The best Chick-fil-A items of all time, ranked

The only reason I can think of that Chick-fil-A has these nuggets on the menu is for the odd protein-obsessed gym rat…who, for some reason, is still having lunch at Chick-fil-A. The little, slightly slimy chunks of chicken breast are covered in grill marks that look about as natural as Mickey Rourke’s face, and the flavor is limited to a slight pepper kick. They’re chewy in the way heavily processed frozen chicken breasts are, even though they’re whole pieces of chicken. Sadly, the texture is more like mush than meat.

Price: $4.69 (5 ct.)

Calories: 80 (5 ct.)

Order with: The only reason you might want to order the grilled nuggets is to add some extra protein to a salad. Even the sauces can’t save them as a stand-alone item.

I don’t know this for a fact, but I’m guessing after Chick-fil-A’s R&D team put all its effort into addictive breading and sweet biscuits, they just didn’t have anything left. Leaving these chicken strips as deep-fried afterthoughts. They lack the crispiness that makes people fall in love with chicken tenders, and the meat tastes more processed than it actually is. The Buffalo sauce is an embarrassment to the genre, too much butter and not enough spice. Chicken strip aficionados would do well to look elsewhere to get their fried chicken fix.

Price: $6.85 (3 ct.)

Calories: 310 (3 ct.)

Order with: My first inclination is to say “Don’t,” but if you must have your chicken tendies, try every sauce on the menu and see if any can give these some life.

You know those wraps you get from the grab-and-go cooler at 7-Eleven when the pizza and taquitos look a little too suspect? That’s a pretty good approximation of Chick-fil-A’s Cool Wrap. Though the grilled chicken breast and lettuce taste pretty fresh, the unmelted shredded cheese blend gives the wrap a sad picnic vibe. The avocado ranch brings the wrap a little bit of creamy excitement, and it’s probably the best “healthy” option you can also eat with one hand in your car.

Price: $9.99

Calories: 660

Order with: Unwrap this guy and throw some Chick-fil-A sauce inside and it’s instantly more fun. However, re-wrapping it is like trying to re-fold a map.

There will always be people who insist that the original of anything is always the best. I am not one of those people. Is the OG chicken sandwich easily the best fried chicken sandwich on franchise row? Yes. Has Chick-fil-A made vastly better sandwiches in the years since they developed this one? Also yes. It’s a big, juicy fried chicken sandwich on a sweet bun, with mild pickles and no sauce. You can dress it up or down as much as you want, and while it’s nothing spectacular, it’s a classic for a reason.

Price: $6.49

Calories: 420

Order with: Fries and the classic Chick-fil-A sauce and a sweet tea. It’s the order that made Chick-fil-A famous and doesn’t disappoint.

This limited-time offering is available with the original fried chicken breast, as well as spicy and grilled chicken options. I went with the OG fried chicken breast, and while it added a little bit of grease to an already-greasy sandwich, I have no regrets. The pretzel bun is probably the best I’ve had in a quick-service restaurant, chewy and salty without weighing the sandwich down with dough. The chicken and bacon flavor combination is timeless, and the saltiness of the bun and the fried chicken accent it beautifully. If you’re a CFA regular and want to mix things up, this is the move.

Price: $9.79

Calories: 695

Order with: Try it with the grilled chicken breast instead, not just to cut calories but to let the bun, cheese, and bacon flavors shine a little brighter.

I miss a time when the greatest disagreement this country had was who had the best spicy chicken sandwich. I was always on Team Chick-fil-A, whose spicy sandwich boasts the highest quality chicken among the fast food options, and the meat is even juicier than the original chicken sandwich. The spicy chicken sandwich’s peppery spice kicks off a complex flavor journey with the tangy pickles and the sweet bun. Your mouth enjoys figuring the whole thing out, and by the time you have the sandwich, it's almost gone.

Price: $6.99

Calories: 450

Order with: Creamy Chick-fil-A sauce cools this sandwich down if you’re sensitive to spice.

I’ve always been impressed by how much thought Chick-fil-A puts into its salads, using a mix of lettuce, fresh vegetables with real flavor, and other interesting ingredients. That’s why I’m a big fan of the Southwest Chicken Salad, where a chopped spicy grilled chicken breast sits atop black beans, corn,  poblano chilis, red peppers, and a cheddar/jack cheese blend. Is it the kind of thing you necessarily go to Chick-fil-A to get? No. But look at that lineup of ingredients and tell me you’re not intrigued.

Price: $11.19

Calories: 680

Order with: I like to get this without dressing and put barbecue sauce on top. It’s a Southwest salad, and that flavor works better with corn, beans, and peppers than any traditional dressing.

The lone breakfast item to crack the delicious dozen is one of the best fast-food breakfast items on the planet. The buttery biscuit could stand on its own as a destination dish; add in the spicy chicken and it's an indulgent treat as universally loved as chocolate. It does suffer from a little over-buttering, and could be improved with a drier biscuit. But otherwise, it’s tough to beat.

Price: $4.99

Calories: 450

Order with: Make sure to get in before 10:30 am. Despite cries for longer breakfast hours, you won’t find the biscuit in the afternoon.

There may be no fast food menu item in America more mindlessly addictive than Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets. Who among us hasn’t stood over a platter of these little, breaded chunks of white meat crack, popping nugget after nugget in your mouth with little more than Polynesian sauce to break it up. Next thing you know, you’ve had 20 of them, and you wonder why you leave the party feeling like you just swallowed a salt lick.

Price: $4.15 (5 ct.)

Calories: 250 (5 ct.)

Order with: All of the dipping sauces. You’re going to eat all the nuggets anyway, you may as well mix it up.

I can hear the outcry from Chick-fil-A Nation, deriding me for ranking a salad ahead of some of the chain’s most iconic items. But true regulars know this salad is the restaurant’s hidden gem, a crisp, refreshing change of pace that puts berries and apples atop fresh lettuce and bleu cheese. It’s as close to a restaurant-quality salad you’ll find on franchise row, and shows this fried chicken giant puts some real culinary effort behind its healthier options. It’s not just a good salad for a drive-thru; it’s flat-out a great salad.

Price: $11.19

Calories: 550

Order with: The apple vinaigrette dressing picks up the accents of the apples perfectly, and is the best dressing option by far.

This is the easiest item to eat on the Chick-fil-A menu, a simple, grilled chicken breast with fresh tomato, leafy lettuce, and a multigrain bun. Again, the vegetables shine bright in this sandwich, and the thin chicken breast has a pepper marinade that adds spicy undertones to the experience. The grilled chicken sandwich depends on more than grease and breading for its flavor, making this sandwich a more complex and interesting offering than any of the fried options.

Price: $7.99

Calories: 390

Order with: If you’re in a hurry or need to crush a sandwich in your car between appointments, this is the move. Its lack of grease makes it easy to eat in an instant, and the thin bun and no sauce mean no errant crumbs or splotches of barbecue.

It’s a dressed-up version of the grilled chicken sandwich, which was already a winner. It adds that magical combination of bacon and cheddar to the fascinating flavors of the grilled original, melding veggies, dairy, and multi-grains in the most taste-heavy sandwich on the menu.

Price: $10.39

Calories: 520

Order with: An open mind. It’s not the first thing one thinks of when they think of Chick-fil-A, but if you’re not hellbent on getting fried chicken, you’ll leave with a new appreciation for what the restaurant can do.