McDonald's Vs Wendy's: Which Chain Serves A Healthier Classic Chicken Sandwich

Fried chicken sandwiches might have come onto the fast food scene much later than hamburgers — not arriving until the '60s at the earliest — but these days, they are nothing short of an expectation on fast food menus. Chains like Wendy's and McDonald's are still measured largely by burgers, but there is no denying the importance to the restaurants of these poultry offerings. In general with fast food, it may be the case that taste trumps nutrition, but customers do like to know the nutrition facts of what they're eating. When the most basic chicken sandwich options from Wendy's and McDonald's are stacked up side by side, there sometimes isn't too much room between the numbers, but there is a clear winner, and its mascot is a young lady with red pigtails.

The two sandwiches in question here are the McChicken from McDonald's and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich from Wendy's. Both sandwiches follow the traditional format for such an item on a fast food menu: a breaded and fried fillet of white meat chicken on a bun with lettuce and mayonnaise. It is a simple formula, but it's one that exists across the industry for that very reason. Interestingly, these two sandwiches also scored the same spot in Tasting Table's rankings of chicken items at the respective chains. The McChicken placed fourth in the ranking of McDonald's chicken items, and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich was ranked fourth among every Wendy's chicken item. They are similar sandwiches with similar nutritional profiles, but the Wendy's offering does score slightly better in key nutritional categories.

As far as breaking down the numbers on these two sandwiches goes, we'll start with the caloric content. Wendy's Crispy Chicken Sandwich comes in lower here, with 340 calories per sandwich, compared to the 390 in the McChicken. Behind calories, the second most important factor for many consumers is protein. Here, too, Wendy's takes a narrow lead, with its sandwich boasting 15 grams to the 14 in the McChicken. As far as fat goes, the Crispy Chicken Sandwich has 17 grams, 3 of which are saturated fats, while the McDonald's sandwich has 21 grams of fat, 3.5 of which are saturated fats. For carbs, the McChicken has 38 grams, compared to 32 in the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Across what are likely to be the top four nutritional categories for consumers weighing the two sandwiches, it is a clean sweep for Wendy's.

Some of the other nutritional factors for these two sandwiches line up quite closely. They both, for example, have 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 40 milligrams of cholesterol. The only category where the McChicken takes an advantage, though, is the sodium content. The McDonald's offering contains 560 milligrams, compared to 650 in the Wendy's alternative.

The nutritional margins between the most basic classic chicken sandwiches at McDonald's and Wendy's are quite small in some categories, but in this chapter of the chicken sandwich wars — a mere skirmish compared to some of the other most iconic fast food rivalries — there is a clear winner. Both sandwiches can be perfectly healthy as part of a balanced diet, but the offering from Wendy's has a slight nutritional edge across nearly every category.