe-to-toe with Chick-fil-A. KFC nuggets are plump morsels of white meat chicken breaded just enough to get some crunch. The interesting thing about these nuggets comes from the seasoning, which is notably black pepper-forward. After eating dozens of nuggets that only relied on a bit of salt to season, getting a strong, contrasting kick of black pepper was honestly quite refreshing.

While they're still not quite on par with Chick-fil-A as a whole, KFC chicken nuggets remain well above average. They've got a great texture, the juicy chicken flavor really comes through, and I enjoyed their peppery blend of seasonings.

The spice blend of Chick-fil-A's fried chicken batter has been perfected, and it maintains its quality whether you're getting a sandwich, strips, or nuggets. As I worked through the list, the dip in quality from sandwich to nugget at most fast-food restaurants is quite substantial. Chick-fil-A, on the other hand, maintains the same savory flavors and juicy white meat chicken across all its menu items.

The quality of the chicken in every nugget is undeniable — each one features a tender, juicy piece of white meat breaded with Chick-fil-A's signature blend of spices. They're not the crispiest nuggets on the list, though they often have excess breading that gets nice and crunchy in the frying process. They're excellent on their own, and even better dipped in the signature Chick-fil-A sauce.

I weighed the exterior crispness pretty heavily on this list, but I also think that any one evaluation criteria can be overridden if the other characteristics are extraordinary enough, and that's the situation here. With an excellent chicken flavor and a primo blend of seasonings, it's hard to do better than Chick-fil-A.

There are plenty of restaurants on this list that claim to specialize in fried chicken, and while many of them delivered, none of them did so quite as completely as Zaxby's. The chicken tenders here are idealized in a way that I didn't think was possible from a fast-food establishment.

Visually, they're gorgeous — it's hard to resist jumping right in as soon as they hit your table. They're fried to a dark brown, and the breading has enough craggy bits to imply plenty of crunch. Once you take your first bite, the flavors of tender, juicy white meat chicken are front and center, buffeted by a subtle seasoning blend that complements the protein. Every bite follows suit until you are left with an empty carton and crumbs. The closest thing to a gripe I had was that they could probably pare back the salty flavor just a bit, but I was extremely impressed with the quality of fried chicken at Zaxby's.

It was tricky to strike a balance between chicken nuggets and tenders as both items have their own nuances to consider. When it came down to developing an evaluation criteria, I decided not to fault restaurants for using processed chicken filling while evaluating the resulting flavor objectively. 

I took into account both the flavor of the chicken itself and the flavor of the breading. Admittedly, it was hard to find a balance between these two factors, but I gave more weight to items that were doing something unique or exceptional with either. This helped me look at each item holistically instead of putting too much emphasis on either component.

I was mainly looking for the chicken to be tender and not rubbery and for the breading to be right in the middle of the crunchy spectrum. Items that were too crunchy or not crunchy enough were penalized unless the protein and/or seasoning had enough flavor to compensate for the textural flaws.