Fast-food restaurants aren’t necessarily known for their healthy options. Heck, McDonald’s has vehemently exited the salad game at US locations, in part due to a lack of interest.
Local restaurants and salad-specific chains like Sweetgreen and Just Salad are on the rise, but if you know where to look, there are still some great options at the drive-thru.
I tried basic salads at Wendy’s, Culver’s, Chick-fil-A, and Zaxby’s to see which offered the tastiest dish for the best value.
Here’s how the fast-food chains stacked up.
First, I ordered a Cobb salad at Wendy’s.
I started my taste test at Wendy’s, my old go-to spot when I needed a salad fast.
The chain’s salad menu does have some nice variety, though, with Caeser, Cobb, apple-pecan, and taco options.
For this comparison, I went with the basic Cobb.
The Cobb salad comes with crispy onions.
A traditional Cobb usually has greens, tomatoes, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, grilled chicken, and a vinaigrette dressing. Wendy’s version wasn’t too far off, but it swapped in cheddar cheese and ranch dressing.
I got two packets of dressing with the salad and a bag of crispy onions to sprinkle on top.
The ranch wasn’t particularly flavorful, but the addition of the onions added a dash of flavor and crunch.
Wendy’s is no longer the salad savant.
The Cobb salad cost me $9.13 at Wendy’s, and despite being on the smaller side for this taste test, it was pretty filling.
My biggest complaints were that the grilled chicken and ranch were a bit on the bland side, and the bowls felt flimsy and shallow, making it difficult to blend the ingredients.
I remember Wendy’s salads being bigger and a little more impressive, but maybe it’s just been a while since I’ve had one.
Zaxby’s was my second Cobb salad of the evening.
Next, I drove over to the closest Zaxby’s location. The chain is primarily known for its seasoned and breaded fried chicken.
A salad isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Zaxby’s — I’m personally a fan of its funnel cakes and other fried foods. So I wasn’t surprised that the chain only sold two Zalad options: Cobb and house.
This Cobb had near-perfect portions.
With mixed greens, hard-boiled egg, cheese, carrots, red cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, fried onions, and fried chicken, Zaxby’s salad was certainly fully loaded. But despite all the accouterments, I thought the ratios were spot-on.
Similarly to Wendy’s, Zaxby’s uses cheddar jack instead of blue cheese, perhaps because the stinky variety isn’t everyone’s favorite.
For the dressing, I had a choice of ranch, honey mustard, or vinaigrette, and the salad came with a hearty piece of Texas toast on the side.
I also really appreciated that I was in and out with my salad in less than four minutes. I like fast food that’s actually fast.
Zaxby’s had the biggest and most expensive salad.
Zaxby’s salad came in a more substantial container than the others, which also meant the portion size was a bit bigger. But it was the priciest salad at $12.60.
I was already a fan of the chain’s top-notch fried chicken, and enjoying it on top of a colorful salad ended up being a delightful experience.
Chick-fil-A packs a punch — but in a smaller container.
Chick-fil-A is a popular place to be. Many locations have even added a second line to their drive-thrus.
But I’ve found that the chain operates efficiently (albeit slower) than other fast-food spots.
Nevertheless, if you breeze past the many chicken options, Chick-fil-A has three salads: Cobb, spicy Southwest, and market.
I liked that the salad was a bit customizable.
Chick-fil-A’s Cobb salad is made with mixed greens, roasted corn kernels, bacon, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, and chicken nuggets. It’s served with an avocado-lime ranch dressing
Unlike the other chains, this salad allowed for a little more customization. I could’ve substituted the nuggets for chicken strips or fillets that were grilled, fried, cold, or warm.
Instead of fried onions, the salad also came with a topping of crispy bell peppers.
Chick-fil-A really impressed me.
The real hero of this meal was the creamy dressing. It pulled the flavors together and was unique compared to the other offerings I tried.
Even though the packaging was on the smaller side, the salad was densely packed. It was also incredibly delicious and kept me full for hours.
I’d pay $10.40 for this Cobb again.
Culver’s seasonal summer salad was a close comparison.
Culver’s has a fantastic ButterBurger, but the Midwest-based chain actually makes a pretty great salad as well. Oddly enough, they’re sectioned off with the seafood options on the menu.
Although there wasn’t a Cobb on the menu, the seasonal strawberry-fields salad caught my eye — I’m a sucker for a limited-time offer. With mixed greens, chicken, blue cheese, and vinaigrette, I thought it was close enough to a traditional Cobb to compare to the others.
There were also chicken-cashew, cranberry-bacon-blue, and garden-fresco salads.
The seasonal salad came with two vinaigrettes.
The strawberry-fields salad came with raspberry vinaigrette, blue cheese, strawberries, tomatoes, grilled chicken, and pecans on a bed of mixed greens.
But when I picked up my order, I was handed one fat-free Ken’s vinaigrette and one Culver’s brand option. It was a bit odd, but I like having options, so I didn’t mind.
Culver’s satisfied my sweet tooth.
Culver’s packs its strawberry-fields salad with enough fruit to make it feel like a dessert. That alone probably makes it a little harder to compare to the Cobbs, but at the end of the day, a fast-food salad is a fast-food salad.
This one is for people who don’t want to feel like they’re eating salad. There were enough toppings to saturate each bite, and at $9.77, it was a cheaper option.
My only complaint was that the grilled chicken was a bit bland and didn’t really add anything for me.
Price became my deciding factor for this salad review.
Although none of the salads were bad, when it came down to crowning a winning chain, Zaxby’s and Chick-fil-A were neck and neck for me.
They both offered quality ingredients, decent portion sizes, and top-notch taste.
If you’re looking for faster service, Zaxby’s might be the one for you. But Chick-fil-A’s Cobb salad is a more budget-friendly option.
Considering Chick-fil-A’s salad was cheaper and so dense that I actually had leftovers, I think it has to be my winner.
The post I ordered salads from Wendy’s, Culver’s, Chick-fil-A, and Zaxby’s. My old go-to chain didn’t make it close to the top of the list. appeared first on Business Insider.
