What Type Of Fish Is In Wendy's Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich?

Wendy's may be best known for its distinctive square burgers and popular chicken sandwiches, but swimming around on the menu is a lesser-known option with a unique appeal of its own: the crispy panko fish sandwich. It's the chain's response to McDonald's famous Filet-O-Fish, which was created to provide options for those of the Catholic faith who avoid eating meat on Fridays, particularly during Lent. However, before chowing down on Wendy's seafood sando, hungry diners may be wondering precisely what fish they'll be enjoying.

Every Wendy's crispy panko fish sandwich is made with wild-caught Alaskan pollock, a white fish with a taste and texture that the chain describes on its website as a "buttery flakiness." In many ways, it's similar to cod, a traditional choice for fried fish sandwiches.

Unlike cod, Alaskan pollock is harvested as part of the world's largest sustainable fishery in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska, with only about 15% of the population caught each year. This is vital to ensuring the fish continue to thrive for many generations (and sandwiches) to come. Wendy's also notes it's easier to track Alaskan pollock through the food production system, a benefit for the chain's campaign for responsible food sourcing.

If pollock is familiar to fish sandwich fans, it's likely because it's also used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish as well as Burger King's Big Fish. Pollock is also what imitation crab meat is made of in many cases as well as processed fish products like fish sticks.

However, it wasn't always on the Wendy's menu. Longtime Wendy's fish sandwich fans may have noticed a change in recent years. The restaurant only switched to Alaskan pollock in 2022 after previously using cod. Despite the changes and the chain's other efforts to attract hungry diners to its seafood offering (like adding creamy dill tartar sauce and a "premium bun"), it's still the worst sandwich at Wendy's, according to 38% of people surveyed in a Mashed poll. It's also not typically available year-round at most Wendy's locations, usually popping up in the spring.

Although it may not be Wendy's biggest seller, there's one thing seafood lovers don't need to worry about when ordering. Each fish sandwich reliably features quality, sustainable Alaskan pollock — with no mystery fish involved.