I have a chicken nugget dilemma. It’s my first week back at school and I’m on FaceTime with my friend to unbox the latest brand of chicken nuggets that I’ve dared to try (we live life on the EDGE). I open the box, only to find a half-full bag of chicken nuggets that hardly resembles the picture on the packaging.
Fast forward six months and I still haven’t found the perfect chicken nugget. In hopes of solving this problem for, ahem, science, I set out to taste test 10 boxes of frozen, store-bought chicken nuggets. Read on to save a ton of time and money!
PC Hot & Spicy Chicken Strips
These chicken nuggets are perfect for people who like their fast food on the spicier side. The breading is full of flavor, which can come off as overpowering in its high ratio to the actual meat. Try dipping these in a sweet sauce to balance out the heat.
Schneider’s Country Naturals Chicken Strips
What these chicken nuggets lack in looks, they made up for in quality. Don’t be fooled by the greyish color of the breading—the chicken tasted real and fresh.
Schneider’s ‘Oh Natural!’ Meatless Breaded Chicken Nuggets
As a meat eater, I was a little hesitant to try these soy veggie nuggets. Overall, I wouldn’t reach for these in my grocery store aisle again over real chicken nuggets. That being said, if I can pass these off as a “healthy” snack, I’m on board!
Janes Pub Style Chicken Nuggets
The best word to describe Jane’s chicken nuggets is mediocre. The chicken had a processed, spongey texture that vaguely resembled a McDonald’s knockoff (see the intro for my original experience with these).
Maple Leaf Chicken Breast Strips
Don’t let the perfect image on the box deceive you, these chicken nuggets are a disgrace to all of chicken nugget kind. The strip was dense on the outside, with a ground-up texture on the inside. To top it all off, they were bright yellow in color. Avoid at all costs.
Compliments Balance Chicken Nuggets
Marketed as a “lighter” alternative to regular chicken nuggets, these forego the heavy breading for a cornflake-like texture. However, I’m a firm believer that if you’re gonna eat junk food, you might as well go all out!
Sensations Hot & Spicy Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets
Compared to the PC Hot & Spicy chicken nuggets, these came in at a close second. The flavor and meat were on point, however much like the PC brand, there was too much breading for the amount of meat given. Next!
Janes Star Wars Chicken Nuggets
These chicken nuggets score major points for originality, but fail in presentation. I’m not quite sure how any of these shapes resemble Star Wars characters, but I guess that’s where your imagination comes in.
RUNNER UP: Our Finest Southern Style Chicken Fingers
As my second favorite of the bunch, these were a perfect balance of crispy breading, real meat, and subtle flavor. Go out and buy these now, seriously.
WINNER: Pinty’s Chicken Breast Strips
I’m pretty sure the song, “Just The Way You Are” was written about these, because there’s not a thing that I would change about Pinty’s chicken nuggets. Their unique flavor combined with the perfect breading-to-chicken ratio makes them the winner of this taste test!
So there you have it, the ultimate chicken nugget taste test! After traveling to three grocery stores, spending upwards of $100, and consuming way too many chicken nuggets, I made it through this challenge so you don’t have to!