The Unhealthiest Fast-Food Chicken Sandwiches, Ranked

Chicken sandwiches are often seen as the “healthier” fast food choice — except they’re absolutely not. While the protein might be leaner than a beef patty, the sodium levels can be sky-high.

A recent PlushCare study set out to rank the unhealthiest chicken sandwiches by scoring calories, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium, combining these factors into a single “unhealthiness score.”

Here are 20 unhealthiest fast-food chicken sandwiches.

20. McDonald’s McChicken

1. Unhealthiness Score: 14
2. Energy Points: 4
3. Saturated Fat Points: 3
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 6

Well, here’s something you don’t hear every day: eating a McChicken might make you feel like you’re making a healthy choice. That’s not actually true, but compared to the rest of this list, the McDonald’s contender is the least offensive option, according to the study.

19. Dairy Queen Original Chicken Strip Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 21
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 4
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 11

Sitting at #19, Dairy Queen’s sandwich isn’t exactly a nutritional win. The biggest issue, aside from the mummifying levels of sodium, is that it’s made with fried chicken strips — often lower-grade, leftover meat — rather than a proper fillet.

18. Culver’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 21
2. Energy Points: 5
3. Saturated Fat Points: 1
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 12

Midwest Nice doesn’t extend to the sodium count of Culver’s crispy chicken, which at 1,160mg hits half of the recommended daily limit.

17. Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 22
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 6
4. Sugar Points: 0
5. Sodium Points: 10

Jack is in the box, but so is the saturated fat—6g of it — making this chicken sandwich a greasy little trap.

16. A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 23
2. Energy Points: 5
3. Saturated Fat Points: 2
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 14

A&W’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich is tasty, goes great with root beer, and uses chicken tender instead of mystery meat, so we’ll give them that. But with mayo loaded with sodium and lettuce just there for moral support, it’s not exactly a healthy food.

15. Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 25
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 5
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 13

Chick-fil-A’s has a cult following, but with all that sodium and fat in that Chicken Sandwich, doctors might have one too — good thing the place is closed on Sundays.

14. Arby’s Classic Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 25
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 5
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 13

Arby’s Classic Chicken Sandwich is crispy chicken, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted bun. It has 510 calories, 23.5g of fat, and 1,231mg of sodium — over half your daily limit.

13. Wendy’s Classic Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 26
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 3
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 16

Wendy’s may be fresh, never frozen, but that doesn’t mean it’s light. It contains 490 calories, 21g of fat, and a hefty 1,450mg of sodium.

12. KFC Classic Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 27
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 4
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 14

The Colonel was surely no nutritionist, and KFC’s Classic Chicken Sandwich proves it with 650 calories, 35g of fat, and 1,260mg of sodium.

11. Shake Shack Chicken Shack

1. Unhealthiness Score: 27
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 7
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 13

Shake Shack’s Chicken Shack sandwich features a crispy chicken breast topped with lettuce, pickles, and buttermilk herb mayo, all nestled in a non-GMO potato bun. This fancy combo comes with 550 calories, 31g of fat, and 1,170mg of sodium — over half your daily limit.

10. Sonic Crispy Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 28
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 6
4. Sugar Points: 4
5. Sodium Points: 16

Sonic’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich comes with 520 calories, 24g of fat, and 1470mg of sodium—not the worst, but not exactly light.

9. Whataburger Whatachick’n Sandwich with Mayonnaise

1. Unhealthiness Score: 30
2. Energy Points: 7
3. Saturated Fat Points: 11
4. Sugar Points: 2
5. Sodium Points: 10

The crispy chicken is already hearty, but the heavy smear of mayo takes it up a notch. Naturally, everything is bigger in Texas — including the nutritional values of this cult favorite.

8. Burger King Original Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 31
2. Energy Points: 6
3. Saturated Fat Points: 6
4. Sugar Points: 3
5. Sodium Points: 15

Burger King serves a royal dose of sodium and fat in its Classic Chicken Sandwich, with 1,408mg of sodium and 21g of fat.

7. Raising Cane’s Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 33
2. Energy Points: 9
3. Saturated Fat Points: 6
4. Sugar Points: 2
5. Sodium Points: 16

Raising Cane’s Chicken Sandwich is made with three crispy tenders and Cane’s Sauce on a toasted bun and has 840 calories and 41g of fat. A sandwich with 1,470mg of sodium is surely raising something — and that’s probably your blood pressure.

6. Church’s Chicken Sandwich Original

1. Unhealthiness Score: 35
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 7
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 19

Church’s Chicken Original Chicken Sandwich keeps it simple with a crispy chicken fillet, pickles, and mayo on a toasted brioche bun. It comes in at 651 calories, 35g of fat, and a massive 1,770mg of sodium — nothing holy about these numbers.

5. Bojangles’ Bo’s Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 36
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 8
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 19

Bojangles’ Bo’s Chicken Sandwich with crispy chicken fillet pickles and mayo on a toasted bun has 1,730mg of sodium — over 70% of your daily recommended intake.

4. Smashburger Classic Smash Crispy Chicken

1. Unhealthiness Score: 37
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 10
4. Sugar Points: 0
5. Sodium Points: 19

Smashburger’s Classic Smash Crispy Chicken Sandwich also includes 1,720mg of sodium — almost your entire recommended intake of salt in one go.

3. Zaxby’s Signature Sandwich with Zax Sauce

1. Unhealthiness Score: 37
2. Energy Points: 7
3. Saturated Fat Points: 5
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 24

It’s the Zax Sauce that takes it up a notch here. Made with mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and spices and added to the crispy chicken sandwich, it explains the massive 2,610mg of sodium and 43g of fat.

2. Fatburger Crispy Chicken Sandwich

1. Unhealthiness Score: 38
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 8
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 26

Another heavy hitter in the world of indulgent fast food is Fatburger’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich, with a staggering 2,350mg of sodium — exceeding the recommended daily intake.

1. Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Classic

1. Unhealthiness Score: 39
2. Energy Points: 8
3. Saturated Fat Points: 14
4. Sugar Points: 1
5. Sodium Points: 16

No one goes to Popeyes expecting to lower their cholesterol, and the Classic Chicken Sandwich makes that clear. According to a study by PlushCare, it ranks as the unhealthiest chicken sandwich, scoring 39 points on their unhealthiness scale.