6 Chain Restaurant Chicken Nuggets With More Real Chicken Than Breading
Anyone who orders chicken nuggets and discovers it’s all breading and very little meat knows how annoying it is—the chicken should be the star, not the cheap breading. While many restaurants serve up sad nuggets that are dry and crunchy, others are known for using real white meat chicken that is lightly breaded, letting the chicken shine. Here are six chain restaurants known for exceptional chicken nuggets.
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A is known for its nuggets made from bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken breast, seasoned to perfection, freshly breaded and pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil. The Grilled Nuggets are even better, with no breading at all. Made from freshly marinated boneless breast of chicken, this option is pure protein (25g per serving, which is fantastic).
Wendy’s
Wendy’s nuggets are a fan-favorite menu item, especially the spicy nuggs. “Bite-sized, golden nuggets made from all-white meat chicken. Snackable, poppable, perfectly portioned for single bites or multiple munches. Crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, little nuggets of joy,” Wendy’s says.
Starbird Chicken
Starbird‘s juicy chicken nuggets are perfectly balanced between chicken and breading. “Our Crispy Nuggets are always fresh, never treated with antibiotics and individually hand breaded in our secret blend of gluten free flour and spices,” the chain says. “The jumbo nuggets were genuinely large pieces of real chicken, just like the tenders,” one fan raved.
Shake Shack
Shake Shack says its Chicken Bites are always made fresh to order with all-natural, antibiotic-free whole muscle that is sous-vide cooked for optimum flavor, moisture and texture, making them extra juicy and tender. Apparently the breeding has recently changed, some fans love them, others don’t.
Carl’s Jr.
Carl’s Jr.‘s Chicken Stars are another fan-favorite choice for juicy chicken and crispy breading. “I love chicken stars especially with the bbq sauce,” one fan said. Apparently Hardee’s doesn’t have them, and customers are forced to eat delicious hand-breaded chicken tenders instead.
KFC
The general consensus on KFC‘s 100% white meat nuggets is they are outstanding right out of the fryer (honestly, I love them). “I think they are awesome. KFC has never had a boneless chicken product in the original spices recipe, it’s always been crispy only. These nuggets have FLAVOR compared to just a blah crispy tender with zero spices. I’ve been waiting years for them to do this,” one fan said.