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I Tried Burger King's New International Chicken Sandwiches & Only One Stood Out

There was only one winner between the Mexican, the Italian, and the American.

Burger King fiddled around with its chicken menu in 2022. It sadly discontinued the fan-favorite Ch'King and introduced the Italian Royal Crispy Chicken sandwich. And it kicked the new year off with even more chicken on its innovation agenda—except this time, they kind of phoned it in with a line of resurrected sandwiches from the '80s.

First introduced in 1988, the international line of chicken sandwiches originally included the American, the Italian, and the French. For the new lineup, the French sandwich has been replaced by an all-new Mexican offering. All three are on a long, toasted sesame seed bun and come with toppings that are inspired by their particular country.

I tried them all with another taster to see which is worth it. Plus, I threw in the newly re-released Quad Stacker—an old-school burger that features four stacked patties, bacon, and cheese—because I needed to see if this behemoth was worth the hype. See what we loved and which sandwiches fell short.

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Mexican Original Chicken Sandwich

Burger King Mexican Original Chicken Sandwich
Meaghan Cameron
1 sandwich: 680 calories, 31 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 1,900mg sodium, 75 g carbs (3 g fiber, 12 g sugar), 28 g protein

The Mexican version of the lineup has a spicy queso sauce and crispy jalapeño, and it has gotten some flack from customers who say that simply adding queso and jalapeño does not make something Mexican.

The look: This sandwich was the plainest looking of the three, with no cheesy, melty bits sticking out. The bun, despite being a little squished, looked soft and had pops of sesame seeds.

The taste: Luckily, it didn't taste as plain as it looked, but it definitely needed some help. The queso sauce was subtly spicy and tasted cheesy with hints of red pepper, but there wasn't enough of it to add good moisture to the sandwich. The crispy jalapeño were our favorite part because they added a different texture to the flat sandwich and weren't too spicy. With more queso and maybe a fresh element this sandwich has potential. Maybe see if you can get some extra queso on the side!

Italian Original Chicken Sandwich

Burger King Italian Original Chicken Sandwich
Meaghan Cameron
1 sandwich: 560 calories, 22 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 1,800mg sodium, 67 g carbs (4 g fiber, 10 g sugar), 30 g protein

The Italian sandwich was part of the original 1988 lineup and some people remembered this sandwich when the Italian Crispy Chicken sandwich came out last year. It has the requisite marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese that typifies Italian chicken sandwiches.

The look: The Italian sandwich looked better than the Mexican with the white mozzarella draping over the sides and the hint of red sauce.

The taste: The sandwich was a little bit bland but it reminded me of a sandwich that used to be served at the cafeteria in high school. Its unassuming palate may appeal to some—especially kids—but we found it just okay. When you think of an Italian chicken sandwich from a fast-food joint, however, this is probably what you'd expect.

American Original Chicken Sandwich

Burger King American Original Chicken Sandwich
Meaghan Cameron
1 sandwich: 776 calories, 48 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 1,722mg sodium, 64 g carbs (3 g fiber, 10 g sugar), 33 g protein

The America sandwich was also part of the original lineup in the '80. It has melted American cheese, mayo, and lettuce snuggled beneath the soft sesame seed bun.

The look: The sandwich had yellow American spilling over the sides and hints of lettuce and tomato. It looked substantial, and the calories tell that story, as it has the most of the three.

The taste: We didn't expect to like this sandwich as much as we did. The crunchy chicken patty went so well with the soft tomato, and crisp lettuce that had absorbed some of the mayo so it turned into almost a juicy salad on top. We kept going back to this one for more bites, as all of the elements kept the palate primed for more. This is a classic for a reason.

Bonus: Quad Stacker

Burger King Quad Stacker
Meaghan Cameron
1 sandwich: 810 calories, 53 g fat (23 g saturated fat), 2,148mg sodium, 32 g carbs (1.2 g fiber, 8 g sugar), 50 g protein

The Quad Stacker returned with a bit of controversy, as it has been called some unfortunate names including the Suicide Burger, while some outlets say it makes the Big Mac look like a snack. But I'm here to tell you that this repuation has been way overblown. The stacker does have more calories than a Big Mac which has 550, but it doesn't even come close to touching BK's heftiest burger, the Bacon King, which has 1,220. Also, the Quad Stacker is surprisingly low in carbs at 32 grams.

The look: As I said, this burger is much smaller than the ads would suggest. It's tall, of course, but I was able to bite in without squishing it. It was a mess of meat and cheese, but it held together admirably.

The taste: Honestly, it just tasted like cheesy charcoal. I am not sure stacking charred burgers is the way to go. We didn't love it. It needed a hit of freshness like lettuce and tomato—which would probably side off—or more bacon to offset the massive amount of char. The bacon flavor was almost non-existent. My other taster agreed, saying two patties would have been enough. Luckily, BK gives you that option.

Meaghan Cameron
Meaghan Cameron is Deputy Editor of Restaurants at Eat This, Not That! Read more about Meaghan