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Burgers and chicken sandwiches are probably the kings of the drive-thru, but sometimes the urge hits for something dippable; something crunchy, salty, and fried.
When the chicken nuggets craving hits, where are you going? Which fast-food chain makes the best ones? I ventured to find out.
Here are chicken nuggets from 10 popular fast-food chains, ranked from best to worst.
I generally find Chick-fil-A to be overrated, but when you do something well and everybody else does it poorly, you end up with a major advantage in your corner. Chick-fil-A basically reinvented the concept of a nugget, and for some reason, most of the other chains aren’t doing the exact, same thing.
Rather than your standard boot or bell-shaped nugget (the same one that you immediately picture in your head when you think about chicken nuggets), Chick-fil-A has a bunch of mismatched, semi-spherical chicken bites. They are somewhere in the neighborhood of popcorn chicken, with extremely well-battered chicken that has surprising depth of flavor.
This is the best thing you can get at Chick-fil-A, and when paired with Chick-fil-A sauce, the best fast-food sauce of all time, there’s no world where these nuggets deserve anything less than the top spot.
KFC seems to be the only chain that’s really caught on to what Chick-fil-A is doing. The Colonel is also frying up round, differently sized pieces here. And you can get ‘em drenched in sauce if you want. This chicken just feels substantially better than a lot of other restaurants, but that’s what happens when you focus your restaurant on a single item, rather than also operating a flat-top grill full of burgers.
Bojangles is a game of highs and lows. I hate some things (read: fries) and adore others (read: sweet potato pie) and the new nuggets, or, “Bo Bites” as they are called, really surprised me.
While there is definitely not enough batter on the nuggs overall, I found Bo’s to have some of the juiciest chicken and least greasy batter. Plus, this little overachiever did some extra credit as well: Peach Honey Pepper sauce for dipping, and a biscuit. Nobody else is giving you a biscuit on the side. This is huge, Bo, and I appreciate it.
Are you okay, Pop? Something on your mind? These chicken pieces, which were once called nuggets and have now rebranded into “boneless wings,” are stunningly bland.
This is not the Popeyes I have come to know and expect; not the Popeyes that is my personal favorite fried chicken chain. I feel like a teacher whose star student totally blew it. This shows a real lack of effort. Apply yourself next time, Popeyes. And please see me after class.
Sonic’s “Premium Chicken Bites” are barely premium, and honestly, barely chicken. I find that in a lot of fast-food popcorn chicken, you can wind up with big, greasy crunches that don’t contain much meat. Sonic is less guilty of this than many other chains, but it’s still a bit of an unavoidable fate. Tenders are a better choice.
Arby’s drives in many lanes at once, and apparently one of them is the chicken nugget lane. They should stay in the roast beef lane, because these aren’t great. The chicken inside actually isn’t bad, but the batter is thick, greasy, and does that thing where it squeaks across your teeth and makes your spine tremble. That feeling is a nightmare for me, so I’m out.
Chicken nuggets are oddly synonymous with McDonald’s, even to the point where some people call the food “McNuggets” as a whole. You know the deal: 75% of the nuggets in your order are going to be super dry, and one will be alright. You’re here for a tiny little cheeseburger. Don’t get distracted.
The King doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing over there at the frying station. These nuggets are dry. These nuggets are bland. They stop being crispy the second the employee hands them to you. Grab a soft serve, instead.
If “The Purge” were a fast-food restaurant, it would be Cookout. There is no order in this place, a place where you can get a burger, and for your “side” you can just choose another burger. Other options include slaw, chili, and even quesadillas. It’s like an Old West saloon, full of outlaws who refuse to play by the rules.
Chicken nuggets are one of the side options in the tray, too, and they are horrid. They’re so soft and chewy and the stuff inside doesn’t resemble chicken at all.
These are some of the lowest-tier nuggies you can eat, with virtually nonexistent seasoning and dry meat. Just grab a Frosty and skip this one; you’ll be glad you did.
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