Every Chicken Item At Culver's, Ranked Worst To Best

Culver's used to sell chicken I could rave about. Growing up near Wisconsin, Culver's was a frequent road trip destination for us; and later, living in Wisconsin, it became a regular stop on my commute home. I looked forward to the crispy crinkle-cut fries, the creamy frozen custards, and the highly ranked classic Butterburgers; but most of all, I adored the uniquely crispy, thinly breaded chicken tenders that seemed to live on the large, beef-forward menu undetected. Basically a hidden menu item, the tenders were like a secret I was proud to boast about to those unacquainted. In recent years, Culver's has made noticeable differences to the menu, largely affecting my once-beloved crispy chicken. Could it be because I moved out of its state of origin, or is it a change felt even in America's Dairyland?

The truth is, not all changes are bad, and some items even seemed to get better with time. To realign myself with the chicken offerings at America's best burger spot, I ordered every chicken item on the menu and taste tested each one. What I found might surprise my younger self, but earned my current self a few new favorites that I might just go back for again. If you're wondering which chicken items are worth substituting for a buttery, beefy burger, here is every chicken item at Culver's, ranked worst to best.

This menu item is puzzling. Described on the menu as simply a "crisp and colorful mixed greens salad," I had no expectations other than it being, essentially, the same as the equally as crisp and colorful garden fresco salad, which has the exact same description. Because cashews are used often in Chinese and Thai cuisine, I expected this salad to have other Asian-inspired elements, such as sesame, soy, scallions, or even edamame (I know, wishful thinking). Instead, the salad is exactly as described but with cashews sprinkled throughout, making for a confusingly bland, disappointing salad.

I paired the chicken cashew salad with breaded chicken and Ken's raspberry vinaigrette, but frankly, it wouldn't have mattered which chicken nor which dressing I paired it with. This salad lacks a clear direction and tastes more like an afterthought of the garden fresco than its own stand-alone dish. If it included shredded cabbage, carrots, scallions, and a ginger or peanut dressing, it would be a knock-out salad that could be paired with either chicken option. Instead, the uninspired pile of lettuce and cashew unfortunately falls to the last in the rankings.

Of course, if the garden fresco salad was an incredible salad in the first place, perhaps the chicken cashew salad would have ranked higher, too. The garden fresco, at least, is exactly what you expect it to be: a basic, straightforward salad that pairs well with just about any dressing, topping, or chicken item you can imagine. It's a necessary part of any menu, but one that will never rank higher than more interesting options.

In my mind, Culver's is several steps ahead of McDonald's in quality, so the garden fresco is a surprising option to see on the menu. It looks and tastes similar to a McDonald's side salad (which customers famously avoid ordering) and pairing it with breaded chicken and Ken's country fresh dressing didn't help elevate it the way I thought it would. If this salad was designed more like a Cobb with slices of ham, some beans, a hard-boiled egg, bacon, and bleu cheese, it would likely be ranked as highly as other fast food Cobb salads and worth the $10 price tag.

Full disclosure: I don't like buffalo chicken. I was fully prepared for that to disqualify my opinion on these chicken tenders, but it turned out to hardly matter. The buffalo chicken tenders aren't coated in buffalo sauce, but rather, are infused with chili peppers, paprika, and black pepper. The spice is mostly in the breading, which results in a peppery, tingly spice similar in flavor to the Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets, which also rank pretty low beside other chicken items.

The reason the buffalo chicken tenders rank so low is because not only are they mildly spicy and a little bland, but they are also not as crispy and crunchy as you'd expect from fried chicken tenders. This could have been because they were wrapped tightly in paper, which likely trapped the steam and made the breading softer; the sandwiches, packaged in boxes, didn't suffer the same consequences. It could also simply be a change in supplier, which I noticed in other items and is speculated as the reason why you might want to avoid the fan-favorite buffalo tenders altogether.

If it isn't already evident by now, I have high standards for salad. It's because salads aren't hard to make, but so many restaurants cobble them together as afterthoughts instead of dedicated menu items. Seeing the limited-time, seasonal strawberry fields salad on the menu, I was excited that Culver's might have invested effort into creating a great, healthy, summery menu option for those of us who love salads. That might be why, when I tasted it, I was left so disappointed.

The salad has a few strong components, like sliced strawberry, crumbled bleu cheese, and whole pieces of pecan. I ordered the salad with grilled chicken and Culver's vinaigrette to match the summery ingredients and complement the sweetness of the strawberry. When I received it, I first noticed the sparseness of the main ingredient — there is only one strawberry, cleverly sliced to look more plentiful than it is. Beyond that, the salad is similar to the others, built on a bed of crunchy lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes. Had the lettuce been replaced with spinach and the toppings more plentiful, this salad might have been the perfect way to use grilled chicken; but as is, it's one of my least favorite items.

These are the tenders that, at one time, I thought were fast food's very best. Unique from the nine other chain restaurants with the best tenders, the Culver's tenders are thinly breaded and have an almost smooth texture, like a freshly fried chicken piccata cutlet rather than a deep-fried chicken breast. The thin breading is incredibly crunchy and maximizes the meat-to-breading ratio, which makes them uniquely moist and tender chicken tenders. The problem, and the reason they aren't ranked higher, is that the tenders aren't quite what they used to be.

In this test, my tenders lacked crispiness, were remarkably small, and didn't have the lightly seasoned flavor I used to associate with Culver's chicken. It could be a supplier issue, as noted by Reddit user and alleged Culver's owner Longlivecraig, who claims that his store is "constantly getting small, stubby, thick tenders that don't meet spec." Meaning that sometimes, you might get an order that is perfectly tender, golden brown, crispy, and full sized, which other times, you may get something far from that. Riddled with inconsistencies and lacking the high quality the restaurant used to boast of its chicken tenders, these unfortunately had to fall to a lower ranking on the list.

This sandwich isn't bad at all, and for someone looking for just a little bit of heat, it might be a perfectly good menu item. The chicken is crispy, the sandwich includes a generous amount of toppings and condiments, and the bread is soft but sturdy. It ranks highly against other spicy fast food sandwiches, but against other Culver's chicken items, it isn't my favorite.

Though not my first choice of menu item, I can appreciate a spicy chicken sandwich, and I can understand what is expected in order for the spicy chicken sandwich to outrank other items. This sandwich is crispy but relatively bland and mild, with a lingering heat that seems to build with every bite rather than hit your palate right away. A spicy chicken sandwich should be significantly different from the regular, and I find that Culver's is simply not spicy enough to compete with the crispy, buttery regular version. It would be interesting to pair this sandwich with a hot sauce to maximize the spicy flavor, but as is, I have to put this behind other, better chicken items.

I hate to tell on myself here, but I'm admittedly never the person to order grilled chicken at a fast food restaurant. I figure if I'm already eating fast food, I may as well eat the more delicious option — plus, the grilled chicken never quite tastes fresh, juicy, or smoky like real grilled chicken would. Seeing as the Culver's grilled chicken sandwich is aesthetically not very pretty, I fully expected to sink this sandwich to last place. To my surprise, the sandwich outranked almost every other item.

I should caveat that while the grilled chicken is one of my favorite items on this particular list, it isn't particularly impressive on its own — the chicken has the quality of a frozen and reheated patty and has a rubbery, thin texture as a result. Needless to say, it's still remarkably juicy and flavorful, and paired with the buttery bun and fresh toppings, makes for a filling sandwich. It gets obvious bonus points for being a bit healthier than breaded options, and as a result, would be something I'd actually order again. While it isn't the typical high quality that I expect from Culver's, it is one of the better chicken options overall.

Not long ago, I ranked the Culver's crispy chicken sandwich fairly low beside nine other sandwiches, noting that the thick and bready kaiser bun was dry, the chicken's breading was soggy, and the overall sandwich lacked a good balance of textures and flavors. Since then, the sandwich has changed a lot, and you can even see it in the photos (which I took the exact same way, in the exact same place, with the exact same camera and lighting). The chicken is noticeably crispier, the toppings are a little fresher, and the Kaiser bun is replaced with a thin-cut brioche. These changes made a world of difference, and led the crispy chicken sandwich to the top of the Culver's chicken rankings.

Judging by the photos, it looks like Culver's changed the chicken recipe entirely, replacing what used to be a thinly breaded chicken patty with what looks more like a freshly fried chicken breast. Crispy and moist, the chicken now competes with other fast food restaurants' chicken sandwiches, even if I do miss the iconic flavor and moistness of Culver's original chicken just a little bit. This version, way more impressive than the last, gives me all the reason to rank this sandwich as the second highest chicken item on the list (and perhaps update my chicken sandwich ranking, too).

This is the salad I'd been hoping Culver's would have. Still built on a bed of lettuce and cherry tomatoes, this salad is by far the most flavorful, balanced, and interesting of the group, and it stands out so much that I consider it my favorite chicken item of the list. Tangy bleu cheese joins crispy bacon pieces, crunchy cucumbers, and tart dried cranberries to create a salad that feels truly artisanal and intentional, like it really belongs on the menu and paired with either chicken offering. I paired this one with grilled chicken so as not to overpower the other interesting flavors, but this salad would work well with crispy chicken, too. I also tossed the salad with Ken's raspberry vinaigrette, which perfectly complimented the salad's unique flavors.

As with the other Culver's salads, I found myself wishing that the bed of greens included more spinach, which would work well to complement the bacon and bleu cheese; but what makes this salad stand out is that it tastes just as good as is, too. A salad that could work well in any season, with a variety of dressings, and with either type of chicken is a well-built salad, and one I hope the restaurant continues to offer on the permanent menu. Especially because it's a healthy, fresh option, this salad easily ranks as the chicken item I'd most likely buy again and again.

For this ranking, I took a slightly different approach when ranking the salads versus the sandwiches and tenders. For the sandwiches and tenders, I focused more solely on the chicken itself, noting each chicken's flavor, crispiness, and juiciness. Because the salads use the same chicken as the sandwiches, I instead considered the overall build and noted the flavor, balance, and value of the salads altogether. Because the salads don't list specific dressing pairing options on the menu, I chose dressings I thought would be the most appropriate for each salad, then I chose which type of chicken would best complement the salads so as to give each a fair chance of being the best salad it can be. From there, I ranked based on which items I'd buy again, and which items I'd pass over.