The Reason The Return Of McDonald's Snack Wrap Didn't Hit The Same

When it comes to fast food chicken wraps, McDonald's Snack Wraps are arguably the most iconic. Marketed to customers as a healthier option in a sea of burgers, Snack Wraps ruled the 2000s until they were pulled from most U.S. locations in 2016 for being time-consuming to make. Fans petitioned the chain and sounded off on social media to bring back the handheld for years until it finally did in 2025. However, customers quickly noticed something changed, namely the chicken.

When the wraps first launched in 2006, they starred Chicken Selects, a higher-quality, larger poultry option made from premium breast meat. These were wider and more heavily breaded, so the chain didn't even use the whole portion to fill the wrap's small tortilla. Next, McDonald's used Buttermilk Crispy Tenders, another all-white-meat option that was discontinued in 2020. The 2025 iteration uses McCrispy Strips, which have a thinner, black pepper-y breading and are made from a mix of breast and rib meat. They're small enough to fit the tortilla.

"Back in the day, they had a breaded chicken fillet ... a buttermilk crispy chicken they would cut in half," said former McDonald's chef Mike Haracz in a TikTok video. After explaining the evolution of Mickey D's chicken items over the years, he remarked on the latest revival: "There were tenders, which make operation much easier if you're not cutting chicken in half ... It is not the same. Everybody knows it's not the same," he concluded.

Some think the Snack Wrap fandom is a product of marketing hype and nostalgia, but that doesn't change the numbers. Same-store national sales were up 2.4% following its July return, and one in five diners ordered it in its first four weeks on the menu (via Restaurant Business). But traffic fell steadily in August, so the initial revenue burst could be at least partially chalked up to sentimentality, FOMO, and chicken's takeover of fast food.

The new Snack Wraps do have fans, some of whom acknowledge that this version isn't better than the original. Most negative feedback regards the chicken. "U got cheaper chicken, u made the Snack Wrap more expensive, it's what u wanted, not what we wanted," one TikTok user commented on a video of the McDonald's CEO tasting a Snack Wrap. Some say it's more of a snack than a proper meal (the oversized tortilla makes the chicken look even smaller), while others prefer the still-discontinued grilled chicken Snack Wrap.

While the McCrispy Strips have their flaws, they're arguably the key to the Snack Wrap's resurrection. A former McDonald's employee explained on Reddit why the OG was so time-consuming to prepare. "[The chicken] had to be thawed for 24 hours before cooking, so if we ran out, customers were SOL. Beyond that, we could cook six at a time." McCrispy Strips speed things along. That's good news for those who enjoy the new iteration despite its shortcomings.