Why We Love This Fast Food Chain's Fried Chicken

There might not be a more quintessential fast food item in the United States than chicken tenders. Even burger chains have some variation of fried chicken sandwiches, tenders, or nuggets. But the kings of fast food chicken have to be the most popular spots like Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's, Popeye's, and — one of Chowhound's personal favorites — Wingstop.

When we set out to taste test and rank fried chicken from eight popular fast food fried chicken chains, some of the results were surprising. Wingstop, which finished only behind Church's Texas Chicken on our list, caught us off guard. For a chain mostly known for its wings (we think they're the best in the business), Wingstop's sauced chicken tenders were quite delicious. With more than a dozen sauces to choose from, you can certainly customize your chicken tender order — but our reviewer stuck with the classic garlic Parmesan sauce.

The result was quite tasty. The tenders were a touch sweet, but the breading was crispy and on point, and our reviewer thought Wingstop's fries were shockingly good. The three-piece tender combo comes with one sauce flavor, fries, one dip, and a 20-ounce drink for between $10 to $11 depending on location. Based on our experience, these tenders are worth every penny.

While we went with a three-piece combo, Wingstop also offers combos and tender meals from five tenders all the way up to 30. The sauce options can be as mild or hot as you like, from a basic lemon pepper and garlic Parmesan to a medium-ish hot honey rub to potentially regrettable mango habanero or atomic sauce. If tenders aren't your thing (but why?), you can always choose from Wingstop's many wing combos, chicken sandwiches, and mix-and-match combos that allow you to choose multiple flavors.

With all this praise for Wingstop, it's hard to imagine another fried chicken chain beating them out in our rankings. But that's exactly what Church's Texas Chicken was able to do. Our reviewer loved the homestyle vibe of this fast food restaurant, but the food was the star here. Crispy fried chicken plus mashed potatoes and biscuits that tasted just like Grandma made them. The two-piece combo came with one side, a biscuit, and a drink for $8.99, which was relatively similar in cost to the other chains on our list.

Surprisingly, our reviewer wasn't very fond of the chicken tenders at Chick-fil-A and the two-piece combo at KFC. But Wingstop was a hit. And with nearly 2,400 locations spread out across the country, you should be able to find one near you to try out those delicious sauced chicken tenders.