I Tried Every Popeyes Chicken Sandwich and This Is the Best One
Their slogan says the best, people love that chicken from Popeyes. Their famous original chicken sandwich is famous for simply being the best of the best with crispy fried chicken and juicy, plump pickle chips. It can be difficult blending the convenience of fast food while still desiring quality, but some restaurants, even fast food chains, do this flawlessly! Popeyes chicken sandwiches are massive, juicy, and packed with flavor, but which one comes in first place? Here’s our ranking of the best chicken sandwiches at Popeyes.
Ghost Pepper
Calories: About 630
The Look:
Starting with an option that’s not even on their site for some reason, my Popeyes had a Ghost Pepper chicken sandwich that came either with or without bacon and cheese. The bun looks glossy, and there’s a good amount of pickles on it. It actually doesn’t look super saucy, but it smells really good. I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to spice, so keep that in mind, but let’s give this a try.
The Taste:
At first bite, it wasn’t anything too crazy, but then the building heat started to appear. My fiancé didn’t think it was spicy at all, but for me it definitely left my lips stinging a bit. It creeps up quickly in my opinion. It was good, but I thought it could’ve used a little something more. If you’re ordering this hoping for a lot of spice, it really didn’t deliver.
Classic
Calories: About 700
The Look:
The Classic Chicken Sandwich really seemed to put Popeyes on the map. It had just a little bit of mayo on it, but not a ton. It actually looks a bit dry at first look, but the bun is still shiny and the chicken looks and feels really crispy. The pickles take up a lot of surface area, so you have a little bit in almost every bite.
The Taste:
As far as flavor, it’s basic. I suppose if you’re ordering a classic, that’s what you want. Something a bit simple. It was slightly greasy, and I thought it could’ve used a little bit more mayo, but still good and I love the crunch from the pickles, adding a nice contrast into the sandwich.
Ghost Pepper with Cheese and Bacon
Calories: About 760-830
The Look:
The Ghost Pepper with Cheese and Bacon sandwich was massive. Right away, it was hard not to notice the generous amount of chicken on the sandwich. Great value for your money and loaded it up with bacon and cheese made the sandwich even more substantial.
The Taste:
The chicken, even as thick as it was, still maintained its juiciness. The bacon adds a nice salty, smoky flavor. The cheese brings a little bit of richness and creaminess to round things out. Weirdly enough, I tasted the spice on the plain version, but with the bacon and cheese version, I didn’t get a lot of heat. For something labeled ghost pepper, I feel like it should be noticeably spicy.
Classic with Bacon and Cheese
Calories: About 830
The Look:
The Classic with Cheese and Bacon is next up in the ranking. I don’t always think that adding bacon to something makes it better necessarily. In fact, sometimes I think it can take away from the flavor and just make everything taste like bacon. However, the sandwich just looked better overall. It needed a little something extra in my opinion.
The Taste:
Again, sometimes too many toppings can take away from what’s meant to be a classic, simple sandwich, and its most basic form, but this isn’t really one of those cases. It has a slightly sweet, smoky flavor from the bacon that compliments the chicken well.
Spicy
Calories: About 700
The Look:
The Spicy version is supposed to be somewhere in between the original and the ghost pepper, with enough of a kick that you notice it. The sandwich looks a bit plain, but is topped with a sizable piece of crispy chicken, spicy sauce, and pickle chips.
The Taste:
This is the heat I was looking for personally. It’s a slow build, burning, just enough that it adds some flavor and intensity, without overpowering the crispy chicken and acidic pickles. As I continued eating, the heat got stronger, but never overwhelming. Overall, very delicious!
Spicy with Bacon and Cheese
Calories: About 830
The Look:
In this case, I suppose cheese and bacon does make it better! In first place is the Spicy with Cheese and Bacon, looking juicy, crispy and loaded with a lot of meat, making it a great bang for your buck.
The Taste:
The heat builds slowly, giving it flavor without burning your tongue off. It’s more zesty than outright hot. When you combine that with the pickles, the cheese, the bacon, and the crispy chicken, everything just blends together beautifully. The salty bacon, creamy cheese, crunchy chicken, blended with a bit of acid from the pickles, and that slow building heat from the sauce. It’s the ideal combination of flavors and textures.