I Taste-Tested Chicken Nuggets From 5 Popular Fast-Food Chains — Here’s My Definitive Ranking

So, when I heard that Taco Bell was permanently bringing back their Crispy Chicken Nuggets to their menu, I just knew I couldn’t mind my business. Taco Bell first introduced chicken nuggets at the end of 2024, but it was a limited-time menu item that apparently only lasted for a week until they sold out. But now that the Crispy Chicken Nuggets are officially back for good, I thought it would be a good idea to see how they stack up against other popular fast-food chains’ nuggs: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Jack in the Box.

That said, welcome to the ~Chicken Nugget Championship.~

Here’s the very professional rubric I made up to judge and rank the chicken:

5. JACK IN THE BOX: I’ve never had nuggets from Jack in the Box until now, and let me just say that they won’t be my go-to menu item in the future (that title is reserved for the tacos). First, these nuggets are smaller than their other fast-food brethren. Like brothers from another mother, these are nuggets from another bucket, if you will.

The breading itself was OK, but it wasn’t as flavorful as the other nuggets on the list. In fact, it kinda just tasted a bit too salty for my taste. The chicken itself didn’t taste like much, and the nugget as a whole was flat in taste and appearance, and lacked meatiness. There was barely any crisp, and to me, there was just too much to be desired for me to pick these up again.

4. WENDY’S: Some of you may be surprised that Wendy’s is toward the bottom of the list, but believe me, I am, too! I am a huge fan of Wendy’s spicy nuggets, but the regular ones just don’t keep up.

Contrary to the ranking of these nuggies, I actually really love Wendy’s (I loved the Krabby Patty Kollab meal). HOWEVER, the regular nuggets just don’t hit the same as the spicy ones, and when compared to the other nuggs on the list, they just kind of pale into the background.

3. BURGER KING: Now, I’ve honestly never really paid much attention to Burger King before because I’ve had no reason to, but after trying their nuggets, I might just have to pay them another visit.

Burger King’s nuggets are similar to Wendy’s, but somehow better. They’re surprisingly well-seasoned but not super salty, and the breading made for a nice crunch. You can visibly see the seasoning on the nugget, and I personally feel like I could eat them without any sauce because, though not the ~juiciest,~ they aren’t even close to being dry! They certainly aren’t the meatiest of nuggets, but for a four-piece being $2?! I’m not complaining.

2. TACO BELL: Please, please, PLEASE hear me out for a second. I was skeptical about trying these chicken nuggets because why wouldn’t I be skeptical trying chicken nuggets from Taco Bell?? I honestly came into this taste test not having high expectations for them, but alas, I’ve been proven wrong. First of all, look at these things:

Like, are these chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken?! Look at the size! The crisp! Anyway, I’m going to keep it transparent and say that I didn’t think I liked these nuggets at first. I don’t know if I was taken aback at first by the texture or the flavor due to how non-traditionally chicken nugget-y they were, but they truly ended up growing on me. First, these bad boys are VERY crispy. There was an audible crunch when I took my first bite, and it was in that moment when I thought, Does this even count as a chicken nugget??

1. MCDONALD’S: Some of you will hate on me for this decision, but I don’t care! To me, McDonald’s chicken nuggets are just the epitome of everything a chicken nugget should be: crispy, good batter-to-chicken ratio, juicy, and flavorful.

What I like most about McDonald’s nuggets is the batter. It’s a unique, tempura-esque batter that provides an airy and thin crisp like no other fast-food chicken nugget has accomplished. The chicken is juicy and flavorful; I personally think the nuggets can stand on their own and don’t need a sauce. The nuggets are simple flavor-wise, but the texture is what really makes them for me.

Whew, that was a lot of chicken. Just know I definitely had to take a long walk after all that to settle my stomach. Despite that, I had so much fun, and now I truly feel like a chicken nugget ~connosseur.~

And that’s a wrap on the Chicken Nugget Championship! Let us take a moment for the crowning:

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