The Reason Raising Cane's Is One Of The Worst Fast Food Fried Chicken Chains

In this day and age, several fast food joints offer fried chicken, and more niche still, some eateries specifically focus on chicken tenders or fingers. Food Republic recently taste-tested options from 12 different fried chicken chains and ranked them from worst to best based mostly on texture and flavor. Sadly for fans of Raising Cane's, the chicken joint ranked rather low — No. 8 on the list — due to its lackluster breading.

After marinating its chicken for a full day, Raising Cane's hand-batters its birds and then cooks them individually to order. While that sounds great in theory, in practice it can lead to chicken so hot that the breading completely falls off and even tastes dry, as our taste tester experienced. The low ranking stings even more when you realize that chicken fingers are Raising Cane's main focus — meaning they should have been perfected. Beyond sides like coleslaw, fries, and Texas toast, the only other item available for purchase is a chicken sandwich, which is essentially chicken fingers on a bun with lettuce and the chain's exclusive Cane's sauce.

Raising Cane's came to be in the 1990s when college students Todd Graves and Craig Silvey wrote a business plan to open a fast food place that served only chicken fingers. As of February 2025, the chain boasts nearly 850 locations.

Unfortunately, many fans echo our taste tester's concerns about Raising Cane's disintegrating breading. Given that the chicken fingers come hot out of the fryer and are then immediately placed into Cane's styrofoam containers, they're great to enjoy in the restaurant. But, as one Redditor expressed, they're "barely worth eating after steaming itself in the takeout box for a few minutes."

Sadly, the complaints don't stop at the chicken fingers. "The bread is too soft. The fries are bland and too soft. The coleslaw is odd," another Redditor stated. Still, the chain has its fans — and nothing's stopping creative foodies from hacking Raising Cane's menu to create a fast food pizza made of pre-made pizza crust, Cane's sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken fingers, and crinkle-cut fries.

It's also a bummer because, compared to a similar chain — Huey Magoo's, which offers chicken tenders, Texas toast, and crinkle-cut fries — Raising Cane's falls short. Huey Magoo's well-seasoned chicken ranked six spots ahead of Raising Cane's at No. 2 out of 12.