A field guide to the fast food favorite: the KFC Double Down

Photo by Ziyang Hsiung/Unsplash

KFC’s most iconic sandwich is back and it’s been all the craze the past few days. The KFC Double Down is made of all meat—two crispy fried chicken fillets without a single bun in sight—along with two strips of bacon, cheese, and mayonnaise. For protein lovers and hungry carnivores, this literal chicken sandwich sounds like heaven. But, you might want to take a second look before stuffing your mouth with this crazy fast food favorite.

Some people have dubbed it the ultimate protein snack but if it isn’t obvious yet, the KFC Double Down is a fat and salt banger with, according to Fast Food Nutrition, a total of 610 calories, which mostly come from protein and fat.

That’s a lot to take in, but if you consider the other items that usually go with a fast food sandwich—fries, ketchup, and maybe some soda—you’re in for a serious fast food overkill (or thrill if it floats your boat). Of course, the KFC Double Down’s reputation isn’t exactly a secret. Critics have panned the sandwich, calling it “frightening” and accused it of being a “sad cry for media attention.” The sustainability advocate TreeHugger even called it “the vilest food product created by man.”

That said, we can’t deny its appeal and game-changing, (fast) foodie iconic status

All that has got us thinking: What exactly goes into a KFC Double Down sandwich? According to myfitnesspal.com, one serving of KFC Double Down contains the following:

What it does to your health

High sodium content can contribute to high blood pressure and kidney disease, while fat and cholesterol can lead to more disturbing health ramifications: higher risks of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Plus, it requires a lot of work to burn all those calories. To burn all the calories of one Double Down, you need to do at least one of the following: 1.3 hours of cycling, 55 minutes of cycling, or 3.3 hours of cleaning.

To be fair though, the KFC Double Down—if held up against other fast food items—is actually not as “unhealthy” as it looks. In unofficial rankings of fast food’s most unhealthy menu items, the calorie content of the KFC Double Down seems forgivable. A single serving of Burger King’s Triple Whopper has 1,160 calories while Wendy’s Baconator has 980 calories. 

So, at best, the KFC Double Down can be a nice cheat meal. Remember, though, that there are a lot of delicious healthy options out there. Although it may seem at times that the words “healthy” and “delicious” are mutually exclusive, know that there’s a wealth of options that effortlessly meet those two requirements.

At the end of the day, everyone is free to make their own decision when it comes to choosing the food they eat. But if we’ll be handing out a friendly eating advice: Everything in moderation.