Chick-Fil-A's Most Ordered Items Don't Exactly Surprise Us

Chick-fil-A is an anomaly among fast food restaurants. Unlike other chains, which offer late night hours and menus that change with dizzying rapidity, Chick-fil-A sticks to its guns. Each location, franchise or company owned, is closed on Sunday, and every Chick-fil-A offers up a core menu of classic dishes (along with some seasonal or rotating new additions). Where Chick-fil-A really shines is in its simplicity. This seems to be a popular sentiment, at least according to the chain's customers.

Its menu has plenty to choose from, including classic dishes such as nuggets and tenders, to newer choices, such as the Grilled Spicy Deluxe Sandwich. So what item reigns supreme? The waffle fries. Yes, it looks like a side dish takes the crown for the chain's most popular menu item. The unique, delicious, and pillowy soft fries tower above all other menu items. Close behind the fries, however, is the chicken sandwich. This is as of 2022, at least, when Chick-fil-A last released data on item sales. The positioning of these two items is understandable considering their status as Chick-fil-A icons. After all, the chain claims to have invented the chicken sandwich. And though that fact is contested, one must admit that there is nothing more essential to the chain than its fried chicken sandwich (topped with two pickles) and an order of waffle fries, maybe with a side of Chick-fil-A sauce for dipping. 

It's not surprising that Chick-fil-A's waffle fries are its best-selling menu item. After all, fries also take the top spot on the McDonald's menu. French fries are the default side option for meals on its menu, so you will most likely receive an order of fries alongside any entrée you choose. Of course, there are other side choices at the chain, including its creamy mac & cheese, fruit cup, kale crunch side, and chicken noodle soup. However, there is no side more popular or distinct than the chain's waffle fries. Chick-fil-A's fries are the only waffle fries widely available at a fast food chain. 

Fans of the fries love their soft, fluffy interior and simple, no fuss look. Potato skin on Chick-fil-A fries isn't just common, it's practically ubiquitous, whereas other fast food fries are a bit more abstracted from the potato. When you're eating a Chick-fil-A fry, you know you're eating a potato. Now, not everyone likes Chick-fil-A waffle fries. In fact, there are many who find them to be among the weaker fast food fry options, noting their inconsistent size, texture, and consistency. Food is always a matter of opinion, of course, and sales seem to indicate that plenty of people love Chick-fil-A fries just fine.

Now let's get to the main dish, so to speak. There is perhaps no dish more iconic to Chick-fil-A than its signature chicken sandwich. The sandwich was invented by the chain's co-founder Truett Cathy in 1964. The chain even launched a campaign around the chain's iconic sandwich, running a slogan that read, "We didn't invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich." Now, Chick-fil-A didn't actually invent the fried chicken sandwich. However, it did popularize the form, and even spurred a very contentious "chicken sandwich war" in 2019. Whether you went for Popeye's sandwich, or stuck by Chick-fil-A, it's clear that Chick-fil-A's sandwich is still standing strong.

In fact, as of 2022, it is the chain's best-selling entrée menu item. This, however, was an upset. In 2020, the chain's chicken nuggets were the number one entrée on the menu. Perhaps what the popularity of both of these items proves is the power of simplicity in the chain's menu. Both the nuggets and chicken sandwich are simple, almost bare bones. The chicken sandwich only has three components: the buns, the fried chicken, and two pickles. And the nuggets are simply smaller chunks of the chain's signature fried chicken, apt for dipping in one of the chain's many sauces, or enjoying all on their own. Chick-fil-A is just the place to find beauty in the simple things: food pared down to its most delicious, least adorned state.