We Tried This Chick-fil-A Dupe At Aldi (And There’s A Clear Winner)

Aside from the rogue chance that we get to go to Chicken Guy, a well-seasoned, juicy, tender bite of chicken is pretty hard to come by consistently in the fast food realm. That is, if you’re not able to go to Chick-fil-A. In terms of consistency and satisfaction, Chick-fil-A has got their recipes on lock. 

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So, when we heard that people on Reddit had found the Aldi dupe for Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, we knew we would have to try it out and see if we can replicate some of our favorite bites at home. Side-by-side, would there be any difference? People on Reddit insist that the Nuggets are practically the same. But we have doubts, curious minds, and active taste buds. So, naturally, we bought them to find out ourselves. 

The Original: Chick-fil-A Nuggets

Let’s start with a baseline, shall we? Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets are among the most densely savory and delicious bites of chicken that you can get at that level of convenience. And I think part of the reason that they are so delicious is because it’s not just a seasoning that is richly flavorful. Every single shred of chicken in every bite of nugget is penetrated with rich umami, savory flavors. And that’s not to say that the breading isn’t delicious as well. Because that would be distinctly misleading.

The coating on Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets is peppery, salty, and impeccably balanced. You can taste the hint of sweetness, but it doesn’t impact the flavor of the chicken in any way, other than making my mouth water from their irresistibility well-seasoned perfection. 

So, if a frozen item from Aldi is able to replicate all of that in an at-home setting, then it sounds like a dream come true. Honestly, it sounds too good to be true… and that kind of turned out to be the case.

The Dupe: Aldi’s Kirkwood Crispy Nuggets

The Aldi nuggets in question are the Kirkwood Crispy Nuggets, and the chicken itself was tender and juicy straight out of the oven. But, it had much more breading than actual white meat chicken, as I was expecting in a true comparison to the Chick-fil-A nuggets. And the flavor was just completely off. They were way too sweet and not salty and savory the way that a chicken nugget should be, let alone one that’s being compared to Chick-fil-A.

The recommended way to prepare the Aldi nuggets was by making them in the oven or air frying them, and, honestly, it’s understandably not comparable to the crispiness of an actual deep fried piece of chicken. On their own, the Aldi nuggets aren’t actually bad or disappointing. But when you’re eating them right next to a Chick-fil-A nugget, the juxtaposition is night and day. Each part of the nugget is incongruent to the flavors and textures of the “comparable” nuggets.