The Best And Worst Quality Of Chicken You'll Find At Fast Food Restaurants

Since becoming the most consumed meat in the U.S. in the 1990s, our chicken intake has continued to climb, with Americans now consuming more than 100 pounds per person in 2024, per Statista. However, not all chickens are created equal, especially in the fast food world. Some birds live in a cage-free paradise with no added hormones or antibiotics before being lovingly prepared in a trade-secret recipe. Their poultry pals across the street might be processed with gums and stabilizers and served up practically raw (or sometimes actually raw).

So, which restaurants serve the highest quality chicken? We compared major fast-food and fast-casual brands to find the restaurants serving the highest (and lowest) quality chicken. By examining sourcing practices, ingredient transparency, preparation methods, animal welfare commitments, and customer satisfaction, we've identified clear winners and losers in several chicken categories. Whether your preferred poultry comes in sandwich, tender, or bone-in form, this ranking tells you where to find the best bird.

Fried chicken served on the bone is an American classic. Newcomer fast food brand Starbird has quickly established itself as a premium chicken specialist, offering what many consider the highest quality bone-in chicken. Founded in California with just 17 active locations (and 30 more planned in Denver, Seattle, and Salt Lake City), Starbird is a relatively small fast food brand. This limited footprint allows Starbird to ensure consistency across locations; an advantage over larger chains that sometimes struggle with quality variance.

Though (currently) small, the brand is mighty. Founder Aaron Noveshen told Nation's Restaurant News that between 2019 and 2023, Starbird's sales grew by 25% every year. It's easy to see why. Starbird uses fresh, hormone-free chicken raised without antibiotics. The fresh chicken is hand-breaded in-house using Starbird's trademark (secret) breading and spice blend, which just happens to be gluten-free. Its suppliers are not publicly listed, nor is the complete ingredient list. Though it lists allergen information on the Starbird website. These limits to transparency kept Starbird from earning a perfect score here.

Starbird's main bone-in chicken option is wings. Competitors for the bone-in title serve buckets of chicken. This ranking is about quality, not quantity, and there Starbird is the hands-down winner. We're not the only ones who think so. Starbird won Nation's Restaurant News' Chicken Showdown in 2023 and earned a spot on The Takeout's ranking of high-quality fast food chicken.

Once the gold standard for fried chicken, KFC has struggled in recent years. The chain that Colonel Sanders built has faced many scandals related to the quality of its chicken. In 2022, the chain was accused of misleading customers in the United Kingdom with a promotional video about chicken farm conditions that didn't align with footage later revealed by animal welfare advocates. It's hard to bounce back from that kind of press.

Online customer complaints about inconsistent quality have become increasingly common across social media platforms and review sites. Customer reviews also show a wide range of inconsistencies between locations. In a consumer poll by Mashed, voters named KFC the "worst fried chicken." The chicken giant captured nearly a quarter of the votes — a stunning result for a brand built entirely around fried chicken.

KFC earns points for using fresh chicken that is hand-breaded in-store. The secrecy of its Original Recipe herb and spice blend makes its full ingredient list less than transparent. Secret recipes aside, consumer perception of the chicken's quality hurts KFC most in this ranking. The brand is one of the largest franchise businesses in the world. The sheer size of the operation makes it difficult to control quality at thousands of locations. Though KFC's parent company Yum! Brands seem to be slower than competitors to adopt comprehensive animal welfare standards for chickens.

For its popular Chicken Shack sandwiches, Shake Shack uses 100% all-natural, cage-free chicken that's free of antibiotics and added hormones. Shake Shack further stipulates that there are no animal by-products in the chickens' feed. Shake Shack was an early adopter of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a set of chicken welfare standards developed by an international team of animal welfare scientists. The Shack signed on to the BCC in 2016, the year it was first established.

The brand is also incredibly transparent about how well its chicken products align with BCC goals. The brand clearly states on the Shake Shack website that its supply chain has room for improvement. Many chains make vague animal welfare claims; Shake Shack's specific commitments show a genuine concern for ethical sourcing and constant improvement.

Shake Shack chicken is never frozen and cooked with a multi-step process that involves slow cooking the chicken breast sous vide (a technique usually reserved for high-end restaurants). The cooked chicken is then hand-breaded and fried to order. This combination process ensures juicy, thoroughly cooked meat and a crisp exterior. The multiple steps also reduce variables in the cooking process, ensuring a consistent chicken cook from location to location.

Curious to sample the Chicken Shack sandwich but feeling a little squirmy about the $9.49 price? Wait for a Chicken Sunday deal. Shake Shack ran this deal a couple of times in 2024 to celebrate folks — like football players — who work on Sundays. Customers who order online or via an in-house kiosk spend at least $10 and use the promo code CHICKENSUNDAY get a complimentary Chicken Shack sandwich with their order. The deal is expected to return in September 2025 and run through the NFL season.

McDonald's McCripsy chicken sandwiches rank lower because they are more heavily processed, and the quality can be inconsistent. The crispy chicken patty contains nearly 20 ingredients, though McDonald's earns points for clearly listing them all. It sources chickens not treated with added hormones or antibiotics used in human medicine (though it permits the use of animal-only antibiotics).

The McCrispy patties are breaded offsite and arrive frozen at each McDonald's location. They are then fried on-site in the restaurant kitchen. This preparation method has some quality risks. The breading can cook before the inside of the patty, leading to undercooked chicken that can cause food-borne illness. McDonald's is not alone in this risk, Wendy's follows a similar preparation process (with similar results, see our Wendy's analysis below).

McDonald's has made some commitments to improve animal welfare in recent years, but it continues to lag behind nimbler newcomer brands in adopting comprehensive welfare standards for chickens. This could be another case where the brand's massive scale creates challenges for rapid improvements. It could simply indicate that Golden Arches is more focused on low menu prices than chicken quality (though try some of these hacks to improve your overall McDonald's experience).

Raising Cane's entire focus is chicken tenders. Competitors might offer dozens of menu items, but Raising Cane's devotes all its resources to the ideal chicken tender. Like some competitors, Raising Cane's relies on "secret ingredients." You won't find a single list of Raising Cane's ingredients on the brand's website, only an allergen chart stating that the chicken tenders contain egg, milk, and wheat components.

The brand has also made no public commitments to using antibiotic-free chicken or other animal welfare standards. Though the brand says it follows National Chicken Council processing guidelines. So Cane's loses some points for transparency. But its other quality indicators are strong.

Raising Cane's well-documented preparation method earns it the high-quality title. Some fast food "tenders" are actually made from ground chicken and binding agents that have been pressed and shaped to resemble a tender. Raising Cane's uses only chicken tenderloins, the actual tender cut from the back of the chicken breast. Tenders are marinated for 24 hours in a (secret) blend of salt, herbs, and spices. Then, they are breaded and cooked to order on-site. Raising Cane's seriously trains its kitchen crew, reserving the chicken cookery to a specialized team member. Cane's famously has no heat lamps in its restaurants to keep cooked food warm. All chicken is cooked and served fresh.

Customer satisfaction with Raising Cane's is extraordinarily high. Many consumers consider its tenders to be the best fast-food chicken available. Its Yelp ratings across multiple cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and New Orleans) are a pretty steady 3.8 stars to 4 stars, indicating a consistent customer experience. Many praise the size and quality of Raising Cane's tenders, with one Reddit poster noting they are larger than the tenders at KFC and McDonald's.

Jack in the Box chicken nuggets are more processed than others on this list. Jack's nuggets have a lengthy ingredient list and get decidedly mixed customer reviews. In a comprehensive 2024 ranking of fast food chicken nuggets by Chowhound, Jack in the Box nuggets placed dead last, with the reviewer specifically saying the nuggets only provided a"vague memory of chicken." Ouch. The chain excels in other menu categories (where else can you get a box of bite-size mini tacos), but its chicken nuggets don't impress.

Jack in the Box touts 100% white meat chicken in its chicken nuggets, but those nuggets include several more ingredients beyond chicken. In fact, the chicken nuggets had a longer ingredient list than any of the menu items on this list. The chain is also notably less transparent about its chicken sourcing practices than its competitors.

The animal welfare statement provided on the Jack in the Box website states a lot of goals, such as "switching to broiler breeds approved by Global Animal Partnership (GAP)." But it provides virtually no information about where its chicken actually comes from or how it is raised. As of 2023 (the most recent year for which Jack in the Box has published these figures), the brand stated that only 12% of its poultry supplies aligned with Humane Society standards for physical enrichment and third-party auditing. So it appears Jack in the Box is still building toward higher quality chicken.

Chipotle earns high marks for its grilled chicken thanks to its unwavering commitment to "Being Real" (i.e., serving real ingredients that anyone can easily pronounce). Like premium fast food competitor Shake Shack, Chipotle adopted the Better Chicken Commitment and clearly publishes its animal welfare standards on its website. The chain also regularly audits suppliers to ensure compliance with these standards.

Chipotle has the unique distinction of being one of the only US food brands to receive awards for its commitment to animal welfare. Chipotle earned a Good Sow Commendation in Pig Welfare from the Compassion in World Farming's Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards in 2019. While it's not directly a chicken welfare award, this is a good example of the brand's commitment to animal welfare — and high quality meat — in general.

Chipotle's chicken preparation method ensures both a high level of food safety and flavorful meat. At Chipotle, fresh chicken is marinated in Chipotle's adobo marinade at a Chipotle central kitchen. The marinated chicken is then grilled fresh throughout the day in each restaurant, creating the distinctive charred edges and smoky flavor that has become the Chipotle's signature. Customer ratings across major markets are pretty consistent, averaging around 3 stars.

Taco Bell's chicken ranks at the bottom of our analysis primarily due to its highly processed nature and lengthy. Unlike Chipotle, Taco Bell's basic grilled chicken contains various starches, yeasts, and flavor enhancers. The chicken also arrives pre-cooked at each Taco Bell location. These choices reduce costs, making Taco Bell one of the most affordable fast food options in the market. The choices also extend shelf life, and support a consistent chicken experience across locations.

But they still don't exactly scream "high-quality chicken." Even some Taco Bell employees are prone to call out the brand's questionable chicken quality. A Reddit poster claiming to be a Taco Bell employee warned customers about finding chicken feet and undercooked portions of meat in some chicken that arrived pre-cooked at a Taco Bell location.

Taco Bell provides minimal information about the chicken sourcing and quality standards on consumer-facing platforms, making it difficult for customers to understand where their food comes from or how the animals are raised. While the parent company, Yum! Brands, has made some general animal welfare commitments, the implementation specifically for chicken lags behind growing brands who have adopted comprehensive welfare programs with clear timelines and transparent reporting.

Sweetgreen is another fast-casual brand that with a mission to make fast, healthy food. Like other high quality brands, Sweetgreen signed on to the Better Chicken Commitment. The chain currently serves antibiotic-free, humanely raised chicken that's prepared fresh daily in each location. Sweetgreen is transparent about its chicken quality goals, listing its plans to further improve its chicken quality on the Sweetgreen website. Sweetgreen further communicates its progress toward its goals in an annual Impact Report.

Sweetgreen's chicken preparation is refreshingly simple but supported by in-house technology. The chicken is marinated onsite, then grilled or roasted in the brand's Smart Ovens. Seasoning blends (like for the blackened and buffalo chicken) contain no additives or preservatives. All ingredients are clearly listed on the Sweetgreen website.

Customer reviews are high; the brand averaged 3.7 stars on our review comparison, though the range was pretty wide; from 3.4 to 4.0. One Reddit poster mentions that Sweetgreen serves the only fast food chicken that lacks a "weird aftertaste." The chain's rapid growth — 40 new locations are planned for 2025 — suggests that many customers are willing to pay for this quality.

Wendy's significantly improved its beef quality with the widely advertised "fresh, never frozen" campaign. The chicken, however, doesn't appear to have received the same attention. Wendy's grilled chicken — frequently featured in the brands signature salads — contains at least 14 ingredients, including thickeners like xanthan gum and carageenan. The classic and spicy crispy chicken patties (which you can request on a salad) contain more than 20 ingredients, many of which are not fully itemized. The ingredient "Natural flavorings (CONTAINS MILK)" serves serious "mystery meat" vibes.

Wendy's is also less transparent about its chicken standards than competitors. While the chain makes general claims about food quality, it provides minimal specific information about where the chicken comes from, how it's raised, or what standards the suppliers must meet. This opacity prevents consumers from making fully informed choices about the chicken in their salads and raises questions about what the chain might be hesitant to disclose about sourcing practices.

Wendy's reviews across markets are consistent, though they are consistently low, averaging around 2 stars. Customer complaints about dry, overcooked chicken are common. There are also may high-profile reports of Wendy's serving raw chicken in sandwiches and salads. Posts on popular pregnancy site The Bump warn expecting moms to "beware the Wendy's Salad" after a poster was served undercooked chicken on one.

For this analysis, we evaluated fast food chains based on specific quality criteria that indicate a brand prioritizes the quality of its chicken products. Our research focused on many things including sourcing transparency: Is it easy to trace where the brand purchases its chicken? Is the supply chain opaque or feel purposefully confusing? None of these brands were perfectly transparent, so we awarded the most points to those that shared the most information in the form of annual impact reports. Ingredient composition: Are all ingredients clearly listed? Are ingredient lists short, containing recognizable whole ingredients? Or are preservatives, gums, and fillers present? the highest-scoring brands contained very few ingredients beyond the chicken itself. Preparation method: Does the brand use fresh or frozen chicken? Is the chicken cooked onsite, or does it arrive pre-cooked?

We gave the highest marks to brands that cook fresh chicken onsite. Chicken welfare standards: Is the brand signed on to the Better Chicken Commitment, or does it follow an internal standard that is as rigorous? We awarded points for any public statement of chicken welfare goals and awarded the highest scores to brands that are audited or awarded by third-party organizations. Consistency across locations: We looked at customer reviews for three random locations in major markets to determine if customers in different cities have similar experiences. We also considered any major food quality scandals.

Each chain was scored on a scale of 1 to 5 for each category, with 5 being the highest quality. The highest-quality winners throughout our ranking share several characteristics. Each brand transparently lists its chicken sources. Each uses fresh chicken that is cooked in the restaurant. Most high-ranking brands are publicly committed to animal welfare, and customers rate the brands consistently well across multiple locations.