There's just something about a fast food chicken sandwich that sparks cravings and gets our mouths watering, and we're not the only ones who love them. Some have proven so popular, they have their own fan pages – and people have launched campaigns to bring discontinued and limited-edition items back for good. The 2019 launch of Popeyes' Chicken Sandwich had emotions running so high that it sparked what became known as the 'chicken sandwich wars', with each chain battling to serve the best. To settle the debate once and for all, we’ve ranked the top fast food chicken sandwiches through the decades, counting down to the best of all time.
Our ranking is based on reviews, accolades and the popularity of each sandwich, taking into account sales, longevity and the reaction to the products at the time of their release.
The McChicken Sandwich originally launched in 1980, and was met with a lukewarm reception; McChicken Nuggets, released a year later, proved much more popular. However, its relaunch in 1988 was far more successful, and it’s been a classic menu choice ever since. Consisting of crispy coated chicken with ‘sandwich sauce’ and lettuce in a soft seeded bun, it’s a simple yet effective chicken sandwich.
Launched in 2021, the Sonic Slinger is a staple menu item at popular US drive-thru chain Sonic. A crispy chicken fillet with lettuce, pickles and mayo served up in a brioche bun, the Slinger is simple, but packed full of flavour. It’s also consistently named as one of the healthiest chicken burgers on the market.
Burger King became the first major fast food chain to launch a grilled chicken sandwich in 1990 – six months before Wendy’s, and four years before McDonald’s. Known as the BK Broiler in the States, it was one of the most successful fast food launches ever, although it was discontinued in 2019 after several recipe and name changes. Now available in Cyprus and the Caribbean, it consists of flame-grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo (or honey and mustard sauce), all served in a seven-inch sesame bun.
This Korean-style chicken sandwich, first served in South Korean branches of Shake Shack, launched as a limited edition in the US in 2021. Following huge success, it then appeared in UK branches, before arriving on Hong Kong menus in 2022. It featured a crispy chicken breast glazed with gochujang (a Korean paste made with red chilli peppers, sticky rice, fermented soybeans and salt), topped with toasted sesame seeds and slathered in a white kimchi slaw. Now Shake Shack’s burger menu always features a limited-edition chicken burger, but it’s yet to be seen whether the much-loved Gochujang Chicken Sandwich will make a comeback.
Consisting of herb-marinated chicken breast topped with mayo, crisp lettuce and tomato, all slipped inside a toasted bun, Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich launched in 1990 and quickly became a popular menu item. It's a healthier choice than a fried chicken burger, so it came as a surprise when Wendy’s removed it from its US menus in April 2023, replacing it with the Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap. There are already petitions to bring it back in the USA, but it’s still available in the UK.
All chicken and no bun, the Double Down left fans in a frenzy in March 2023 when rumours suggested it was returning to the UK after a 10-year hiatus. Sadly for Brits, it actually reappeared on US menus for a limited time instead. Originally launched in 2010, the Double Down sandwiches bacon, cheese and BBQ sauce between two pieces of crispy fried chicken. It generated 'more buzz than any test market item in KFC history', and the UK KFC website teases that the burger will ‘be back soon’.
Cult American burger joint Jack in the Box has the highest search volume of any US fast food chain not already in the UK, with Brits desperate to try one of its iconic sandwiches. Jack in the Box joined the so-called 'chicken sandwich wars' with the December 2020 launch of its Cluck Sandwich: a crispy chicken fillet slathered in the chain's 'Mystery Sauce', served in a brioche bun with pickle slices.
Filipino fast food chain Jollibee is so well-loved that people queued for seven hours when its flagship UK store opened in Leicester Square, London, in May 2021. Its Chicken Sandwich – double hand-breaded crunchy breast fillet, lettuce and garlic mayo in a toasted brioche bun –launched in September 2021, and chicken burger fans say it’s one of the best they’ve ever tasted.
The McCrispy became the first permanent chicken sandwich addition to McDonald's menu in 15 years when it launched in October 2022, landing in various markets including the US, UK and Canada. It consists of a crunchy chicken breast fillet, marinated in black pepper and cayenne, and served simply in an artisan sourdough bun with iceberg lettuce and black pepper mayo. The McCrispy, which replaced the much-loved Chicken Legend, launched with a star-studded advert featuring British celebrities Maya Jama and Keith Lemon, but received mixed reviews from fans on Twitter.
The Tower Burger, a crispy Original Chicken fillet with lettuce, cheese, mayo and a hash brown, originally launched in the UK in 1997 before rolling out to other countries – and it's been a top menu choice since then. However, this beast of a chicken sandwich was discontinued in Australia in 2018, before briefly returning in 2021. Outraged Aussie Tower Burger fans started up a ‘bring back the Tower Burger’ Facebook page and launched petitions, and the much-loved burger made a return Down Under in June 2023 for a limited time only. Apparently, it’s the most-requested burger in Australian KFC history – while there are also petitions for its return to the US.
From 2023, Burger King declared 7 June to be National Chicken Royale Day in the UK, selling the fan favourite for just £1. The special offer followed a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign in which Burger King poked fun at how much it had focused on pushing the fast food joint as the ‘home of the Whopper’ when the simple Chicken Royale – coated chicken, mayo and lettuce in a seven-inch sesame seed bun – has such a loyal fan base. The special offer replaced the chain’s usual annual Whopper Day.
This Texas fast food chain hit the headlines when it launched its Big and Golden chicken sandwich in 2020, with the aim of emulating the success of Popeyes' 2019 chicken sandwich launch. To make the delicious creation, brine-marinated chicken breast is hand-breaded and dipped in batter before being slotted into one of Golden Chick’s baked-hourly buns alongside the chain's signature Lotta Zing sauce – a blend of sweet, savoury, hot and umami flavours – and five thinly sliced pickles.
Cult burger chain Fatburger first opened in California in 1947, and its popularity has grown and grown ever since. It regularly hits the headlines with special-edition chicken burgers – one of which saw chicken and bacon sandwiched by waffles – but it’s the classic Chicken Sandwich that remains ever-popular on the menu. It consists of a juicy chunk of grilled, crispy or spicy chicken breast, served in a spongy bun with lettuce, tomato and mayo.
In response to the ‘chicken sandwich wars’ ignited by Popeyes in 2019, Wendy’s Classic Chicken sandwich launched in October 2020 – replacing its Homestyle Chicken sandwich, which had been on the menu for over a decade. The Classic Chicken features a premium crispy chicken fillet topped with mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, all served up in a toasted bun. Fans say it has the perfect blend of juiciness and crunch.
This popular chain started life in Texas in 1952, serving chicken in various forms, and it's now opened across the US and in various other countries. It’s the Chicken Sandwich, which launched in 2020 following an ongoing campaign by Church’s fans, that remains super popular. Here, a honey butter brioche bun is filled with a juicy, hand-breaded chicken fillet, three crispy pickles and either regular or spicy mayo.
Zaxby’s launched its Signature Sandwich to much fanfare in March 2021, with the catchy advertising slogan: ‘the chicken sandwich war ain’t over yet’. With fans saying Zaxby’s serves the juiciest and most flavour-packed chicken in the US, it’s no surprise that the launch was a big hit. The sandwich consists of a hand-breaded chicken fillet, pickles and Zax Sauce (or Spicy Zax Sauce), all stuffed into a split-top potato bun. The chain also recently launched its Signature Club Sandwich, adding cheese and bacon to the mix.
Wingstop sparked a social media frenzy when it launched its chicken sandwich, the Big Flavour Burger, in September 2022. Four weeks' supply of the sandwiches sold out in just six days. Available in any of the chain’s ten signature flavours, from sweet and tangy Hawaiian to super-hot Atomic, it consists of crispy chicken tenders, crunchy slaw, pickles and house ranch, packed into a toasted brioche bun.
This November 2020 launch is said to have started the 'spicy chicken sandwich wars'. The Spicy Fi'ed Chicken Sandwich is available in selected BurgerFi outlets only, so fans regularly campaign for it to join their local branch’s menu. It consists of cage-free chicken breast from Springer Mountain Farms, house-made hot pickles, fresh jalapeños, ghost pepper honey and spicy mayo. Not a spice fan? There's also a milder version with honey mustard BBQ sauce.
British fast food lovers were outraged when McDonald’s axed the Chicken Legend in October 2022 to make way for a slew of new menu items. A simple snack of crispy breaded chicken, lettuce and cool mayo in a toasted oat bun, the Legend had a huge fan base – and now there’s a petition to bring it back, with customers regularly taking to social media to describe their distress when they realise it no longer exists.
Fans of this limited-edition burger were thrilled when it returned to UK McDonald's menus in March 2023 – but alas, it had left the menu by May. A twist on the ever-popular beef Big Mac, it consisted of two crispy coated chicken patties, a triple-decker bun, sliced cheese and Big Mac sauce. The Chicken Big Mac was originally available in the UK for six weeks at the start of 2022, but it sold out in less than seven days. It’s also made an appearance in Canada, France, the United Arab Emirates and select McDonald's branches in Florida.
The 'original and the best’, according to KFC, the Fillet Burger consists of a chunky piece of Original Recipe 100% chicken breast, lettuce and mayo, all slotted into a sesame seed bun. This one's a classic for a reason; die-hard KFC fans say you can’t beat the Colonel’s recipe for perfectly seasoned chicken, and this simple burger is a mainstay of KFC menus worldwide.
Launched in the USA in 2021, the Ch’King only lasted a year until it was axed from Burger King's menu and replaced with the Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich range. Despite its short life, dedicated fans took to social media to slam BK for getting rid of the ‘greatest chicken sandwich of all time’. Two years in the making, the mammoth burger, which comprised hand-breaded chicken breast, pickles, signature sauce and a potato bun, was reportedly too time-consuming and costly to continue making.
After proving a bestseller in 120 countries around the world, KFC's Zinger Burger launched in the USA to much fanfare in 2017. It was created in Trinidad and Tobago in 1984, and now Australia alone sells more than 22 million spicy Zingers each year. Consisting of a peppery, double hand-breaded crispy chicken fillet, a dash of spicy sauce and a handful of lettuce in a toasted sesame bun, the Zinger is also available as a Stacker (with two chicken fillets) and as a Tower Burger, with an added hash brown.
When Popeyes started the ‘chicken sandwich wars’, Chick-fil-A instantly took to social media to argue that its chicken burger was the original and the best. The recipe dates back 60 years, and is a classic to this day: chicken breast is perfectly seasoned and breaded, pressure cooked in 100% peanut oil (to retain its juiciness) and served with dill pickle chips in a toasted buttery bun. The Original Chicken Sandwich remains the bestseller in the US, having only briefly dropped to second place when the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich launched in 2019. The Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich accounts for 45% of all online chicken sandwich orders in the US.
The 2019 launch of Popeyes' signature Chicken Sandwich – which comprises chunky fried chicken breast, fresh pickles and creamy mayo in a soft brioche bun – led to a 38% jump in sales. Since then, the mania has continued, with the chain expanding into the UK – the opening of the Oxford store in 2022 saw queues forming at 5am, with around 2,000 chicken sandwiches sold in one day.