Culver's Vs Popeyes: Which Chain Has The Best Chicken Sandwich?

Popeyes, founded in Louisiana, and Wisconsin-based Culver's both have chicken sandwiches on their menus. On the one hand, Popeyes has gained a reputation for making this item particularly well. It is from the South and serves fried chicken, so the chain must know what it's doing. Culver's, on the other, has cultivated recognition for offering some of the highest quality fast food in general, and its chicken sandwich is no exception.

With that in mind, I was curious to see which chain made the better chicken sandwich. So, I set up a taste test. It was important to do so because chicken sammies are more than just filling; eating them is an opportunity to appease my taste buds. Biting into one with hot, juicy, tender chicken on the inside and crusty, crunchy breading on the outside is deeply fulfilling — not to mention how the tangy, crisp pickles somehow always manage to surprise and delight me. Perfection happens when that is all surrounded by a pillowy, springy, butter-toasted bun. Meanwhile, consuming rubbery chicken covered in soggy, greasy breading on a mayo-soaked bun may keep my body running, but only that. It won't feed my soul. If I'm spending money on a chicken sandwich, I want one that will do both.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

I visited Popeyes and Culver's on the same afternoon and bought two sandwiches at each restaurant. One was to try in the moment, hot out of the kitchen, while the other was to see how the sandwiches held up on the 10-minute drive home. Chicken sandwiches taste best when they're first served — the breading is at its crispiest and the chicken is hot and juicy. Trying them on location gave each sandwich the opportunity to shine.

To judge the sandwiches, I took notes about their appearance and the order in which the ingredients were placed on the bun. Then, I weighed them to see which was bigger. To test the crumb, I pinched it to see if it would recover or stay pressed down. When I ate the sandwich, I paid close attention to the flavor. Chains often make fast food too salty, so I was hoping for less salt and more noticeable pepper in the breading and sourness from the pickles combined with the savory chicken taste. I wanted the breading to be crisp or crunchy rather than soggy. Lighter breading is generally better than thicker and harder. If it's greasy and tastes like frying oil, it ruins the whole thing. The chicken should be moist, juicy, and tender rather than dry, hard, tough, or stringy. Finally, any additional toppings like lettuce or tomato need to be fresh.

The Classic Chicken Sandwich, which our taster said was the best chicken item at Popeyes, is simple. There is a thick, juicy piece of chicken with light, crispy breading on a bun. Both pieces of the bun are smeared with mayo, and there are two pickles on the bottom. It costs just under $6 and weighs 8.5 ounces.

The sandwich I ate at Popeyes was enjoyable, and I would definitely encourage anyone ordering this menu item to eat it immediately, as the ride home coincided with a steep decline in quality. The bun and breading on the chicken soaked up the mayo and both got soggy. The bun also got more wrinkly.

Unfortunately, this sandwich had some additional flaws which became glaringly obvious because so few ingredients were included. There is nothing to mitigate how salty all the components are, from the mayo to the pickles to the chicken. Worse, the pickles were barely noticeable because of the amount of dressing. Then, the breading has an incredibly delicate, crisp texture — almost like tempura — but it tastes too much like the oil it was fried in. This gives the whole sandwich a greasy sensation. Finally, the bun was spongy and had a light crumb but tasted too sweet.

Culver's Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which our taster ranked in the middle of a list of Culver's chicken items, stands out because it has lettuce and tomato on it in addition to pickles, mayo, and chicken. Those extra toppings must add a bit of extra cost since it's $1.50 more expensive than Popeyes', costing around $7.50 for an 8.2-ounce sandwich. The bottom bun is smeared with mayo and topped with the veggies. Next come the pickles and a piece of fried chicken. The top bun doesn't have mayo or any other spread on it.

The first thing I noticed when I tried this sandwich in the restaurant was how hot and juicy the chicken was. I could tell the kitchen had made it just seconds before they served it to me. The breading was thick and crunchy as opposed to light and crisp. It was more toothsome than Popeyes' breading, and it was peppery and salty. Fortunately, the lettuce and tomato moderated the salt. The buttery bun had a springy crumb and a slightly sweet taste, while the vinegary pickle added a splash of sour flavor.

The sandwich had declined in quality by the time I got home, but it was still tasty. The chicken was stringier and drier than it had been in the restaurant, but the breading was still crunchy and had not soaked up the mayo. This is because there wasn't any mayo on the top bun and the veggies acted as a barrier on the bottom.

The race between Culver's chicken sandwich and Popeyes' was close, but Culver's was the winner. In the end, this chain's Crispy Chicken Sandwich was better than Popeyes' because of its overall flavor — even if the texture of Popeyes' breading is superior. Culver's sandwich tastes peppery rather than greasy, and the breading is still crunchy — just not as light. The bun from the Wisconsin-based chain was also better — it was not as sweet and it didn't get wrinkly. Additionally, the tomato and lettuce on it counteracted the saltiness and added freshness, while the pickle stood out more. Popeyes' sandwich simply tasted too salty, oily, and heavy.

Additionally, the sandwich from Culver's maintained its quality for longer than the one from Popeyes. This is important because many people take fast food home, and they're bound to have a better experience with the sandwich from Culver's. The Culver's breading and bun maintained their textures better and didn't get soggy the way Popeyes' did. The superior quality of its sandwich makes it worth spending a bit more at Culver's.