Making a great chicken sandwich is one thing. Making a great spicy chicken sandwich is a whole other.
Thefast food fried chicken sandwich competitionis savage . nether region , people ( include us ) even referred to it as the " Gallus gallus wars " for a while there . Turns out the competition for the estimable savory chicken sandwich in flying food is , well , even blistering .
Not only do you involve to make a delicious overall chicken sandwich to dish out as a strong foundation , you also have to infuse it with a delightful kick of heat that will please the masses . Who does it best ? And which spicy chicken sandwich have the sodding amount of crispy crunchiness and the beneficial toppings ? We took it upon ourselves to reply these very crucial interrogation .
Here ’s what we find …
Image by Maitane Romagosa and Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist
10. McDonald’s: Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : lacklustre chicken top with pickles and a ton of sauce — all on a potato roll .
We ’ll swerve to the Salmon Portland Chase here : The poulet McDonald ’s purpose for this sandwich is simply sub - equality compare to the many competitors you ’re about to see on this ranking . And , frankly , that ’s a shame because the sauce Spicy Pepper Sauce is packed with flavour and slew of heat to aid scratch your naughty chicken craving . Maybe that ’s why they douse the chicken with so much of it . But where ’s the crunchy crispiness in the breading ? Where ’s the succus chicken boob interior ? It ’s clean that McDonald ’s spent a long sentence at the drawing board before adding this sandwich andthe other versions of itto the bill of fare , but maybe it should go back .
9. Arby’s: Buffalo Crispy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : A small chicken fillet dowse in buffalo sauce and topped with parmesan peppercorn sauce and shred lettuce on a toasted bun
As the only buffalo chicken sandwich we eat for this narration , we were excited to regain out where it would terminate up land on the finished ranking . How can you go improper with saucy , tangy buffalo crybaby ? Well , we ’re mooch to tell you that this Arby ’s hand a lot of good pass away for it , but one disastrous flaw : the patch of chicken was laughably tiny . Like it only filled about two thirds of the bun , and it was n’t a big bun . The rest of the sandwich was very much tasty , specially the interplay between the blistering buffalo sauce and slightly cool parmesan peppercorn sauce . We want to put the latter on everything , include Arby’sindustry - leading curly fries .
8. Wendy’s: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : That disastrous pepper - speckled crispy volaille titty , lettuce , good mayonnaise , and distressing tomatoes on an reconsideration of a bun
While Chick - fil - A takes reference for invent the first electrocute chicken sandwich , Wendy ’s claims its behind the original fast food for thought spicy electrocute chicken sandwich , allot to itsextensive ship’s company timeline . It first originate serving the Spicy Chicken Sandwich all the way back in 1995 as a limited - time offer , then landed back on the menu for good in 1996 . Was it your first spicy chicken sandwich ? It was definitely ours . And we ’ve wipe out 100 of them since , so there ’s a impregnable horse sense of nostalgia that we ca n’t shake every metre we unwrap one . But that ’s not enough to make up for this sandwich ’s exonerated shortcomings .
Wendy ’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich has plenty of seasoning and flavor , but it ’s not all that juicy ( we actually think back it being spicier in the ' 90s than it is now ) . It ’ll warm your mouth , but that ’s it . Other pros : It ’s have a nice level of kinky around the sharpness of the chicken , and the mayonnaise is so good when you get a generous smear . The bunco game : The lettuce and tomato incline to be fairly sad and wilted , while the bun just does n’t have anything break down for it beyond its basic function as a fomite . But , hey , we ’ll believably continue to blithely feed these forever despite the many right options uncommitted today .
Photo by Tony Merevick for Thrillist
7. Culver’s: Spicy Crispy Chicken
The Build : Kinda dry chicken breast , iceberg lettuce , dill kettle of fish , and tomato on a boring bun
We go to Culver ’s for its signature Wisconsin fried cheese curd and its sound - in - course of study cheeseburgers . In fact , we key out its Double ButterBurger with Cheese the good cheeseburger you could get right now as part of Thrillist ’s one-year riotous food awards , The Fasties . So , we had understandably high expectations going into our sample of the Spicy Crispy Chicken . possibly they were too gamey .
On the one hand , the spicy crispy chicken on the sandwich was indeed crispy and indeed spicy ( Culver ’s uses specter Madagascar pepper powder , grant to its elaborate ingredients list . On the other handwriting , the volaille was a tad dry than we had hoped . It had that sort of wiry midland that you ’d see in an overcooked chicken cartoon strip , though it sure enough was n’t too juiceless to enjoy it — we ate the whole affair in a issue of bit . The oestrus and flavor you ’re looking for in a racy chicken sandwich is all there . We urge a juicier poulet breast and an upgraded roll ( while butter , it ’s a tad plain and not as fluffy as others ) for Culver ’s next iteration of this card item . Oh , and maybe a spicy sauce for additional heat and overall wet .
Courtesy of Whataburger
6. Whataburger: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : A Whatachick’n lemniscus ( do n’t let the apostrophe fool you ; it ’s not fake meat ) , tomato , lettuce , and a healthy smear of creamy mayo , on a shiny brioche bun
There are few profligate food experiences as transcendent as Whataburger ’s golden Onion Rings dipped in its perfectly chilled Jalapeño Ranch sauce . It ’s a pairing that perfectly illustrates how the Texas - free-base chain both makes itself stand out in the state ’s greasy , crowded flying intellectual nourishment orbit and makes a name for itself beyond the confines of the Lone Star State . The chain ’s spicy chicken sandwich , however , is n’t quite as exceptional .
Whataburger ’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich is the character of libertine intellectual nourishment fried chicken sandwich we were all used to eat before Popeyes came around and changed the game in 2019 . Do n’t get us wrong — it ’s a expert electrocute chicken sandwich . But it ’s more old school than the poulet sandwiches we ’re seeing as part of the degraded intellectual nourishment chicken sandwich 2.0 wave , so to talk , that we ’re in right now . The crybaby is flatter and drier . The breading is relatively thin and inconsistently crispy . The fix have n’t been upgraded to the blockheaded - cut kind . Basically , it could use a makeover . It ’s diaphanous sizing and abundance of spice ( they ’re ply to Texans after all ! ) makes up for a lot here , leave in an overall satisfy savoury wimp run through experience .
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
5. Jollibee: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : Hand - breaded fried poulet , sriracha mayo , sliced jalapeños — all on a crispen brioche bun .
give thanks you , Jollibee , for this juicy , well - seasoned chicken tit with just the right spicy chicken sandwich fixins ' . The crispy taenia is fantabulous , mostly due to a deep-fried batsman than holds its crunchy texture from first bite to last . It ’s the sriracha mayo and slit jalapeños that realise this sandwich extra points , though , and set it squarely above many other spicy chicken sandwich on the market , including those from McDonald ’s and Wendy ’s .
4. Chick-fil-A: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : piquant breaded wimp titty and piddling , flaccid mess chips on a buttered bun
With its striking deficiency of sauce , Chick - fil - A ’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich could very well be the simplest we meet in our enquiry . It ’s frame of three major element : a breaded chicken titty instill with spice , a couple of pickle chips , and a butter bun . That ’s it . And while the lack of sauce gave us significant interruption , we find that the simple mindedness of this sandwich is really kind of beautiful . You do n’t need a ton of condiments when the spicy kick and overall fried poulet flavor is there — and in this case , it totally is . Then again , Chick - fil - A ’s pickles are comically little and limp . They terminate up doing a disservice to its overall spicy volaille sandwich efforts here .
3. KFC: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : Flavorful chicken with 11 herb and spice , pickles , and blue sauce on a brioche bun
Please take a moment to remember the Colonel for snap the top three on this list . That ’s no little feat , consider the competition in this blank . Then again , would we expect anything less than an utterly delicious spicy chicken sandwich from a firm food fried crybaby icon ? No way . KFC was brook for this , and it shows in its Spicy Chicken Sandwich .
No surprisal here , but the chicken itself has that KFC 11 herb and spices tang . The marrow is moist and tender with an above - average amount of crunch that prevail up through most of the feeding experience , though not enough crunch to best the next two sandwich on this ranking . Most importantly , the hotness you ’re appear for in a sandwich with " gamey " in its name is there . The only other downside is that you might find oneself the whole thing to be a tad too salty , even for a menu item from a fried Gallus gallus chain .
Image by Maitane Romagosa and Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist
2. Burger King: Spicy Ch’King Sandwich
The Build : Spicy glazed chicken , big ol' pickle , and savoury sauce on a tater roll
Other than Arby ’s somewhat disappointing Buffalo Crispy Chicken Sandwich , Burger King ’s Spicy Ch’King is the only other spicy crybaby sandwich we taste tested that employs a spicy glaze the envelopes the entire chicken breast alternatively of a spicy sauce on top , like most others . It ’s a vital equipment characteristic that helped this sandwich surge to the No . 2 spotlight on this ranking . Why is it so significant ? This glaze unlocks an accomplishment that competing sandwich fight to attain : a consistent level of spicy heat energy in every raciness . The King smartly stashed the spice all over the breading of the Gallus gallus breast fillet instead of a spicy sauce that could terminate up being unevenly distributed . We know , this is super nerdy , but we powerfully contend that it makes a difference .
On top of nailing the heat of the sandwich , BK does the basics better than most . In fact , we named its regular , non - spicy Ch’Kingthe best fried chicken sandwich in tight foodright now . The chicken itself is a crispy , crunchy , prosperous - brown marvel . The thick-skulled - stinger mess are stars in their own right , with their pleasing texture and sharp acetum - y tang . The soft murphy bun is more like what you ’d see from more expensive fast fooling mountain range .
There ’s just one component on this sandwich that does n’t work : the savory , mayo - based signature sauce . Why Burger King settle to include the same sauce as the regular Ch’King is beyond us . It tastes just fine , but it ends up detracting from the sandwich ’s heat . mayhap it ’s just us , but we do n’t call up that should be happening in a racy wimp sandwich .
All say , you truly can not go untimely with Burger King ’s Spicy Ch’King . It ’s get everything a delicious gamey chicken sandwich should have , and each of those components is infernal - nearly complete . However , there ’s one spicy chicken option that ’s slightly better , and interestingly , it fall from a chain that ’s have by the same parent society as Burger King . Guess who ! Or , you know , just keep reading to see out .
1. Popeyes: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The Build : A damn - well-nigh gross chicken breast fillet , thick - rationalise pickle chips , and Cajun - trend spicy spread . all on a toast brioche bun
When everyonewent nutsover Popeyes ' fry Gallus gallus sandwich a few years ago , they were talking about the racy reading . Do n’t get us wrong — the regular , Classic Chicken Sandwich is surpassing . But the spicy one — and the instant wave of hotness that it unleashes in your mouthpiece — is simply honorable . In fact , it ’s the good zesty fried chicken sandwich in all of firm food today .
Popeyes masters the two major aspects of a dandy spicy chicken sandwich : it has to be both a big chicken sandwich overall and it has to consistently deliver the sodding amount of spice to please everyone .
The foundation this sandwich is built on is rock whole : It has a delightful counterbalance of crunchy buttermilk batter and cloud - comparable brioche roll ; crisp , lemonlike pickles that bless the sandwich with a astuteness of common salt and piquantness ; and the resplendent chicken boob own the perfect amount of salt and spice and one of the most systematically crunch batters in the biz , all while give birth an impressively gamey and succulent chicken breast interior .
As for the arrant spicy heat energy , Popeyes achieves this with a Cajun - mode , remoulade - like spread that you could almost always see peek out from under the top of the bun . They do n’t skimp on it , which is vital . In our extensive examination , we found enough spicy sauce to provide an even point of heat across the entire sandwich . It combines with Popeyes ' stock fry chicken spice in the batter as you wipe out it , ensue in enough high temperature to please gamy nutrient demon ( though they can always take for extra sauce ) and an amount that wo n’t inflame more sensible roof of the mouth .
The Popeyes Spicy Chicken Sandwich is riotous food ’s magical alchemy at its dependable .
Fast Food Spicy Chicken Sandwich FAQ
Which fast food chemical chain was the first to serve a spicy crybaby sandwich?Wendy ’s introduced its Spicy Chicken Sandwich in 1996 . None of the other major fast food chain ’ spicy chicken sandwiches predates that . So , while there were definitely risque poulet sandwich being made in America before 1996 , Wendy ’s hold the official rubric for the first dissolute food chain to swear out a gamy chicken sandwich .
Do any fast food strand make a buffalo chicken sandwich?Yes , for certain . Arby ’s offers a Buttermilk Buffalo Chicken Sandwich . It ’s made with a crispy , tender filet of buttermilk wimp drench in spicy buffalo sauce , a creamy parmesan peppercorn ranch dressing , and rip up iceberg lettuce , all bundle into a bun .
Who makes the good fried chicken sandwich in fast food?In case you missed it , this very enquiry direct to a years - foresighted internet battle commonly refer to as the firm food chicken war . It all start when Popeyesdissed Chick - fil - A on Twittershortly after set in motion its game - changing chicken sandwich in August of 2019 . Almost every other major chain has introduced unexampled and improved chicken sandwiches since then . We ’ve use up them all , and can safely announce a winner in our ranking ofthe best debauched food fried wimp sandwich .
