5 Ordering Tips For A Better Chick-Fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich

Chick-fil-A is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the U.S., and part of its success is owed to how delicious its chicken sandwiches are. The classic Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich includes a thick, golden, fried boneless chicken breast that is coated in a perfectly seasoned breading. It's placed on a toasted butter bun and served with dill pickle chips. The result is a masterpiece of simplicity that delivers mouthwatering results every time. Yet, one of the best things about Chick-fil-A is its dedication to customer customizations.

The chain makes it incredibly easy to fine-tune and tweak standard orders to create custom creations. Customers regularly share their custom orders on social media, inspiring others to take part in upgrading their own sandwiches. If you search Reddit, Facebook, or TikTok, you'll find thousands of recommendations for menu hacks and add-ons that will transform the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich into a finely curated masterpiece.

Customer suggestions for building a better sandwich include blending the chain's signature dipping sauces and condiments, topping the chicken with classic side dishes, and using add-ins and swaps to create an entirely new concoction. Whether you've gotten tired of your standard order or are visiting the restaurant for the first time (and aren't quite sure what menu items you'll like the most), you have the freedom to mix and match toppings, sauces, and sides. Here are five creative Chick-fil-A menu hacks that are worth a try if you want to order a better chicken sandwich.

Like most other fast food joints, Chick-fil-A offers a range of condiments, dipping sauces, and dressings. There are a couple of options that can't be found anywhere else, like its signature Chick-fil-A sauce, Polynesian Sweet & Sour Sauce, Zesty Buffalo Sauce, Garden Herb Ranch Sauce, and Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce. Diners love mixing these sauces together to create their own custom blend that perfectly enhances the flavors and texture of the chicken sandwich.

Some of the most popular flavor combos are Zesty Buffalo and Garden Herb Ranch, Sweet & Spicy Sriracha and Chick-fil-A sauce, Zesty Buffalo and Honey Mustard, and Barbecue and Ranch. Your first two sauces are free when ordering a chicken sandwich, but you can add more for an extra charge or buy eight-ounce bottles of the sauce to use at home. Sample as many as you want to figure out which you like best and then experiment by mixing them together to create novel flavors.

If you want an extra saucy sandwich but don't want to make a mess, you can use a trick to give your chicken sandwich a flavor boost, as shared by one customer on Reddit. Simply put the chicken patty in a zip-tight bag, pour in packets of Zesty Buffalo and Polynesian Sauce, and close and shake. This will coat the patty completely before adding it back to the sandwich.

Customers have also made an art form out of modifying the chicken sandwich to transform it into an entirely different menu item. One of the most popular customizations is to turn it into a fried chicken club sandwich. The original Grilled Chicken Club with Colby Jack features a thick, boneless chicken patty marinated in a lemon-herb dressing and then grilled. It's served on a toasted multigrain brioche bun and includes a slice of Colby Jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. If you love club sandwiches but grilled chicken isn't your thing, modify the original crispy chicken sandwich to turn it into a club.

When placing your order, swap the butter bun for the multigrain option, request no pickles, then add bacon and tomatoes. Dress it with the condiments and sauces of your choice, although mayonnaise and barbecue sauce are classic picks. To make it even more deluxe, double the cheese (or get two different types on one sandwich) and add jalapeños and Garden Herb Ranch.

If you want yours with pickles and tomatoes, use our tip for getting a non-soggy Chick-fil-A sandwich and get them on the side. This will keep the veggie juices from making the bun soggy and limp. Since you have to put your sauces on anyway, adding the pickles and tomatoes right before you eat won't be any extra work. Your chicken will remain crunchy, and the toppings will be fresh and crisp.

If you're someone who brings a little bottle of hot sauce with you when dining out, this tip is for you. The standard chicken sandwich is far from bland, but folks who love heat typically order the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. The chicken is coated in a breading seasoned with peppers for an extra kick. But if you find that the Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich can't compare to McDonald's Spicy McCrispy, you can make that sandwich even spicier with a few simple order modifications.

Order Pepper Jack cheese, jalapeños, hot sauce, and Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce with your sandwich and the results will be next level. Some even take it a step further, requesting sides of the jalapeño salsa used on the Chick-fil-A breakfast burritos, or the Creamy Salsa Dressing offered with salads. You might even want to try one of the viral Chick-fil-A menu hacks that may have come across your social media feed lately. For instance, some fans swear by customizing the classic chicken sandwich with a side of Creamy Salsa Dressing and crispy bell peppers, which traditionally come with the chain's Cobb Salad. 

For special orders like these, which use elements from more than one menu item, you'll likely have to make your request in-store. The alternative is ordering multiple items from the menu so that you can use ingredients from each one, which will get pretty expensive. Just remember that when asking for customizations that are off-menu, your success may depend on how polite you are, how busy the store is, and how long your modifications will take.

Getting fast food doesn't necessarily mean that you need to carbo-load. If you're looking for the highest protein meal at Chick-fil-A, you can customize the traditional chicken sandwich to turn it into a version of the Cool Wrap. This option is similar to In-N-Out's Protein Style burger. When ordering, add bacon and a slice of American cheese, and switch the standard bun with lettuce to make a wrap. The result is a high-protein, low-carb sandwich. In fact, it has 31 grams of protein in total.

You can further amp up the flavor with some special modifications. This includes adding some hot sauce or asking for the jalapeño salsa that goes with the breakfast burritos. You can also request a side order of the Creamy Salsa Dressing or Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing offered with Chick-fil-A salads.

There is another secret Chick-fil-A menu hack to try if you want a high protein, low-carb meal. Order any one of the chain's salads and request a chicken patty on top instead of the chopped chicken. The salad offers 39 grams of protein, though if you add an extra sliced egg and an additional packet of Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing or Creamy Salsa Dressing, you can boost the protein level up to 41 grams.

This may be the most elaborate Chick-fil-A customization by far — and customers love it. In fact, of the seven Chick-fil-A ordering hacks we tried, this was by far our favorite. You're essentially creating a Buffalo chicken mac and cheese sandwich using the classic sandwich, Zesty Buffalo and Garden Herb Ranch sauces, and a side of mac and cheese. Start by customizing your sandwich in whatever way you prefer.

Then, slather the chicken patty in Buffalo and ranch sauces (adding ranch makes the Buffalo Sauce extra creamy), and top it with a side order of Chick-fil-A mac and cheese. Customers have some amazing ideas for how to doctor up your sandwich even further. For instance, add bacon crumbles into the mac and cheese to make it even saltier and more savory. One user on Reddit suggests that you "add a packet of the dried red peppers for the salad into your mac and cheese" to give it a crispy, slightly spicy bite. Alternatively, add bacon to your sandwich or an extra slice of cheese to make it an even creamier, cheesier meal.

For a super deluxe Buffalo chicken mac and cheese, order an additional chicken patty. Then, put the mac and cheese between the two patties, topping them both with any sauces or veggies you want. Pickles are a great choice, as the brine will add a tart, acidic flavor that cuts through the sweet and spicy elements of the sandwich.