Review: KFC - New Chicken Littles Sandwich

KFC's new Chicken Littles are purported "updated for the 21st century and even better than the original!" according to KFC. They bear little resemblance to the original which was a mini-slider with a small breaded chicken patty and a little bit of mayo to set it off, served on a dinner roll.

The new Chicken Littles feature an Extra Crispy Strip nestled inside a mini-hot-dog-bun-like sweet bun topped with pickle slices and mayo for $1.29. That might seem a bit pricey, but the strip on its own already runs about a buck or more.

The biggest difference between the new ones and the originals are the pickle slices. The old ones didn't have any. The pickles, along with the chicken breast strip, brings the new Chicken Littles closer to a mini Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich or McDonald's copy, the Southern-Style Chicken Sandwich. KFC's pickles are actually higher quality then either though; it's a fairly thick cut and isn't brined for as long. As a result, they're crunchier, but not as sour; which was good because I had a full four pickle slices inside of my minuscule sandwich. Of course, some people don't like pickles; the guy making my sandwich asked if I wanted pickles, so at least my local KFC is mindful of that.

The Extra Crispy Strip was a bit dry; I figured it had been sitting under the heat lamps for a while. It delivered on a nice crunch though, and provided plenty of chicken in every bite (all 3 or 4 that it took to finish the sandwich). The mayo, along with the pickles, added the necessary accents.

There is just enough bun to cover the chicken strip and keep your hands clean. The bun was just slightly sweet, but very similar to a cheap hot dog bun in texture and just a bit dry. I think KFC might want to take a page out of the hot dog vendor's handbook and keep the buns steamed and warm. I imagine a soft and squishy bun would go over real nice.

The overall result is a decent snack sandwich (if a little to similar to the KFC Snacker). It's not lacking on the basics, but suffers a bit in execution of the bun and the chicken strip. If you're looking for the original, you're not going to find it here. This is a different animal altogether from the cheap and familiar Chicken Little of old. Your best bet for that would be to bake a Tyson's breaded chicken patty, cut it to the right size, and throw it on a King's Hawaiian roll with some mayo.

Nutritional Info - KFC Chicken Little (101g)
Calories - 310 (from Fat - 160)
Fat - 18g (Saturated Fat - 2.5g)
Sodium - 590mg
Carbs - 23g (Sugar - 4g)
Protein - 14g