Our wallets are all feeling a bit tighter these days, and it’s no help that fast food seems to have gotten more expensive, too. We rely on fast food for its eponymous quickness, but also for its reliably lower prices. Of course, a fast food joint as delicious as Chick-fil-A might be expected to have a higher price point than, say, Burger King, but we’d still like to keep our meals under the double-digit threshold if possible.
Of the most-ordered items at Chick-fil-A, the most popular entrée is, unsurprisingly, the chicken sandwich. With a hot, crispy chicken filet and some pickles sandwiched between a potato bun, it’s simple enough to attract anyone, and tasty enough to satisfy everyone. The sandwich alone is fairly priced — it costs less than five dollars at many locations. But who orders just a sandwich when Chick-fil-A’s famous waffle fries and tangy lemonade are also on the menu?
A chicken sandwich meal (sandwich, drink, fries) will cost around $9 at most locations, but there’s a menu hack that lets you snag this satisfying meal for even less. TikToker HellthyJunkFood shares a chicken sandwich hack that comes straight from the kids’ menu: Order a chicken tenders meal, then ask for a bun and pickles.
All you have to do is put the two tenders on a bun with pickles, and that’s your sandwich! At one location, the kid’s meal would cost $6.39 for the chicken with side choices of fries, lemonade, and an ice cream.
Does the Chick-fil-A sandwich hack really work?
The idea of getting a full Chick-fil-A sandwich meal (plus ice cream!) for under $7 is tempting, especially when combo meals are creeping up to 10 bucks. So yes, you’re technically saving money, but there are some caveats to this so-called hack.
First, it’s a kids’ meal, so the portions are smaller. While the sandwich itself is fairly comparable to the original in size, the fries and drink are definitely smaller. Also, you may get charged extra for the bun (usually $0.25). We also want to point out that you won’t be able to build this meal through the Chick-fil-A app, only in-store.
Another hack shared by HellthyJunkFood on YouTube involves ordering buns, pickles, and a 30-count nugget to create six DIY sandwiches (five chicken nuggets per bun). It’s cost-effective if you’re feeding a group, but is it practical for one person? Kind of. At one location, a five-piece nugget costs a little over $3 (plus an upcharge for the bun), while the sandwich alone costs $4.89. So, you’re saving some, but there’s a good chance this sandwich will start to fall apart as you eat it. One user commented “I think we pay for the convenience of just eating it as soon as we get it,” which is a fair point. If you’re in it for the taste and the convenience, you might just want to go back to square one and order the sandwich itself for the extra dollar or so.
