I Tried 8 Popular Fast Food Biscuits and This Was the Clear Winner

The biscuit is a beacon of culinary superiority, especially in the South (I’m pretty sure it’s its own food group there.). Any baking competition you watch on television will inevitably have a biscuit challenge, a testament to both the pastry's popularity and technical nature. Country songs wax poetic about them, businesses have lived and died by them, even Dolly Parton made a mix in an effort to perfect them. So, when that biscuit craving hits you like a ton of buttery bricks and you need a quick fix, you gotta know where to “pull around.”

With that, I present this epic biscuit showdown. We’re comparing flaky to flaky, buttery to buttery and that’s all—no sausage nor egg need apply. There will be hiding behind melty cheese. We could throw some biscuit sandwiches into the mix, but the problems with doing that are threefold: Some of these spots only offer biscuits for breakfast, and some for lunch. Having some in the form of sandwiches, while eating others plain is like trying to figure out the best bread when comparing a meatball sub to a baguette. And finally, true comparisons have the participants as close in makeup as possible.

With all that said, what makes a good biscuit? First, a golden brown top and bottom. Second, a fluffy and flaky interior completely saturated in beautiful—and ideally—real butter flavor. Finally, the thing should be so good that when the drive-through attendant asks if you need “butter, honey, or jam” to accompany your order, you should be able to answer confidently “No, thank you” and proceed to barely make it out of the parking lot before devouring the biscuit.

So which fast food joint really, well, buttered my biscuit? Let’s find out. 

The Best Fast Food Biscuits, Ranked

8th Place: McDonald's

The Golden Arches wasn't exactly the first place that came to mind when I was tasked with finding the best fast food biscuit and as it turns out, that inkling was correct. These are clearly generic biscuits—even the smell is akin to what hits you when you open a bag of store-bought ones. 

It wasn’t all bad. There was a soft, not-too-soggy bottom and a tender, yet firm top. But it arrived pre-sliced, with a sheen on the cut sides that looked like it was smoothed over. Sure, this might make for a more even, sturdier surface for the fillings of a breakfast sandwich, but as a biscuit on its own, it eliminates any semblance of nooks or crannies. Perhaps these are all reasons it isn’t advertised on the menu riding solo, but only as a partner to sausage or egg.

Speaking of the bite, it was a disappointing one. The top fought the teeth from tearing off a piece and once successful, it was rubbery to chew. There was a noticeable butter flavor that was enjoyable, but sadly it wasn’t enough to save the biscuit, which was bland to boot.

7th Place: Wendy's

Just once, I would love to see the fast food love of my youth at the top of the pack, but they seem to slip further and further down the rankings.

I ordered a plain biscuit, but what I unwrapped was not a plain biscuit at all. There was a limp, square of sausage tucked in the middle. I peeled the meat off of the biscuit and dropped it into the bag, then proceeded to bite whatever bits weren’t carrying residual sausage flavor. And it was a salt lick!

There was a better butter flavor than the home of the Big Mac, though it was more astringent. The real reason this earned itself a better position than McD was that the bite had a little crunch and when chewed, it didn’t re-form together like a mound of playdough. But neither of these bottom two had a flake in sight.

6th Place: KFC

From here on out, the biscuits didn’t arrive pre-split, an encouraging sign of things to come. KFC’s biscuit was very small, but puffed out on the side in a charming, homemade-rather-than-mass-produced way. The inside was a bit fluffy, but I couldn’t get past the taste of old fryer grease, which sadly overpowered the otherwise delightful texture. With zero seasoning or real flavor to its name, the fact that it was not (on appearance, anyway) a pre-stamped over-industrialized lump saved it from the very bottom, but that’s about it.

5th Place: Bojangles

If I’m being completely transparent, I expected Bojangles to rank higher. This biscuit was hearty, with a texture so fluffy it was almost cake-like. Now, I believe flaky is preferable to fluffy, but this was still nice. The issue that arose came in the unmistakable flavor of old shortening. I’m not sure what Bojangles uses, but the taste in my mouth reminded me of the smell when you open a jar of Crisco that's past its prime, but not yet rancid. In short, not awful, but not the greatest either.

4th Place: Jack in the Box

Full disclosure: I had never been to a Jack In The Box before, so I had zero expectations. Boy, was this the sleeper I did not see coming. The involuntary exclamations in my car to my windshield and no one else were “Mmm”s followed by, “Okay, Jack in the Box, I see you!” 

The excitement was curbed by the bite becoming a bit doughy when chewed and doing a bang-up job of sticking to the roof of my mouth, but the buttery flavor was tops. Really, really yummy. 

3rd Place: Chick-fil-A

The charming employee at the Chick-Fil-A couldn’t help himself when all I ordered was a simple biscuit. “You just can’t beat these biscuits, can ya?”, he exclaimed. Oh sir, if only you knew that I was attempting to find out that very thing.

The pastry looked homemade. It was flaky (praise be!) and nearly fell apart when I picked it up (in a good way). It was properly buttery and mildly chewy, but the best part was that it remained at the perfect biscuit texture as I chewed. A solid showing, drive-through guy. I would go down this road again.

2nd Place: Hardee's

Like Jack In The Box, I cannot say I’ve ever seen the inside of a Hardee’s. But any place that makes such a big deal about their biscuits—with a whole advertising campaign making it very clear they’re “made from scratch”—is a must-try. But are they made from scratch? The answer is: technically! 

Hardee’s uses a mix for their biscuits (one that is, apparently, super secret), but there is a physical person who clocks in early to combine that mix with buttermilk, roll out the resulting dough, and cut it. Pretty impressive, especially in a fast food joint and especially nowadays.

And the extra effort comes across. The one I got was nearly furious in its flakiness and tasted like a griddle. The texture alone, when held like a clamshell and pulled apart, was fluffy and sublime. The only improvement I could make is on the buttery flavor. I’d love to steal it from Jack in the Box or Chick-fil-A and combine it with this biscuit. But even with that acknowledgment, I was incredibly impressed.

1st Place Winner: Popeyes

One bite and I dropped Popeye’s biscuit back into its box and exclaimed “That wins.” It’s flat on top and round but has a lift around the edge, not unlike the “foot” of a macaron. It’s fluffy like Hardee’s with a big butter smell and a taste to match. And does my palate deceive me? Nope, there’s glorious little flakes of salt dotted throughout! What a revelation.

With the combination of butter, flake, fluff, and salt, this one has it all. It’s the jammity jam without the jam. The next time the craving overtakes you, Popeye's is the place to go.