I Tried the Chicken Breakfast Biscuits at McDonald's, Chick-fil-A & Wendy's—and One Is Best
Americans have a raging appetite for chicken right now and fast-food chains are working tirelessly to cater to those cravings. Exciting new chicken items pop up on fast-food menus practically every week, from the Fiery Nuggets that recently launched at Burger King to KFC's new limited edition Ultimate BBQ Fried Chicken Sandwich.
And it's not just lunch and dinner menus where chicken is featured nowadays—the popular poultry is also making its mark on the fast-food breakfast circuit. But which fast-food chains are serving the absolute best chicken items for breakfast right now? I recently set out to answer that question by trying the one chicken breakfast item that fast-food giants McDonald's, Wendy's, and Chick-fil-A all currently offer: chicken breakfast biscuits.
I embarked on this tasting adventure with a couple of key criteria in mind for how I would judge each sandwich. Because all of the sandwiches I tried mainly featured just a biscuit and a piece of chicken (with a couple of exceptions), I wanted each fast-food chain to nail those two key elements. I wanted biscuits that were buttery, salty, and fluffy, but not too dry. I also wanted the chicken to be juicy, seasoned just right, and boast a crispy coating. Though I normally love to douse breakfast sandwiches in whatever sauce I have around, I refrained from doing so during this taste test so I could focus on the taste and quality of the chicken and biscuits.
The only chicken biscuit I didn't try at these chains was Chick-fil-A's Chicken, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. That's because McDonald's and Wendy's didn't offer any options with egg and cheese so the comparison wouldn't have been fair.
While all of the chicken biscuits I tried impressed me in some way, there was only one I loved so much that I couldn't help but devour the entire thing. Here's what I thought of each option, ranked from my least favorite to the absolute best.
McDonald's McChicken Biscuit
McDonald's McChicken Biscuit features a chicken patty served on a biscuit and topped with real butter. This sandwich cost me $2.69.
The look: It only takes one look to see that McDonald's uses a preformed chicken patty instead of an actual piece of chicken, so I didn't have super high hopes for the texture of this sandwich. That being said, the chicken patty was a good size for the biscuit and looked well seasoned. The actual biscuit looked like a pretty standard fast-food biscuit with its slightly bumpy, light golden exterior.
The taste: McDonald's missed the mark on a couple of key criteria with its take on a classic chicken biscuit. The chicken patty tasted nicely seasoned and salty, but the breading wasn't the least bit crisp so the overall texture came off slightly spongy. The biscuit itself was also dry, crumbly, and bland in comparison to the other biscuits I tried. Overall, this isn't an unenjoyable breakfast sandwich, but I think that the chicken biscuits at Wendy's and Chick-fil-A were a step up in terms of taste and quality.
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Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit
Chick-fil-A's Chicken Biscuit features a breakfast-sized portion of the chain's boneless chicken breast, which is seasoned, breaded, pressure cooked in peanut oil, and served on a freshly baked buttermilk biscuit. This sandwich cost me $3.95.
The look: Both of Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuits were the biggest out of the bunch. The actual biscuits looked thick, fluffy, and beautifully golden brown. The chicken was also a deep golden brown, looked well seasoned, and fit the biscuit perfectly.
The taste: Putting Chick-fil-A's classic Chicken Biscuit in the second lowest place was a tough decision because I did think this was a genuinely good breakfast sandwich. The chicken was extremely well seasoned, flavorful, and not the least bit dry, while the breading packed a nice textural bite. My one complaint that led me to rank it so low was all about the biscuit. Though the texture was great, it had a buttery flavor that was so strong it almost tasted artificial. It didn't ruin the whole experience, but it did slightly overwhelm the taste of the chicken and throw the sandwich out of balance.
Wendy's Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit
Wendy's Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit features a crispy chicken filet served on a buttermilk biscuit and topped with maple honey butter. This sandwich cost me $4.04.
The look: This was the smallest biscuit out of the whole group, but it still looked nicely baked with a light golden brown exterior. The chicken was also a little smaller than I expected, but made up for it with an attractive deep golden brown layer of breading.
The taste: The aroma of this sandwich hit me before I even had the chance to take a bite because of that surprisingly potent maple honey butter. I was a little bit worried that the flavors of the sweet butter would overwhelm the whole sandwich, but it was actually really well balanced and tasty. The chicken itself was well seasoned and juicy, while the breading definitely had the most bite and texture out of all the options I tried. And while the biscuit was a little crumbly, it wasn't dry in the slightest and brought a nice buttery, rich flavor to the whole sandwich.
Wendy's Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit won second place in this taste test because I thought that sweet and savory combination was really unique and such a pleasant surprise. However, the winner just blew me away a little more in terms of flavor.
Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Biscuit
Chick-fil-A 's Spicy Chicken Biscuit, which recently launched at restaurants nationwide after previously only being available at select locations, is prepared almost exactly the same as the regular chicken biscuit. The only difference is that the chicken is seasoned with a "spicy blend of peppers." This sandwich cost me $4.19.
The look: Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Biscuit looked nearly identical to the regular chicken biscuit, but the actual chicken had a darker reddish hue thanks to the extra spices.
The taste: I was a little skeptical about eating something spicy first thing in the morning, but my worries were unfounded. Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Biscuit packs an amazing punch of flavor that I just didn't get in all the other biscuits. The heat is noticeable, but it's very restrained and lingers on your tongue in a pleasant way after taking a bite. Those strong, delicious flavors also completely masked the artificial buttery flavor that bothered me in the other Chick-fil-A biscuit.
This is the only chicken biscuit that left me wanting to take another bite. And I not only took another bite of this sandwich, but I happily devoured the whole thing. I almost never opt for fast-food when it comes to breakfast, but I will go out of my way for this sandwich whenever I need a quick morning bite moving forward.
