Seriously, Think Twice Before Ordering Chicken Tenders At Popeyes

Popeyes is a longstanding favorite when it comes to fast food fried chicken. But that doesn't mean that it gets every chicken item right. While chicken tenders seem to be a straightforward menu item that a fried chicken joint should have no problem mastering, Popeyes has managed to get it wrong. We tasted and ranked nine different chicken items at Popeyes, and the chicken tenders scored seventh overall.

Popeyes' bone-in chicken breasts are juicy and tender, and the same goes for the chicken tenders, since they're made from chicken breast too. While we have no complaints about the taste and tenderness of the chicken itself, there just isn't enough of it. Popeyes' downfall is the ratio of batter to chicken. To start, the chicken strips are too thin and are coated with breading that is thicker than the meat. The breading is shatteringly crispy and well-seasoned, and it doesn't slide off the chicken when you bite into it. But with so little chicken inside, all we really tasted was the breading. Plus, there is such a thing as too crispy, and Popeyes' chicken tenders decimated the roofs of our mouths after just one tender. Maybe soaking these puppies in Popeyes dipping sauces will lessen their crunch enough to salvage our hard palates. Still, a nearly all-breading chicken item is one you should avoid ordering at Popeyes.

We took to Reddit to see what customers have to say about Popeyes chicken tenders. While earlier threads were complementary, it seems the chicken tenders have gone majorly downhill over the last two years. A two year-old Reddit post stated, "Their chicken tenders are now the thickness of cardboard and the texture of drywall," alluding to just how thin they are and the fact that they're all breading with very little meat at all." The user included a picture of the offending rail-thin chicken tenders. Another Redditor responded to the post in agreement by saying, "The chicken fingers are so thin and dry now. They've really ruined them. You're basically consuming chicken-flavored breading with some dipping sauce." Others referred to these tenders as "chicken pancakes," "fried dough," or — our favorite — "chicken slenders." One Redditor said that he got more chicken in the chicken fries at Burger King than the chicken tenders Popeyes passes for a meal. Plus, customers complain about how expensive the chicken tenders are, especially for a measly and disappointing meal.

If you're looking for bite-sized boneless chicken at Popeyes, we ranked the chain's nuggets third in our taste test of Popeyes chicken items. Our all-time favorite chicken item at Popeyes, the crispy chicken sandwich, is also boneless, so that would be a good substitute. Even the blackened chicken sandwich without that crispy crust landed in second place, proving that Popeyes' chicken breasts were prepared and cooked to tender, juicy perfection — just not its tenders.