The chicken sandwich war is in full swing and McDonald’s is launching its own heavyweights.
On February 24, McDonald’s launched its newest line of chicken sandwiches: the crispy chicken sandwich, the deluxe crispy chicken sandwich and the spicy crispy chicken sandwich.
Immediately, fans and industry experts began to notice that the new offerings looked very similar to the iconic chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A’s and Popeyes. Insider’s Kate Taylor previously reported on a leaked menu that revealed McDonald’s plans to launch a new chicken sandwich, saying the chain was planning to “take a page out of the Chick-fil-A manual”.
Former McDonald’s chef Mike Haracz told Insider “it is very apparent” that McDonald’s is following the example of Chick-fil-A with its sandwich. “It comes in an aluminum package like Chick-fil-A, as I understand it, it has a very similar flavor profile,” he said.
McDonald’s description of the crispy chicken sandwich describes it as a “southern-style fried chicken sandwich” with crushed chopped pickles and a toasted potato roll with butter. Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwich also comes on toasted bread with butter and dill pickles.
However, I would not assume that the sandwiches were identical – I had to try them myself.
Here’s what I thought of each chicken sandwich, how similar they were to someone who might even win the chicken sandwich war.