This Is One Of The Only Fast Food Restaurants That Uses 100% Real Chicken

One of the biggest differences between fast food and fast casual eateries is the quality of the ingredients each offers. Generally speaking, a drive-thru will sling your grub at you as fast as possible, and for the (low) price, you aren't really entitled to feel fussy about the pedigree of what you are served. The more upscale fare at fast casual chains like CAVA or BurgerFi commands a higher price tag, in part due to better food that isn't grown and processed with the mindset of keeping things as cheap as possible.

Take, for instance, Shake Shack. Since opening a single NYC hot dog stand in 2001, the company has expanded to just over 370 locations, largely on the basis that its food is really, really good. While the 'Shack is known for its juicy burgers, its chicken is another standout that picky eaters will thrill to see on menus. As per Shake Shack itself, all of the chicken it uses is fresh white meat that's antibiotic-free and never frozen. This also means Shake Shack's chicken is free of fillers.

It keeps its chicken tender and succulent by bathing it in buttermilk and cooking it sous vide in a warm water bath before frying ... proving that Chipotle is not the only fast food restaurant that cooks its meat this way. Providing real, high-quality chicken to its customer base has not always been an easy business decision for Shake Shack — in 2019, its Chick'n Bites were almost discontinued because the chicken cost so much and the menu item was so labor-intensive to produce. Happily, they remain on menus as of this writing.

If you start asking where the chicken in your takeout bag came from, you might wish to prepare for dissatisfaction. A McDonald's chicken nugget contains over a dozen ingredients, of which only half may be considered to come from actual chicken. Chicken giant Tyson supplies McDonald's with its meat, along with several other big names in fast food like KFC, Taco Bell, and Burger King. Tyson has been the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging animal cruelty at its plants, including one major one from August 2025. That's to say nothing of the quality of the chicken, which some who have bitten into a chicken sandwich at BK or a taco at the 'Bell say is inferior.

On the other hand, Shake Shack chickens are bred with regard to higher standards of animal welfare. Raising Cane's and Chick-fil-A are two other American chicken chains that can boast about where their chicken is supplied. Cane's is proud to use "premium" chicken that's hand-battered in stores before frying. Its supplier, Bachoco USA, is committed to similar welfare standards. For its part, Chick-fil-A boasts that it serves similarly real, whole chicken breast without the fillers or antibiotics found in other chains. Of course, the "A" in the Chick-fil-A name is meant to stand for quality, so you may not be surprised. Overall, it's good to know that American consumers have some options if they are choosy about chicken and want the real deal without fillers.