The Best Fast Food Pickle We've Ever Had Comes From This Fried Chicken Chain

The community of pickle lovers can be tough critics, and fast food chains often take the brunt of the heat. You may not think to go to a fast food restaurant to find the best pickle in the first place, but there are some out there that may exceed your expectations. For a pickle to have a lasting impact, it has to be pretty amazing. 

Chowhound took the time to try and rank 14 fast food pickles from worst to best, and we found one chain to have pickles that outshone them all. KFC took the cake for the best pickles from a fast food restaurant, and rightfully so. These pickles were crunchy with a balance of flavors and had the perfect tangy aftertaste. KFC knows how to make a good pickle. 

It isn't too surprising that KFC has the best pickles, as the chain released an entire pickle menu in August 2025. The products include a pickle sandwich, loaded pickle fries, fried pickle chips, and pickle Pepsi. Unfortunately, these items are only available in Canada for a limited time, but with their popularity, hopefully KFC will try this menu out in other regions. We'll take all the pickle items we can get from KFC. 

KFC checks off all the right boxes for the perfect pickle. According to our standards, a pickle should have just the right amount of saltiness and briny, sour flavor along with a crisp, crunchy bite. The fast food spot did not disappoint, delivering fresh, zingy, and pleasantly garlicky, dill-flavored pickle chips. But while KFC may have had the best pickles in our eyes, there were other chains that came quite close to the No. 1 spot. 

Both Jersey Mike's and Sonic were in our top 3 with pickles that had a delicious blend of seasonings and the right amount of crunchiness. The crunch of a pickle boils down to using a firm cucumber and a salting process to achieve that desired texture. Some fast food chains we tried achieved this texture, while others like Braum's were unfortunately too soggy. If pickles come out soggy, it could be due to a lack of salt in the brine, or because it was left sitting out for too long. The science behind the fermentation process can be hard to master, and it seems like only a few chains have figured out how to do it right.

Again, could you find better pickles than ones from a fast food restaurant? Most likely — but if you're looking for the perfect pickles to add to your sandwich, chicken or otherwise, KFC is the place to go.