Review: Are McDonald's Long-Awaited Chicken Snack Wraps Worth the Wait?
McDonald's Snack Wraps first came out in 2006 and were meant to be a chicken item that would appeal to drive-thru customers because they're less messy to eat while traveling. Both of the two varieties include white-meat chicken strips known as McCrispy Strips wrapped in a flour tortilla with shredded cheese and lettuce. McCrispy Strips are a reworked version of a chicken item formerly known as Chicken Selects.
The two varieties of McDonald's Snack Wraps are labeled with either Spicy or Ranch so if you try both types, you'll know which is which.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
McDonald's Ranch Snack Wrap is worth the wait
If there's a basic or classic version of the two Snack Wrap varieties offered, it's the Ranch Snack Wrap. It consists of one McCrispy chicken strip wrapped in a flour tortilla, sprinkled with shredded lettuce and shredded cheese, and lightly doused with the chain's McCrispy Ranch Sauce.
Honestly, I was a little worried that the Ranch Snack Wrap wouldn't live up to all the hype. Two days before the McDonald's wraps came out, I tried out the very similar chicken snack wraps at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, another fast-food franchise that's jumped on the snack wrap bandwagon. And they were delicious -- but then, chicken is Popeyes' reason for being. Those wraps were so good, in fact, that I wondered if McDonald's, not a chicken franchise by nature, could possibly compete.
Good news: The McDonald's Ranch Snack Wrap is delicious, and just about as good as Popeyes' version. You'll notice right away that it's weirdly designed. The tortilla is huge compared to the relatively small chicken piece, and if you don't slide the chicken up your first few mouthfuls will be plain tortilla and little else.
But the chicken is fresh and juicy, the cheese and lettuce are decent add-ons and the ranch sauce brings in a creamy taste of herbs and spices that blends well with the chicken. Note that the sauce delivery was kind of hit-or-miss, so you might want to add a shot of your own ranch dressing if you want an even distribution of sauce.
The McDonald's Ranch Snack Wrap, unfolded so you can see exactly what's in it. A longer chicken strip would have eliminated those first few empty mouthfuls of flour tortilla.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
But it's McDonald's, not a fancy Michelin-starred eatery, so who expects perfection? If I was eating at McDonald's, I'd order the Ranch Snack Wrap over either a basic burger or a McChicken sandwich every day of the week.
Grade: A
McDonald's Spicy Snack Wrap review: Sauce is the weak spot
The Spicy Snack Wrap also features one McCrispy chicken strip inside a flour tortilla, again sprinkled with shredded lettuce and cheese. But this time, the sauce is McDonald's orangey Spicy Pepper Sauce. And that's the problem.
The McDonald's Spicy Snack Wrap suffers from an uneven orangey spicy sauce.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
I love spice, often adding Sriracha or hot honey to my sandwiches, but I actively disliked the McD Spicy Pepper Sauce. It was overly sweet and dominated each mouthful, so while the chicken itself was the same crispy juicy strip as in the Ranch Snack Wrap, its taste was buried. There's no question that it comes with a kick, though -- I was still feeling the heat 20 minutes after lunch.
If I ordered McDonald's Snack Wraps again, I'd stick to the Ranch Snack Wraps and pass on the Spicy Snack Wraps. But if you want to try both, I noticed on McDonald's app that you can order a mix-and-match meal including one Ranch Snack Wrap, one Spicy Snack Wrap, fries and a drink.
Grade: B-
Fans have Snack Wrap fever
McDonald's Snack Wraps are back.
McDonald's
Zach Ciampa, who regularly covers new food releases under the social-media handle Snach With Zach, said there's been an intense fan base out there for the wraps.
"Regarding McDonald's Snack Wrap, it's by far the most requested item I've ever seen my audience ask or demand to come back," he told CNET. "Not just the most requested in recent memory but the most requested of all time. And that's not limited to McDonald's."
Read more: Review: McDonald's Minecraft Meals Feature The Hottest Nugget Sauce Ever
Ciampa said the only similar fast-food items that come close to the same level of interest are Dairy Queen's S'mores Blizzard and Taco Bell's Caramel Apple Empanada, both of which have made recent returns.
McDonald's is riding a viral wave. The fast-food chain's Minecraft Happy Meals and adult Minecraft Meals hit restaurants on April 1 and sold out quickly.
A recent analysis by VegasInsider.com found that the Snack Wrap was by far the most searched for discontinued McDonald's menu item of 2025.
What you need to know about Snack Wraps
Release date and time: The Snack Wraps are at participating McDonald's now. You can order on the McDonald's app, in restaurants, or in drive-thrus.
Price: At my local restaurant, Snack Wraps are priced at $3 apiece and a meal including fries and a drink was listed at $12. Prices may vary by location, A co-worker said Snack Wrap meals were $10.50 at his New York City McDonald's.
Varieties: You can order a Snack Wrap in Spicy, which features a habanero-pepper kick, or Ranch, which features a burst of cool ranch sauce.
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