I Tried 6 Popular Fast Food Spicy Chicken Sandwiches and This is the One I’ll Order Again

I didn't even have the winner on my original list, but I'm so glad I added it!

6 spicy chicken sandwiches sitting on their fast food wrapping with some fries and ketchup and drinks scattered around them
Photo:

Sara Haas

Let’s get something out of the way—I cannot remember the last time I ate fast food. Naturally, that makes me a perfect candidate to pick the best of something offered everywhere; If it’s gonna get me to pull off the road from food memory alone, it’s gotta be good. 

 When I did go the fast-food route, I gravitated toward the chicken on the menu. Clearly, I wasn’t alone in my preferences. The ground-breaking success of Chick-fil-A’s chicken on a bun quickly caught the eye of other chains in the business, one by one adding a breaded chicken option alongside their burgers and fries. 

 I think we all remember the recent pandemonium over the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, with people flocking to locations nationwide to sample its “hand-battered and breaded buttermilk system” between a split brioche bun in such quantities it stretched personnel, equipment, car lines, and product supply to their absolute max. It was only a matter of time until a spicy version of the poultry popped up everywhere. 

 Sampling a half dozen spicy chicken sandwiches was a bit of a daunting task, but in many ways delightful. Here are some things I learned:

  • Some places play it fast and loose with the term “crispy.” I love a breaded chicken patty as much as the next person (I have fond memories of the perfectly round, pressed and processed goods of my youth), but there’s a sound difference between “breaded” and “crispy.”
  • Companies may use the same chicken patty or breaded filet from their regular chicken sandwich and simply add a spicy sauce. This is all very well and good—I can’t fault a place for capitalizing on their food cost by using one product multiple ways—but is it a cop out? You decide. 
  • Maybe it’s the Nashville-dweller in me, but there’s just something about a spicy chicken sandwich that confidently places spices within its breading rather than relying entirely on the work of a sauce that packs a different punch. 

 With that, I present my findings:

Popular Fast Food Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, Ranked

 #6 McDonald’s Spicy McCrispy - $4.69

A McDonald's spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

This is a breaded, pressed patty, the very same seen on the brand's standard McCrispy, on a potato roll. It leans on a “spicy pepper sauce” to do the trick, a heartbreaking concoction so oddly sweet, I held to a firm two-bite rule, completed with a defined crease between my eyebrows as I tried to deduce why the folks behind the arches had to do this chicken so dirty. 

I enjoyed the pickles as a reprieve, but that was about it. Perhaps the Spicy Deluxe McCrispy, with the addition of simple lettuce and tomato, would elevate this experience, but I may never know. In future, I’ll stick with old faithful: McNuggets

 #5 Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich - $6.29

A Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

A pressed and breaded filet that thankfully takes ownership of itself by not daring to call itself crispy, Wendy’s chicken patty adds value by including a blend of pulverized peppers and spices in its crust. The other ingredients listed are lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a “premium bun” (whatever that is), but whether they were really there is unclear. Why? The MAYO. Man, oh man the mayo. This sandwich was drenched in it. And it understandably threw me off. 

I probably should have put this in last place, but I just couldn’t get past the odd flavor of the sauce on Mickey D's and I could see the merit in this sandwich if someone else had made it. I’m allowing for a bit of “crew member error” here and giving it a small leg up over last place.

 #4 Burger King Spicy BK Royal Crispy Chicken - $5.79

A Burger King spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

The King’s chicken is breaded, not so much “crispy”, but resembles an actual chicken breast, rather than a manipulated patty. This sandwich uses a “triple pepper spicy glaze” in addition to a “savory sauce” and for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what either of those things are. It’s a better sauce than McDonald’s, though that’s not saying much, with defined black pepper and cayenne notes. It’s an odd heat that comes across pretty lackadaisical, complimented with lettuce and tomato under a potato bun. 

 #3 Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich - $5.25

A Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

The OG chicken sandwich powerhouse seasons its spicy chicken option with a blend of peppers in the breading and I would expect no less. I have a lot of respect for a place that believes their chicken is so good—so moist and so flavorful—no sauce need be involved. And it was good, but nothing to rave about, and that’s not just due to the bummer of two measly  pickles staring at me under the bun. Perhaps my taste buds were going numb at this point, but the mild, increasing heat was only ok.  

 #2 Popeye’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich - $4.99

A Popeyes spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

Having never had the famed original, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to this one. Done in the signature hand-battered and breaded in buttermilk system Popeye’s prides itself on, this chicken was crispier than most and certainly pretty impressive looking. With simple pickles and a spicy mayo sauce on both the top and bottom (it’s a pro move, I’m telling you) on a buttered brioche bun, this was tasty, though I wouldn’t run someone over for it.

 #1 Culver’s Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich - $6.29

A Culver's spicy chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other to reveal the interior of the sandwich

Sara Haas

I added Culver’s to the list last minute and I had zero expectations for the custard capital. The chicken, breaded with a blend of four peppers, was the crispiest of the bunch, earning the moniker on the menu along with my respect for its tastiness. The sandwich comes with lettuce, tomato, and pickles within its buttered bun, and (like Chick-Fil-A) believes itself to be tasty enough without sauce. And it WAS. Now, in future, I will order a side of ranch to dip or spread on this guy, but with the punch of heat, pop of acid from the pickles, and flavorful spice blend in the breading, this was wonderful: Everything a textbook definition of a simple spicy chicken sandwich should be. 

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