The #1 Unhealthiest Fast Food Fried Chicken You Can Order Right Now

Fast food fried chicken is never going to be the healthiest choice for a meal, but some options are significantly unhealthier than others; based on nutrition labels provided by the restaurants themselves. For the purposes of this article, I chose to focus on fried chicken thighs from chains such as KFC and Popeyes, comparing factors such as calorie count, sodium, fat, and more. The results surprised me a little—some of the chicken options I assumed would be the worst turned out not too bad after all. Here is the list, ranked from least worst to the #1 unhealthiest fast food chicken you can order right now.

Bojangles Chicken Thigh

The regular Chicken Thigh from Bojangles is the lowest in calories and saturated fat overall. The sodium and carb count is also moderate, so the chain comes in at number 8 on this list. The protein is pretty good, too.

Jollibee Chickenjoy Thigh

Jollibee‘s regular Chickenjoy thigh is much lower in sodium compared to the other options, which is a plus. It does have more calories and saturated fat, but the least breading with just 5 g of carbs.

Church’s Original Chicken Thigh

Church’s Original Chicken Thigh6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Church’s is thoroughly middle-of-the-road when it comes to calories, fat, and sodium. Yes, you could do better, but you could also do much worse nutrition-wise.

Church’s Spicy Chicken Thigh

Church’s Spicy Chicken Thigh

Church’s spicy chicken thigh has more sodium than the original, which is a drawback. Otherwise it’s not terrible, and the calories are actually lower than the regular thigh.

Jollibee Chickenjoy Thigh (Spicy)

Jollibee’s Spicy Chickenjoy thigh has more carbs and more sodium than the regular Chickenjoy thigh, so it’s counted as more unhealthy overall. The protein is pretty good.

KFC Extra Crispy Chicken Thigh

Calories for the KFC Extra Crispy thigh are slightly higher than Original Recipe, but the sodium is better. The protein is lower too, and the saturated fat is higher, so this one comes in at number 3.

KFC Original Recipe Chicken Thigh

KFC’s Original Recipe is, in my opinion, the best-tasting fast-food fried chicken, but the sodium is a major drawback—1190 mg per thigh is a lot. On the other hand, the protein is great.

Popeyes Chicken Thigh: The Most Unhealthy

Popeyes Chicken Thigh

Popeyes has the most sodium, the most saturated fat, and the highest carbs across the board. The calorie count is the highest, and the decent protein can’t cancel all the rest out. Based on nutrition, Popeyes comes in at number 1.