I Tried 3 Chick-Fil-A Viral TikTok Hacks & Here's The One That's Actually Worth It

This Review article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

Viral food trends have had a chokehold on TikTok users all over the globe and as an avid participant, I felt it was time to test out some of these concoctions.

Chick-fil-A had so many different variations influencers created, so I did some research and found a few different meals I could order, re-invent, and give an honest report about what is actually worth trying.

One of the most popular taste tests online is the "french fry, nugget, mac and cheese" mixture. Second, I saw many people shaking up chicken patties in a select sauce and putting it back on the sandwich. Lastly, there was a side salad menu hack that would cut some dollars.

With a nugget, a sandwich and a salad meal, it was a good variety to give the best review.

The food from Chick-fil-A to make the hacks.Jenna Kelley | Narcity

Fries, Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, oh my!

All over the video app, creators have found a way to make what looks like cafeteria mush. They all swore by it tasting delicious and the pure gratification on their faces convinced me enough to buy into it.

• Mac and cheese
• An eight-count nugget meal, so you get your fries
• Ranch dressing
• Buffalo sauce

Before the ingredients were all mixed. Right: After the ingredients were shaken.Jenna Kelley | Narcity

It looked...well...not so good. I put my faith in foodie influencers and speared together a fry, nugget, and mac and cheese noodle. I tried it all in one bite for the full effect.

In all honesty, it was extremely overhyped. It was kind of gross. It almost felt like the person who thought of this idea was violently hungover from a boozy Saturday night and needed a messy mixture of carbs and protein.

If I did it differently, I would have just added the buffalo sauce to the mac and cheese, dipped my nuggets in ranch and my fries in Chick-fil-A sauce. It's way simpler and less of a mess.

Side Salad instead of the Cobb Salad

If you want to cut some costs, a menu hack you must try is getting the side salad and add toppings.

What to order:

• Side salad
• Add a hard-boiled egg, roasted corn and bacon.
• Ranch dressing (and buffalo sauce if you get chicken, too.)

For the food trend, I kept seeing people also getting a side of five nuggets.

The cobb salad is around $7-8 and the side salad is between $2-3. You get all the toppings for free, so when they ask if you just want the cobb instead, you should say "no, thank you."

For the hack, I mixed the nuggets in buffalo sauce and poured it on top of the salad along with the ranch dressing and shook it up.

A Chick-fil-A side salad.Jenna Kelley | Narcity

As you can see pictured above, the side salads are pretty big and they come jam-packed with toppings.

The lettuce had a quality crunch to it and was equally as juicy. The egg was the perfect texture and they weren't shy with the toppings either.

Side salads come with cheese and tomatoes on top, already.

For fast food, I was surprised that such a healthy option tasted so good...aside from adding fried chicken doused in buffalo sauce, of course.

Barbecue Chicken Sandwich

I typically get spicy chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A, so I was excited to try this one. Plus, it was the most simple order.

What to order:

• Chicken sandwich (the trend wasn't spicy, so, to my dismay, had I to oblige)
• Barbecue sauce
• Honey packet

When I got home, I realized Chick-fil-A didn't give me a honey packet...so I was a bit upset I couldn't do the trend in full effect, but I used what I was given.

When you take the sandwich out of the bag, take off the chicken patty and put it back in the bag. Then, pour barbecue sauce and honey (if they give it to you) inside and shake it up!

I've also seen this done with various sauces, like spicy sriracha, as well.

The chicken doused in barbecue sauce. Right: Associate Editor, Jenna Kelley, eating the sandwich.Jenna Kelley | Narcity

This was absolutely disgusting.

I usually get a spicy chicken sandwich with Chick-fil-A sauce spread on top of the patty, so having it completely drenched in barbecue sauce did not taste good.

Subjectively, I'm not a huge barbecue fan, though, in comparison to McDonald's barbecue sauce, Chick-fil-A's is just not it. I barely ate the sandwich and threw out the majority of it.

So, which one is worth getting?

For your bank account and to make sure you don't clog an artery (only kidding), I think the side salad is the best hack.

The nugget concoction was way too much and the most expensive because you're getting two different items (if you choose to make the nuggets a combo meal) to mix together.

I don't know if the establishment just had an off day but the sandwich was a 0/10. It was so gross, it started to make me wonder if these creators on social media are paid actors to act like it was so good.

The salad was large, I felt like I was eating clean and because I ordered a side item, it cut my meal price in half. It also was quality lettuce, which is not really a menu item most fast food places specialize in. I was impressed.

But before I could enjoy the rest, I had to nurse a major stomach ache the other two meals gave me...