This Major Chicken Chain Serves Some Seriously High-Quality Tenders

Even grownups enjoy chicken nuggies. When you're craving a bite of boneless chicken with a crispy breaded crust, though, it can feel a bit more sophisticated to order chicken nuggets' more mature cousin, the chicken tender. They're a staple at just about any spot that prides itself on poultry, but in the battle of chain restaurants that serve the best chicken tenders, one chain stands out for its seriously high-quality offerings. For some, it may come as no surprise we're talking about KFC.

Back in 2024, the Southern chain beloved for its drumsticks and biscuits revamped its chicken tenders, launching Original Recipe Tenders as a permanent menu item. The boneless, white meat chicken strips — made from breast meat– are double breaded and coated in Colonel Sanders' famous (and KFC's well-kept secret) blend of 11 herbs and spices. They are then pressure-fried until golden, just like the chain's bone-in fried chicken. They have come to replace the Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders the restaurant was serving before, and customers have been more than pleased with the change. 

"I just tried them today and was surprised by them," wrote one Reddit user. "Was expecting them to be extremely tiny, but they were a pretty good size and tasted very good. It's basically their original recipe chicken breast without the bone. I think these are much better than what they had before." Another Redditor said, "Tenders were huge, juicy, [and] crispy ... amazing."

In our review of KFC's Original Recipe Chicken Tenders, we concluded, "That flavor is big, bold, and perceptibly artificial, resulting in something primordially satisfying." For what it's worth, they were superior to Popeyes' offerings, with our reviewer saying, "KFC ... makes outright tastier tenders," while providing a better value. 

Indeed, there are a few ways to order KFC chicken tenders and get the most bang for your buck. A three-piece chicken tender combo costs around $9.99 (though price may vary with location) and includes fries, a drink, and your choice of two sauces. Meanwhile, for roughly $29.99, customers can also snag an entire tenders meal, which comes complete with two large sides, four biscuits, and four sauces. The meals start with a minimum of eight tenders but are also available with 12 or 16 pieces. 

If juicy fried chicken tenders are all you're after, though, you can also buy them à la carte for about $2.69 each or in boxes of eight, 12, or 16. Whichever way you decide to order them, if there's one thing we suggest, it's pairing them with different dipping sauces. When the Original Recipe tenders made their permanent comeback in 2024, it was alongside the brand's own take on Comeback Sauce, a creamy condiment that's equal parts zesty and peppery. It's definitely worth a try, though you also can't go wrong cycling through KFC's lineup of sauces.