Remember This Infamous KFC Sandwich? Its Composition Made It Legendary

Over the years, KFC has become known as the worst fast-food chain for fried chicken, but it's the brand that brought Southern-style fried chicken to the masses, for which we'll always be grateful to Colonel Sanders. There's another KFC contribution, however, that has gone down in food history with total infamy: the Double Down sandwich.

The Double Down caught the world's attention by ditching burger buns and replacing them with chicken, essentially offering a breadless sandwich that was anything but a lettuce wrap. Two of the Colonel's chicken fillets — grilled or fried — became the bread, with two pieces of bacon, Monterey and pepper jack cheeses, and Colonel's Sauce couched between them. The sammie was reportedly offered in response to customers complaining that KFC's chicken sandwiches didn't contain enough meat.

The Double Down really only looked like a scandalous menu item. For the most part, the calorie count and other nutrition info were pretty on par with other fast-food offerings. The 2010 version totaled 540 calories per sandwich if you got fried chicken "buns" (460 if your meat was grilled); 1,380 milligrams of sodium fried, and 1,430 grilled; 145 milligrams of cholesterol; and 32 grams of fat. For comparison, the Classic Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich offered at Popeyes has 830 calories, 1,874.6 milligrams of sodium, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, and 53 grams of fat.

But the appearance of indulgence was all it took, and when the Double Down landed in 2010, it created a sensation, with derision raining down from food critics. It was hailed as "a salt bomb" (via USA Today), "a must-to-avoid" (per The New York Times food blog Diner's Journal), and the "unhealthiest sandwich ever" (per FiveThirtyEight).

In releasing the Double Down, KFC knew the sandwich would create a sensation, with its marketing images showing fried chicken pieces encasing melty cheese, glistening sauce, and bacon — and nary a vegetable in sight, unless you counted those little flecks of pepper in the pepperjack cheese. The chain reportedly announced the Double Down's debut on April Fools' Day, giving the impression that the outlandish menu item was just a joke. But it wasn't  — and the response from customers was anything but a laugh. KFC sold over 10 million Double Downs in the sandwich's first month, prompting the chain to extend its availability.

Since that headline-making 2010 debut, the company has brought back the Double Down multiple times, citing outcry from fans. Petitions have even been launched online, begging KFC to revive it. When the Double Down made a short-term comeback in 2023 — with just four weeks of availability that time — KFC once again played up the sammie's infamy, including riffing on the song "Bubble Butt" in a commercial, giving a subtle wink at the sandwich's reputation for being heavy.

In ranking fast-food sandwiches from skip to hit, The Double Down may not be Reddit's choice for best fast-food chicken sandwich ever — that honor belongs to Chick-fil-A's family of sammies. But it certainly became one of KFC's most successful sandwich launches. The chain has openly labeled the Double Down its "most iconic sandwich ever," per a press release announcing its 2023 return. Great controversies don't die easily, so we wouldn't be surprised to see the Double Down make its way back around again.