6 Changes I Wish Raising Cane's Would Make

Raising Cane's is having a bit of a moment as of late. Its diehard fans love its always-tender, moist chicken, indulgent sides, and addictive dipping sauce. But Cane's has a highly specific brand identity that separates it from other chicken chains, like KFC and Popeye's, and that primarily revolves around the consistent simplicity of its menu. 

That consistency has clearly paid off. New locations of the chicken finger chain seem to pop up every week as Cane's expands its reach into new markets across the country. Perhaps due in part to all that expansion, Cane's posted a record year for its financials in 2024, selling $5.1 billion total and raking in $6.6 million per store. 

Cane's has its diehard fans, and new locations have been known to attract around-the-block lines. But the chain is far from perfect, and as its novelty wears off, a few flaws become clear. These are a few changes Raising Cane's should make to build on its excellent baseline, stay competitive, and bring skeptics over to its side.

I'd be far from the first customer to complain about Raising Cane's chicken. To the chain's credit, the tenders are always moist and seem to be fresh from the fryer whenever I've ordered them. But bite into them plain, and you're sure to be let down by the taste (or lack thereof).

To make up for the chicken's blandness, every Raising Cane's combo comes with a dipping sauce — the aptly named Cane's Sauce. But chicken is what Cane's is known for, and the chain's signature menu item should be able to stand on its own two legs (or fingers, if you will).

To that end, I wish Cane's would season its chicken more thoroughly. I know some fans of the chain would prefer the chicken remain bland, since it lets the beloved Cane's Sauce really shine. But a more flavorful breading could easily exist alongside the classic, more mildly seasoned version. A Cajun-spiced chicken finger, for example, would make a tasty alternative, besides fitting right in with the chain's other Southern-inspired offerings.

Of course, once you coat your chicken in Cane's Sauce, you'll forget all about the underseasoned chicken. This condiment is a bright pink variant on the typical fry sauce, with many copycat recipes calling for the addition of Worcestershire sauce for an extra savory pop.

I like Cane's Sauce, as many do. It's easily the most flavorful item on the menu, and likely what keeps many diners coming back. But Cane's Sauce isn't to everyone's liking, and what about those who can't even go near the stuff due to dietary restrictions?

It's kind of an unwritten rule of Raising Cane's: Cane's Sauce is the only official condiment on the menu. Still, I would love to see Cane's introduce a couple of additional dipping options. It's not uncommon for fast food chains to have six or seven dips available, with things like barbecue, buffalo, or ranch among common offerings. It shouldn't take much for Raising Cane's to follow suit.

Some Raising Cane's diners swear by its "secret menu" honey mustard. You won't find it on the chain's menu, but fans say it's made only in small batches and available upon request. For a start, I think Cane's should advertise its honey mustard by adding it to the board, with the introduction of other new sauces potentially to follow.

And on the subject of Cane's Sauce, the chain really needs to give us more with each order. The chicken is so bland that you need to dip it with every bite. But with each order of a three- or four-finger combo, you only get one tiny, 1.5-ounce cup of Cane's Sauce, and that reservoir runs dry quickly. 

In my opinion, Cane's should bump that one included sauce up to two, at least for the four-finger box combo. Of course, you can order an extra sauce, but there's an additional charge for that— it'd be nice not to have to pay extra just to get an appropriate amount of sauce.

Some people love the dipping sauce so much that they started requesting that Raising Cane's fill an entire 32-ounce soda cup with the stuff — and lo and behold, the chain delivered. That certainly gives you enough sauce to work with, but it shouldn't even be necessary to order so much in the first place. If the sauce is so beloved, and so integral to the Raising Cane's experience, then the chain should give you enough to begin with, or even make it self-serve like most fast food restaurants do with ketchup and mustard.

Other chicken chains like Popeye's and KFC regularly make big changes, introducing new and often limited-time items. But Raising Cane's menu has gone virtually unchanged. The chain effectively offers just five food items, four of which are sides — French fries, Texas toast, Cane's Sauce, and coleslaw — with the only real variation being the size of the combo you order. And don't get me wrong, I like all of these well enough (even the more divisive coleslaw), but a few more side options wouldn't go amiss.

For example, I'd really love to see Cane's take on an onion ring. It doesn't matter if it's the same breading as the chicken fingers or a new kind of coating; an order of thick-cut onion rings would pair beautifully with the sweet-and-savory Cane's Sauce.

Or, Raising Cane's could take a cue from fellow chicken joint Dave's Hot Chicken, which has some of the best chain restaurant mac and cheese on offer. It would fit right in with the rest of the menu, and I'm sure it'd be delicious with a couple of chicken tenders cut up and mixed in.

It's safe to say that coleslaw is the least popular item on the Raising Cane's menu. Even Raising Cane's founder and CEO Todd Graves admitted, in a TikTok by Joe Bonham, that he doesn't care for the coleslaw, instead subbing it for an extra slice of Texas toast. "I'm not crazy about coleslaw," Graves told Bonham, "I wanted a vegetable component for the meal, and coleslaw is a Southern thing."

To me, Cane's coleslaw is just fine — like Graves, I do appreciate having a vegetable component, and its fresh simplicity is a nice counterpart to the fatty fried food and rich, salty dipping sauce. That said, even I can admit it's not the part of the meal I'm most excited about. It can be inconsistent: sometimes it's too sweet, and sometimes it's too soggy. Some diners say a little drizzle of Cane's Sauce can take it a long way, but you shouldn't have to use the already-small portion you're provided to make it palatable.

Instead, I'd rather see Raising Cane's take on a total rethink of the coleslaw. Maybe incorporate the Cane's Sauce by default, or just use a more balanced seasoning, and the coleslaw might become something diners actually order instead of just a superfluous add-on to their meals.

Most food is better fresh, but that goes double for Raising Cane's. When you order your combo meal for takeout, it usually comes packaged in a plastic or Styrofoam clamshell container. But within a few minutes of receiving the food, it's gone soggy. The issue is that the residual heat from the food creates condensation. This effectively steams your meal, turning the once-crispy chicken and fries into a wet, disintegrating mess. 

Sogginess is always a risk with takeout, but I wish Cane's was doing more to mitigate that. The containers are vented, which allows some of the steam to escape, but the bigger issue is the material they're made with. Cardboard and paperboard packaging are much better at releasing steam, which might help prevent the food from getting soggy almost instantly. 

Some nice paper packaging printed with the Cane's logo would go a long way, and the takeout containers would remain recyclable. That's a huge improvement over locations that still use Styrofoam, which is prone to softening at surprisingly low, food-safe temperatures, potentially causing microplastics to leach into your Caniac Combo. Any kind of solution would be a huge improvement.