January is a prime time for making big changes in your life, and one of the most common changes with the biggest impact on your day-to-day is making healthier eating decisions. If you don’t have the time or skills to whip up something delicious and nutritious at home, fast food is probably your only option for a quick and convenient meal. And while yes, fast food is generally unhealthy, there are some menu options out there that are healthier, and some of them taste just as good as the fried stuff.
A few weeks back we broke down all the best-tasting salads in fast food, but let’s face it, salads are boring. But you know what isn’t boring? A chicken sandwich. So we’re here to make a case for subbing out that fried sandwich for a grilled one. Many of the grilled chicken sandwiches out there are healthier and, in some cases, just as delicious alternatives to the mighty fried chicken sando. Unfortunately, the grilled chicken sandwich is a dying breed in fast food. Last year we published a list of our 14 favorite, and nearly half of that list has been discontinued, including our number one pick.
So a refresh is in order! To help separate the good from the bad, we rounded up all the fast food grilled chicken sandwiches we could find right now and ranked them from least to most delicious. Let’s eat!
10. Smashburger — Chicken Smashburger
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Remember when I said that our pick last year for the best grilled chicken sandwich isn’t available anymore? You should, I said it just a few sentences ago!
The sandwich in question was Smashburger’s Colorado Grilled Chicken sandwich, which featured a perfectly grilled chicken filet topped with pepper jack cheese and grilled chili peppers. In addition to that, Smashburger also used to have a Truffle Mushroom Chicken Sandwich, which featured a topping of toasted crimini mushrooms — both of those sandwiches were reasons alone to go to Smashburger.
But the brand ditched those two delicious and inventive sandwiches and replaced them with this… thing. It’s got to be one of the most boneheaded moves that any fast food brand has ever done. Smashburger’s Chicken Smashburger is the worst chicken sandwich I’ve ever tasted.
Instead of the thin well-marinated and well-seasoned chicken breast filet that the brand used to have, is this thick patty of ground chicken. And even though this patty is doused in garlic oil, it still doesn’t change the fact that nobody likes ground chicken!
Rounding out the sandwich is fairly standard stuff: mayo, lettuce, and tomato. To add insult to injury, Smashburger gives you the option to add sauteed crimini mushrooms and grilled jalapenos to the sandwich, so they still have all the ingredients on hand to make the far superior sandwiches of the past. All that’s missing is the grilled filet.
We’ve never had a brand that has gone from the top spot all the way to the bottom, so we have to hand it to Smashburger for that at least.
The Bottom Line:
The worst fast food grilled chicken sandwich you’ll ever eat made by a brand that used to make the best one. RIP to that old sandwich.
Find your nearest Smashburger here.
9. Jack in the Box — Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Ever since Jack in the Box swapped the mayo out of this sandwich for the brand’s Good Good Sauce, it’s been a massive improvement. The Good Good sauce combines sweet and savory flavors with a nice tangy finish, which does a lot to add some life to this previously boring sandwich.
Here si what we love about the sandwich: the sauce (obviously), the airy and chewy sourdough-style bread, the bacon (hard to mess that one up), and… well, that’s it.
No, you aren’t crazy, we didn’t mention the chicken. The filet is fine, it’s a bit dry, but has a decent peppery flavor, it’s just not a highlight. Rounding out the build is some pretty flavorless produce. So how can you elevate this sandwich?
Easy, drench it in Frank’s Red Hot, and instantly some of the blandness will be replaced with a strong hit of heat and a tangy finish.
The Bottom Line:
It’s good, not great. Do yourself a favor and ask for a side of Frank’s Red Hot if you feel this is too lacking in flavor.
Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.
8. Chick-fil-A — Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
If you’re a Chick-fil-A fan than you’re probably wondering why this sandwich is ranked so low. Fair, but spoiler alert: there are other Chick-fil-A sandwiches on this ranking, so we only included this sandwich so we could dissuade people from ordering this simple, but inferior build.
Here is what you get with Chick-fil-A’s stock grilled chicken sando: a grilled filet, tomatoes, lettuce, and a toasting multigrain bun. That’s it.
Don’t get us wrong, the chicken is delicious and offers a nice balance between charred flavors, lemon brightness, and a floral-herbal finish. But it’s dry as a desert. With the lack of ingredients, this one just tastes a bit too empty to rank any higher.
Good filet though!
The Bottom Line:
Great chicken, poor construction.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
7. Carl’s Jr — Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
We don’t have anything to complain about with this one. It’s a great grilled chicken sandwich unless for some reason you don’t like BBQ sauce.
If you do, you should know that Carl’s Jr. has some of the best BBQ sauce in all of fast food. It’s smokey, sweet, tangy, and obliterates the dry texture you’re going to get with a charbroiled chicken breast filet.
Outside of the sauce, the filet has a great flavor. It features a heavy mix of salt and black pepper, with a nice charred flavor, but because its charred, it is a bit drier than we’d like it to be. But again, the BBQ sauce fixes that.
To finish the build you’ve got tomato and lettuce. The lettuce is forgettable, but the tomato adds an element of umami to the sandwich and some brightness to counteract the dark smokey flavors.
The Bottom Line:
A chicken sandwich for lovers of smokey, indulgent flavors.
Find your nearest Carl’s Jr here.
6. Carl’s Jr — Charbroiled Chicken Club
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Carl’s Jr and Chick-fil-A are dominating the grilled chicken game. So shout out to those two brands for keeping grilled fans fed.
With the Charbroiled Chicken Club, you’re getting the same chicken filet that’s in the Charbroiled BBQ. So if you skipped that entry, just know the filet is very flavorful with prominent charred elements, but the build offers a bit more here.
You get some smokey notes from the bacon, salty and creamy elements via the Swiss cheese, and a smear of mayo that wraps the flavors together and offers a savory finish.
Call me crazy but, I think this sandwich would taste even better with BBQ instead of mayo. So why am I ranking this one higher? It’s the bacon. It’s less healthy than a pure grilled chicken sandwich, but when it comes to what tastes better, I can’t pretend the bacon doesn’t help.
The Bottom Line:
Bacon, chicken, cheese, what’s not to love?
Find your nearest Carl’s Jr here.
5. Panera — Spicy Fiesta Chicken
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Panera’s Spicy Fiest Chicken frustrates me because overall, it’s a great-tasting sandwich that combines grilled chicken topped with a creamy mild salsa verde spread, coupled with sharp and dusty white cheddar, sweet red peppers, some roasted corn, and fresh, peppery cilantro on the best tasting bread in all of fast food.
But the chicken itself leaves a lot to be desired. It’s virtually flavorless. Literally every single other ingredient in this sandwich is significantly better than this dry over-cooked, obviously pre-made and reheated chicken. The chicken isn’t so bad that it ruins the sandwich, but when the weakest element of your chicken sandwich is the chicken itself. You’ve got a problem.
How could we ever rank this one higher? Part of me feels like even putting it in the top five is wrong.
The Bottom Line:
A great chicken sandwich build that suffers duo to its subpar chicken.
Find your nearest Panera here.
4. Carl’s Jr — Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Our pick for Carl’s Jr’s best chicken sandwich is the Charbroiled Santa Fe. What makes this one rise above the other Carl’s Jr sandwiches is the Santa Fe Sauce, a mix of mayo, smoked paprika, earthy curry powder, and a hit of cayenne on the backend that gives the sandwich a spicy lift. Couple that with a giant mild green chili, and you’ve got an absolute flavor bomb of a sandwich.
Let us be clear about something though. Despite the inclusion of a chili, I wouldn’t call this sandwich spicy by any means. Instead its earthy and vegetal with a smokey top note that makes each bite a true pleasure to experience.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious medley of shifting flavors. If you’re looking for big, earthy, vegetal flavors, few sandwiches do it better than this one.
Find your nearest Carl’s Jr here.
3. Chick-fil-A — Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich With Pepper Jack Cheese
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Atop a tender lemon and herb-marinated chicken breast sits a few stripes of smokey bacon and a layer of spicy yet creamy pepper jack cheese over a bed of juicy tomatoes and slightly bitter yet sweet green leaf lettuce.
Like all Chick-fil-A sandwiches, it’s sauceless, which is fine. But to kick it up a notch we suggest Honey Roasted BBQ, which strengthens the smokey notes of the bacon and pairs wonderfully with the citrus-marinated flavor of the meat. Not feeling BBQ? Go with the Polynesian which adds a touch of sweet and sour.
The Bottom Line:
In the running for the best chicken sandwich in fast food, until the brand introduced our number one pick.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
2. Chick-fil-a — Grilled Spicy Deluxe
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
For too long we’ve had to deal with the fact that Chick-fil-A doesn’t make a spicy grilled chicken sandwich, even though they have all the ingredients on site to make it happen. Well, for a limited time only, we have access to the Grilled Spicy Deluxe, so order it while you can!
We thought about giving this sandwich the top spot, but since it’s only available for a limited time, and not quite as meticulously constructed as our top pick, it’ll have to sit here in second place. Still, though, this is essential eating!
The sandwich features a juicy chicken breast filet tossed in a blend of cayenne, smokey paprika, chili powder, and black pepper, topped with a slice of sweet and creamy Colby-Jack cheese, a leaf of green lettuce, juicy tomato slices, and a toasted multigrain bun.
An initial bite will bring in a touch of spice, but the heat doesn’t truly hit until you’re about halfway through the sandwich. But if you’re spice-averse, don’t worry, those juicy tomato slices do a lot to ease the heat and bring in a nice bright burst of umami flavor.
The Bottom Line:
Hands down Chick-fil-A’s best grilled chicken sandwich and one of the best sandwiches on the whole menu.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
1. The Habit — Grilled Chicken Club
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Habit’s Grilled Chicken Club is a masterclass on how to make a grilled chicken sandwich that rivals something fried. There is an attention to craft here that most of the chicken sandwiches on this list just don’t provide. The breast is hand-fileted, offering the perfect cut. This is essential in ensuring that the chicken is juicier and more tender than all of the competition.
It’s well-marinated and perfectly seasoned, offering hints of bright lemon and earthy black pepper with each bite. If the idea of a thin piece of chicken sounds less appealing to you than the big filets offered at places like Chick-fil-A and Carl’s Jr, we get that, and Habit anticipated the “thin chicken” letdown and added a layer of crispy bacon to the sandwich. On top of all of that, sits a layer of freshly cut seasoned avocado, adding a creamy butteriness to every bite in both texture and flavor. The sandwich is served on two chewy, perfectly grilled slices of sourdough.
By all metrics, this is a perfect chicken sandwich. If the idea of a bacon chicken sandwich sounds a bit too decadent, feel free to cut some calories by ditching the mayo, the sandwich doesn’t need it.
The Bottom Line:
The best tasting grilled chicken sandwich you can order in 2025.
Find your nearest Habit here.