Review: Chicken Sandwiches from Popeyes

Posted July 25th, 2019 | 1:57pm by Ryan

Your guess is as good as mine as to why it’s taken so long for Popeyes to launch chicken sandwiches to compete with Chick-fil-A. They aren’t available nationally just yet, but I came across the new Classic Chicken Sandwich and Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Popeyes today. I had to grab them to give you an early look at what Chick-fil-A and KFC should be worried about. The Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich features a buttermilk-battered white meat chicken breast, mayo and pickle slices on a toasted brioche bun. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich subs out the mayo for a spicy sauce. Both sandwiches were priced at $3.99 at my local Popeyes. Let’s review:

I’m sure the first thing you want to know about these sandwiches is if they’re better than Chick-fil-A. I don’t want to make an official statement until I’ve had more romantic moments with Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches. My relationship with Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches started over 15 years ago and I can’t claim new love and devotion over Popeyes so quickly. I will say this though… Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches are not better than Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches… and they’re also not worse. The comparisons that follow don’t mean one is better than the other. There are slight differences between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches that are worth pointing out. Both restaurants have stellar fast food chicken sandwiches. If you’re familiar with Chick-fil-A’s Original Chicken Sandwich packaging, you’ll instantly be familiar with Popeyes sandwich packaging. It’s a sandwich bag with an insulated foil interior to keep your sandwich warm and conveniently flexible and durable to eat straight out of. I haven’t put Popeyes and Chick-fil-A side by side, but Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches feel bigger and heavier than CFA. Popeyes has a nice, crunchy breading that hits more spots than CFA. It seems that Chick-fil-A relies on the flavors of their cooking oil and Popeyes relies on their seasoned breading. Popeyes pickles are less briny and have more freshness and snap. Popeyes uses a toasted brioche bun which is noticeably more dense and filling than Chick-fil-A’s bun. The biggest difference between each brands sandwich is that Chick-fil-A uses a buttered bun to go along with their simple two pickles and chicken fillet. Popeyes uses mayo on their Classic Chicken Sandwich (like the KFC Crispy Colonel) and a spicy sauce on their Spicy Chicken Sandwich. The creaminess of the mayo assists the pickles for the moisture and zest to balance with the hearty chunk of chicken. The spicy sauce is very Popeyes-like if that makes any sense. It’s like they took the ingredients that make up their spicy chicken seasoning and just mixed it in with mayo so the flavor will be very familiar if you’re a Popeyes fan. The heat level on the Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-A is way higher than Popeyes spicy sauce so chili-heads take notice.

At a price of $3.99, Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches are priced exactly like KFC’s Crispy Colonel sandwich (at my local KFC anyway). Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich in my area is currently priced at $3.65 so there is a slight edge for CFA’s price. Considering the unofficial weight of Popeyes sandwich being heavier, maybe we can just call it a draw on value. Anyway you want to measure it, all the sandwiches are priced exactly where they should be for a 2019 fast food chicken sandwich. To sum up Popeyes new Classic Chicken Sandwich and Spicy Chicken Sandwich, I’ll once again say Chick-fil-A and KFC should be concerned. Even if you’ve never been a fan of Popeyes chicken, I think these sandwiches could easily change that.