When it comes to fast food chicken wraps, McDonald’s snack wraps are arguably the most iconic. Snack Wraps, which marketed customers as a healthier alternative to burgers, dominated the 2000s until they were removed from most U.S. stores in 2016 because they were time-consuming to make. Fans petitioned the chain for years and took to social media to call for the handheld to be relaunched, before it finally happened in 2025. However, customers quickly noticed something different, and that was the chicken.
When these burritos were first introduced in 2006, they featured Chicken Selects, a higher-quality, larger poultry selection made from premium breast meat. They’re wider and have a thicker crumb, so the chain doesn’t even use the entire portion to fill the wrapped little tortillas. Next, McDonald’s used Buttermilk Crispy Tenders, another all-white meat option that was discontinued in 2020. The 2025 iteration uses McCrispy Strips, which have a thinner black pepper crumb and are made from a blend of brisket and ribs. They are small enough to hold a tortilla.
“Back in the day, they had breaded chicken tenders… and they would cut buttermilk crispy chicken in half,” former McDonald’s chef Mike Haracz said in a TikTok video. After explaining how the Mickey D chicken product has evolved over the years, he commented on the latest resurgence: “There are tenders that make it easier if you don’t cut the chicken in half… It’s different. Everybody knows it’s different,” he concluded.
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What do fans think of McDonald’s new snack wraps?
Two McDonald’s snack wraps with fries and a Coke – Adam McCullough/Shutterstock
Some believe the snack roll fan base is a product of marketing hype and nostalgia, but that doesn’t change the numbers. Following its return in July, same-store sales were up 2.4% nationally, with one in five diners ordering it in the first four weeks it was on the menu (via Restaurant Business ). But traffic declined steadily in August, so the initial burst of revenue can be attributed at least in part to sentimentality, FOMO, and chicken’s takeover of fast food.
The new snack roll does have fans, some of whom admit this version is no better than the original. Most of the negative feedback was about the chicken. “You buy cheaper chicken, you make the wraps more expensive, which is what you want, not what we want,” one TikTok user commented on a video of McDonald’s CEO tasting the wraps. Some say it’s more of a snack than a meal (the oversized tortilla makes the chicken look smaller), while others prefer the still-discontinued grilled chicken snack wrap.
While the McNuggets have their flaws, they’re arguably the key to the snack wrap’s renaissance. A former McDonald’s employee took to Reddit to explain why OG preparation is so time-consuming. “[The chicken] It has to be thawed 24 hours before cooking, so if we run out, customers will be upset. Other than that, we can cook six at a time. “McCrispy Strips has sped up progress. That’s good news for those who like the new version despite its shortcomings.
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Read the original article about Mashed.