They have nearly all the best qualities ofbone-in fried chicken, but come with a fraction of the mess.
you could find chicken tenders onfast-food menusall across the United States when you oughta cure your cravings.
But any tender aficionado knows that not all fast-food tenders are created equal.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
As with any fast-food item, I rated the tenders from each chain on both taste and texture.
Here’s what I thought about each option, ranked from my least favorite to the outright top tender!
Sonic
Sonic’sCrispy Tendersare made with100% all-white meat chicken.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
I got a three-piece order for $4.59.
On the positive side, they were salty, decently crispy, and easy enough to bite through.
7 Fast-Food Chains That Serve Hand-Breaded Chicken Tendersand you could Taste the Difference!
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
Jollibee
Jollibee’sChicken Tendersare hand-breaded and made with all white meat.
I got a three-piece order for $6.99.
These were some of the biggest tenders from the entire taste test (second only to Popeyes).
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
The flavor was mostly where Jollibee missed the mark.
KFC
KFC prepares its seasonedChicken Tenderswith its “Extra Crispy” recipe.
KFC did not give me the option to order the tenders without turning it into a meal.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
That being said, they still looked super attractive and appetizing.
The breading was deeply browned and covered every inch of the chicken.
The breading was impressively crispythough not crispy all the way aroundand the chicken wasn’t dry in the slightest.
Zoe Strozewski / Eat This, Not That!
The main factor that pushed KFC ahead of Jollibee was the taste.
They were peppery, salty, and had the slightest spicy zing.
I got a three-piece order for $5.75.
Otherwise, the tenders looked super golden brown, crispy, and inviting.
The brand never ceases to impress me with the stellar quality and taste of its chicken.
All of the pieces were super well-breaded and golden brown, with tons of craggly bits of crispy breading.
These tenders completely blew me away on every aspect of my criteria.
The chicken pieces were big, juicy, and very easy to bite through.
And the taste was so multi-faceted and satisfying, especially compared to the other tenders I tried.
Chick-fil-A’s tenders, for example,wereperfectly salted.
But the flavor of Popeyes’s tenders just felt bigger.
Not only were they perfectly salty, but they were also peppery, herby, and a little garlicky.
