8 Fast Food Chains Serving The Highest-Quality Chicken

Somewhere along the line, we stopped viewing fast food chains as places that serve quality meat. The affordable prices, continual deals and combos, and revolving door of new menu items started taking precedence over where the food was actually sourced. The bar eventually dropped so low that we not only stopped expecting quality meat from fast food chains, but we also now happily stuff pre-frozen patties and tenders into our mouths. Can pre-frozen meat be just as delicious? Arguably so, but health-wise, it's a different story altogether.

Enter fast casual chains like Shake Shack and Dave's Hot Chicken, which started popping up in the 2000s — the distinction being that they offer more seating and fresher, cooked-to-order food. Funny enough, that describes how fast food restaurants used to be in their heyday. With the emergence of more and more fast-casual-style chains, combined with people's growing interest in food transparency and nutrition, meat quality is back to being an important topic.

Quality chicken is especially important considering the ongoing bird flu (Avian influenza) epidemic, which has affected millions of birds, and the backlash against factory-farming conditions, where chickens are fed hormones, antibiotics, steroids, and preservatives. In response, fast food and fast casual chains alike are making transparency a point by revealing suppliers, farming conditions, sustainable practices, and also food preparation methods. To help you find the fast food chains serving high-quality chicken, and avoid the pre-frozen pitfalls, I dove into official websites, press releases, Reddit discussions, and chicken suppliers.

Despite its regional footprint, Culver's is usually one of the most talked-about chains when it comes to quality fast food. The official website says that it sources meat from a family-owned farm, and only serves fresh, never frozen beef and whole, white chicken meat. The last known supplier of chicken for Culver's was the family-owned farm, Springer Mountain Farms. The company raises chickens in the hills of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains, in a cage-free environment, and feeds them 100% U.S.-grown corn and soybeans.

Springer Mountain Farms' brand values underscore a dedication to maintaining stringent standards, particularly concerning the welfare of chickens, its choice to keep operations within a 60-mile radius of Northeast Georgia, and its use of sustainable practices. That said, while it definitely supplies high-quality chicken, Culver's still somehow makes some of the worst fast food chicken tenders. Thankfully, the silver lining is that we ranked its chicken sandwich above the Classic Chicken Sandwich from Wendy's and Burger King's Original Chicken Sandwich.

Chick-fil-A has always been considered a cut above the average fast food chicken chain, and when you dig into its strict policies surrounding food production, it's clear to see why. The chain is selective about the chickens it serves, and only uses chicken free of fillers, artificial preservatives and hormones. Furthermore, Chick-fil-A requires all of its chicken suppliers to follow its Animal Wellbeing Standards, which say that chickens must be hatched, raised, and harvested in the U.S., in a climate-controlled, cage-free environment with full access to feed and water.

The chain is currently transitioning to using 100% cage-free chickens. In 2016, it set a goal to transition fully by 2026. Whether or not it hits that goal depends on many factors; Chick-fil-A points to the ongoing bird flu crisis as its biggest concern. It's worth noting, however, that in 2024, in a move that some view as a reversal of its commitment to quality, Chick-fil-A switched from using chickens that contain "No Antibiotics Ever (NAE)" to chickens that may contain antibiotics, just not any that are "Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM)."

Shake Shack is technically a fast casual restaurant, but since it makes burgers and fries, it naturally gets compared to regular fast food chains. Despite the considerable differences, as a result, it now has a bad reputation for being overpriced. One could argue, though, that there are a lot of positives about the chain that help justify the extra cost. The fact that it's a fast food chain that uses 100% chicken notwithstanding, it's also very transparent about its supply chain, is a vocal supporter of animal welfare, and practices sustainability. Shake Shack believes in the "Five Freedoms" of all species, which outlines the types of stressful conditions animals deserve "Freedom from," including hunger and thirst, pain, disease, fear, and distress.

All chickens used are free of hormones, antibiotics, animal by-products, and subtherapeutic antibiotics in chicken feeds, and are raised in a cage-free environment large enough for natural movement and wing-flapping, where they are treated humanely. Furthermore, Shake Shack follows the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which requires it to adhere to strict standards such as the amount of light and darkness chickens are exposed to, the number that can share a single living space, and others. Add to that, the Food Safety and Quality Assurance team ensures that standards are maintained, and third-party animal welfare groups regularly audit the company.

It took less than 10 years for Dave's Hot Chicken to become famous. The chain specializes in fiery Nashville-style fried chicken, coated in a signature cayenne and paprika-forward blend. The chicken is certified halal-friendly, ethically raised, cooked-to-order, and according to co-founder Imran Ahmed, is sourced from Wayne Farms. I was unable to find any mention of Dave's Hot Chicken on the Wayne Farms webpage, so its supplier may have changed since 2022. But, if it hasn't, then Dave's Hot Chicken definitely deserves a spot on this list.

Wayne Farms is part of the Wayne-Sanderson family of poultry farms, America's third-largest poultry producer, with facilities that stretch across the South, from North Carolina to Texas. It supplies Dave's with 100% natural, fresh, never-frozen chicken, and while it doesn't specify whether it uses hormones or steroids, its sister farm, Sanderson Farms, specifies that it doesn't, which may indicate the same for Wayne Farms. Dave's website says that chickens are pre-stunned to reduce pain before being hand-slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines and even offers to share the Halal certification documents with anyone interested. You should know, however, that its supply chain and kitchens do not follow halal guidelines.

BurgerFi's chef-driven approach extends beyond branded buns and Angus beef; its all-natural, antibiotic-free chicken range is held to the same quality standards. Like Culver's, the chain gets its chicken from Springer Mountain Farms in Mt. Airy, Georgia, or at least did in 2019, according to a press release. The two companies partnered on an expansion to its all-natural chicken menu, which, in the release, is compared to the Angus beef in terms of quality. Along with being all-natural and antibiotic-free, the Angus beef is also free of steroids, growth hormones, chemicals, and additives, so it's safe to assume the same applies to BurgerFi's chicken.

Another thing that solidifies BurgerFi as a fast food chain with high-quality chicken is that Springer Mountain Farms is the first U.S. poultry company recognized by the American Humane Association for its humane treatment of chickens. On top of that, all of the food is prepared by hand and cooked fresh daily. For these reasons and many others, BurgerFi is unfairly overshadowed by big brands, and that's especially true for its chicken menu items.

Guy Fieri and Robert Earl, founder of the themed restaurant from the '90s, Planet Hollywood, opened their first Chicken Guy! location in 2018 at Disney Springs. The chain specializes in Guy Fieri's signature chicken tenders, which are pounded flat for maximum crunchiness and brined in lemon juice, pickle brine, and buttermilk, then tossed with fresh herbs. Fieri and his team whipped up 10 signature sauces to complement the tenders, from staples like buffalo and buttermilk ranch to the roasted garlic-infused Donkey sauce.

The menu also includes chicken sandwiches, wraps, salads, chicken-topped loaded fries, and shakes. Before tenders reach the frying pan, though, Fieri and Earl make sure to source quality chicken. They keep the chain's supplier under wraps, but have made it clear that they only use chicken that's antibiotic-free, all-natural, and never frozen. In an interview with QSR, Earl said his and Fieri's goal was to make Chicken Guy! the "Shake Shack of chicken." If Fieri and Earl are truly operating in the spirit of Shake Shack, which is well-known for its dedication to animal welfare, sustainability, and using quality meat, then the chicken at Chicken Guy! is definitely high quality.

Founded in 2016, Starbird Chicken is a burgeoning regional chain located in California and Colorado. It's chef-backed, with a focus on scratch-cooked chicken tenders, breasts, and wings, that are all-natural, never frozen, antibiotic-free, and hand-breaded with a signature blend of gluten-free flour and spices. The chain was named the winner of Nation's Restaurant News' 2023 Chicken Showdown, beating out Shake Shack, Dave's Hot Chicken, Huey Magoo's, and others. And, it has also been a Fast Casual's Movers & Shakers award recipient for eight consecutive years. Suffice it to say, the chicken at Starbird is not only high quality, but it delivers on deliciousness.

Starbird uses free-range chickens. Unlike cage-free chickens, which are often raised in controlled indoor environments, free-range chickens typically have outdoor access. The chain is pretty mum about where it gets its chicken from, but I was able to find its previous supplier, Petaluma Poultry. The two haven't worked together since 2019. Petaluma Poultry raises fresh, organic, free-range chicken in Sonoma County; that past partnership suggests Starbird has prioritized premium sourcing.

Declaring yourself "the filet mignon of chicken" is a pretty big claim. Thankfully, Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders actually delivers the goods. The growing regional chain, which is found throughout the Midwest and Southern states, says it uses only 3% of the chicken, otherwise known as the tenderloin. Chicken tenderloin is a white muscle with a super tender consistency that's attached to the breast. It's a great cut for frying, baking, searing, and grilling because it's thin and cooks fast.

The chain only uses chickens that are all-natural, free of antibiotics, hormones, steroids, and preservatives, and cooks them on the spot after a 24-hour marinade. Furthermore, each chicken tender is just 60 calories, with the exception of the hand-breaded ones, which are less than 100 calories. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the chain's chicken supplier. There are online murmurs of it being US Foods or Sysco, but no evidence to support those claims. One thing is for sure, though: a lot of people seem to agree that it's better than Raising Cane's.

To determine which fast food chains serve the highest-quality chicken, I started with a list of well-known chicken chains and up-and-coming ones. I then checked each chain's official website for details about its supply chain, views on animal welfare and sustainability, and approach to cooking. I narrowed the list down to chains that make transparency a priority, with trackable suppliers and processing methods. In the few cases where I was unable to find the supplier, I leaned on other details, like whether or not it uses chickens with hormones, antibiotics, steroids, and preservatives. Each chain here publicly emphasizes at least some combination of cage-free or free-range sourcing that are free of the aforementioned.