Culver's Spicy Chicken Sandwich Vs Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich: Which Is Better?

It wasn't all that long ago that chicken was the distant second fiddle to the burger in the fast food industry. Aside from the token nuggets or tenders, chicken was rarely a featured dish at restaurants that weren't all in on the bird, like KFC. Chicken sandwiches were even more rare. McDonald's dropped the McChicken in 1980 and then treated it like a high school fling, with on-again-off-again appearances until it finally became a menu staple in the late 1990s. Popeye's, an all-chicken restaurant, didn't introduce its first chicken sandwich until 2019, officially kicking off the Chicken Sandwich Wars. (If that sounds dramatic, it is, which is why there's a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to this strange time in food history).

Now just about every drive-thru has a chicken sandwich option and, more recently, a spicy variation. With so many to choose from, it's important to find out which spicy chicken sandwich is best, so I put two in a head-to-head taste test: Culver's vs Chick-fil-A. Can the chicken chain hold off the Midwestern institution better known for the Butter Burger? Read on to find out which of these sandwiches is bringing just the right kind of heat.

For many, Chick-fil-A is the gold standard for fast food chicken, and I certainly see the appeal. This is a very simple sandwich: A breaded, fried chicken breast and dill pickle slices on a buttered and toasted bun. No sauce, no frills, just chicken and pickles. I applaud the simplicity, but let's be honest, everyone puts their favorite Chick-fil-A sauce on this sandwich. Un-sauced, the sandwich certainly isn't dry thanks to the quality of the meat and those pickles, but sauce is a must, which means this sandwich requires a little work to fully enjoy.

The pickles are good, even if they're not a standout in my book, though our pickle experts may disagree. The bun is very soft and has a nice hint of sweetness, but the chicken is the real star of the show. This is a spicy sandwich for people who like the idea of spice even if they don't love a ton of heat. It brings a nice little burn that lingers in the back of your throat, but it is more spice for flavor's sake than for the sake of heat. Add in the fact that the breading is crispy and this is a quality sandwich that feels like a good baseline for all others to work from.

Everything about Culver's Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich is a bit more than Chick-fil-A offers. It's bigger, has more toppings, and includes a sauce. With lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mayo, this feels like a more well-rounded meal, but the tradeoff is that it's messier than its Chick-fil-A counterpart. While the chicken is undeniably the focal point — more on that in a moment — I enjoy the additional freshness that the added veggies offer. And, while it's not terribly unique, the mayo offers enough that I didn't need to add anything to this sandwich.

With all due respect to Chick-fil-A, Culver's crushed it with this chicken. This meat is just as tender and juicy as the competition while the breading and seasoning are clear and obvious winners. This is a crispy, crunchy chicken breast that isn't overly breaded, making it a great textural contrast to the soft, buttered, and toasted bun. The spice level is real, too. This sandwich lit up my taste buds in the best way possible. The spice is real with every bite, and it hangs with you, too, making every French fry a salty reprieve from some quality heat.

While it costs more than a dollar more, the Culver's Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich is bigger, spicier, and better built than Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. That's not to say Chick-fil-A's version is bad; it's really quite good. In fact, there might be a case to be made that Chick-fil-A's Deluxe Spicy Chicken Sandwich could stand up to what Culver's offers, but the spice level that Culver's provides pushes this sandwich over the top.

To try both sandwiches at peak freshness, I ordered my Culver's for pickup and had the Chick-fil-A delivered. The timing worked out, and I was able to pull both sandwiches out at the same time, snap a few quick photos, and dive in. My taste test focused on flavor, texture, ingredient quality, sandwich execution, and overall cohesion.

All prices are relative to my local locations. A Culver's Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich costs $6.99 — 10 cents more than the standard version — and can be turned into a value basket for an additional $4.20. The sandwich contains 680 calories, 33 grams of fat, 1680 milligrams of sodium, and 32 grams of protein.

A Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich is $5.65 — 40 cents more than the standard Chicken Sandwich — with the meal option adding another $4.10. The sandwich contains 450 calories, 18 grams of fat, 1740 milligrams of sodium, and 28 grams of protein.