At a recent media event, Taco Bell chef Brett Pluskalowski bragged that the brand’s new chicken nuggets are “real white meat chicken,” adding that “when you go to McDonald's, that's not what you see.”
Going after McDonald’s is a bold move, although not an unexpected one.
In 2022, Taco Bell CEO Mark King told investors to expect more chicken innovation on menus as a part of a quest to attract more Generation Z consumers. (Generation Z apparently loves chicken. KFC, also owned by Yum! Brands, gave similar reasoning for the launch of its chicken nuggets in 2022.)
And, while McDonald’s has struggled to find the right chicken innovation to be competitive in the Chicken Sandwich Wars, Taco Bell only began testing their chicken nuggets in select markets on October 12. McDonald’s is well known for both its Chicken McNuggets, on menus since 1983, as well as its more recent innovation, the Spicy Chicken McNuggets.
However, Taco Bell seems very confident about the new Crispy Chicken Nuggets, made of all-white, whole muscle chicken breast, marinated in spiced jalapeño buttermilk and then breaded.
“This is like truly a very premium nugget. It's not a chicken nugget patty you might get at some fast-food restaurants. This is very much more elevated," Mira Leon, a member of Taco Bell's product development team, added.
The nuggets will be available for a limited time at 83 restaurant locations in Minneapolis. Five-piece nuggets plus sauce retail for $3.99-4.99, while 10-piece nuggets come with two sauces and cost between $6 and $8.99.
We’ll have to wait and see if this initial trial is successful to determine who really made the better nugget, but you have to give Taco Bell points for living up to their tagline of “Live mas” or “Live more.”
Other chicken foodservice menu additions
In other chicken foodservice news:
- Jimmy John’s added the new BBQ Ranch Chicken Crunch, available either as a sandwich or a wrap. The BBQ Ranch Chicken Crunch is piled high with delectable, all-natural chicken, a sweet and savory house-made BBQ ranch sauce, made with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ and Kickin’ Ranch sauces, crispy tortilla strips, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo.
- A&W Canada launched Chicken Crunchers, which can be ordered as one of three choices: Nashville Hot Chicken Cruncher, Chubby Chicken Cruncher or BLT Chicken Cruncher.
- Mary Brown’s Chicken debuted the Double Big Mary Sandwich, featuring wo grade A chicken breasts, coated in mayo and lettuce, and sitting on a warm sesame bun, all prepared with top quality ingredients.
