7 Fast Food Hash Browns Worth Buying & 2 You Definitely Shouldn't

Hash browns are a staple of any respectable fast food chain breakfast. In fact, some people may argue that they are the most important part. (It's me, I am some people.) A lame hash brown can tank an entire breakfast's rating. What I am trying to say is that they are a national treasure, but there are differing viewpoints on what constitutes a good hash brown. Does the texture have the right amount of crunch? How is the seasoning level? Should it be a singular hash brown patty or smaller units that make up an order?

Grease levels are relevant, too. Subtle grease spots showing up on the bag as soon as it's passed through the drive-thru window and a bag drenched in oil are two very different experiences, but I would argue that there's a place for both in the hash brown game. I picked up nine different versions of the little potato-focused delights, and I have thoughts.

To be upfront, I am definitely a hash brown enthusiast with strong opinions. I collected hash browns from various fast food spots for my own rigorous research to determine which ones you should grab and which ones belong on the no-buy list. Hello, dream job. My spectacular journey of gluttony resulted in a clear frontrunner, a handful of acceptable options, and a couple that don't deserve your time or taste buds. Let's dig into the hash brown hierarchy and see how they stacked up.

Apparently, I've been living under a rock because Taco Bell offers hash browns on its breakfast menu, and I never even knew. It's like the most left-field item from a chain known for Mexican-inspired grub with fast food flair.

Upon first glance, the Taco Bell hash brown looked similar to the one from McDonald's, so I had high hopes. It was a solid attempt at a McDonald's dupe in shape, but the flavor and crunch were not quite as strong as the OG. It's not that the Taco Bell hash brown was bad — it just had an impossibly high bar to reach. It's still worth buying when you want to satiate a hash brown craving.

Taco Bell's hash brown is like the less successful cousin of McDonald's hash brown, showing up to Thanksgiving dinner trying its best to measure up. It's good, and you won't have regrets, but it will always be in McDonald's shadow in my eyes.

Dandee Donut Factory was not on my original list, but when I saw its drive-thru open during my hash brown run, I remembered that it serves breakfast, so I made a game-time decision to throw them into the mix. It's a smaller chain with locations in Florida and Massachusetts, and it has a full menu, not just donuts. Among the collection of mouth-watering donuts, crullers, and muffins, there is a grill for food, and the breakfast menu includes hash browns. 

While Dandee serves a patty style similar to McDonald's and Taco Bell, it didn't even come close to scratching the surface of the hash browns served at the Golden Arches. I would put the flavor slightly above Taco Bell, but my one note would be to cook them longer. They have major crisp potential, and with a little tweaking, could be more satisfying.

This hash brown seemingly contains more seasoning than its peers, but it's mostly sprinkled right in the center of the patty. That makes it like a choose-your-own-adventure hash brown situation, where you can avoid the flavorful center or dive straight in. The Dandee Donut Factory makes a tasty hash brown, but it would benefit from leaving it in the fryer a little longer.

Full disclosure, I have never set foot in an Arby's and know nothing about its cuisine firsthand. All I know is that it apparently has the meats. As it turns out, it also has hash browns, except they are called potato cakes in Arby's world. I was admittedly skeptical but intrigued. 

When the lovely cashier asked me to please pull my car up to wait in a parking spot because they were being prepared while I waited, I immediately perked up. Don't threaten me with a good time. Hash browns fresh from the fryer are a gift from the fast food heavens. The minute the bag entered my car window, it smelled like the funnel cakes you would get at a carnival. Waiting to get home would have been both an injustice and an insult since they were made to order and treated as a high priority.

Arby's, I am sorry I ever doubted your potato prowess because these were enjoyable. I got the three-piece order, and it was more than enough. They were sizable triangles of fluffy potato filling with the aggressively crunchy shell that belongs on a hash brown. The allure of the potato cakes went down a bit once the ultra-hot temperature dropped, so that affected the ranking a bit in comparison to the others. If you are reading this with your mouth agape over Arby's being in the running, trust me, nobody is more shocked than me. The chain knows its way around a hot potato, and for that, they get a thumbs up from me.

Let's talk about Sonic because it's known for a lot of different things. Its large menu of deep-fried delicacies, including some of the most unique drinks on the fast food scene, is nothing short of impressive. It is also worth mentioning that it uses the good ice, and if you know what I'm talking about, you value ice cube composition the way I do, and we are kindred souls. Everything on the menu that can be ordered as a meal comes with a side of tots. Even breakfast. While they are not called hash browns, let's be real and stop with this nonsense. Tots are simply hash browns that can be eaten any time of the day, not just for breakfast. They are one and the same, and you will not change my mind.

Sonic's tots provided the ideal bite. They were cute little puffs of fried potato with a respectable crunch factor and light on the grease. Sonic hash tots are worth turning any main into a meal or even grabbing them as a standalone nibble for the car ride home, but I recommend that you eat them quickly, because they get dry and lose some of their craveable tenderness after a few minutes in the bag. Whether you consider the tots another version of a hash brown or hash brown adjacent, they are a solid side option. Call them whatever you want, but they get a thumbs up.

One thing about Chick-fil-A is that its food is consistent across the menu. Regardless of location, you know what you're getting, and that earns bonus points in the world of fast food. Consistency is key and can drum up a cult following for a delicious breakfast sandwich. Chick-fil-A hash browns are no exception.

These hash browns certainly delivered. They are the quintessential coin-like crispy, savory pockets of deliciousness. It's a solid hash brown execution, and they more than earned their spot next to the excellent biscuits used for breakfast sandwiches. They looked similar to the Burger King hash browns (more on those in a moment), and it was a tight race between the two.

The crisp factor of the Chick-fil-A hash browns was high, and the portion size was great, with more than a dozen in my order. Overall, Chick-fil-A makes a satisfying hash brown to go with its breakfast. They are reliable, and I would not turn my nose up at these cute little circular morsels. Although the little bites definitely deliver on flavor and crispiness, the small size means less potato filling and that impacted Chick-fil-A's spot on the list. It also helped that they were the cheapest of the bunch, setting me back less than $2 per portion.

When I was little, my mom would hit the Burger King drive-thru to get us a Croissan'wich and then immediately change course to McDonald's for hash browns. (In case you're wondering what my childhood was like.) While collecting my research for this delicious project, I couldn't even recall what the BK hash browns looked like, much less how they tasted.

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the little potato rounds. They smelled so good, and obviously, I dug right in. The first rule of hash brown club is that you can't judge one fairly unless you eat it piping hot. That's peak potato time and should be taken advantage of to get the most out of your fast-food breakfast experience.

They have a commendable crisp and mostly mild flavor. The ratio of crunchy exterior to soft filling is spot on. And honestly, they are adorable. The portion was great (I counted 16), and if I were feeling generous, I would have shared. As a spud purist, I appreciate it when the potato flavor is not completely drowned in aggressive seasoning. The BK hash browns had just the right amount of grease. Not too much and not too little, just as Goldilocks would have wanted. My one note is that the hash brown seasoning was almost a knockout, but could have done with slightly less salt. Burger King hash browns are a worthy runner-up in the hash brown race, and have earned their crown as far as I'm concerned.

McDonald's has long since set the bar for the prime fast food breakfast sandwich side dish. This hash brown was no exception. It was the perfect amount of crisp with a delightful amount of grease. In all my years, I have yet to receive a soggy hash brown from Mickey D's. They are always consistent, and the flavor is first-rate. No overpowering seasoning steals the spotlight, so the potato flavor is able to shine as the true star. It's simple, classic, and I'm lovin' it.

My only note would be to make it a little bigger because I'm always sad after my last bite. She is iconic and deserves a spot in the hash brown hall of fame. If you really want to take your McDonald's breakfast sandwich to new levels, open that bad boy up and slide the hash brown in there. It's like a texture collab that scratches your brain in the best way possible, and you will not regret it.

To the decision-makers at McDonald's, thank you for your service. Your hash browns have a special place in fast food history and in my heart. I will hold other hashies to these standards, and she will forever be my baseline for measurement and comparison. McDonald's hash browns are ranked first and best.

Wendy's is the odd man out in the world of fast food breakfast sides because they serve full-on potato slices instead of beloved hash browns. It actually looked like someone whipped out a cutting board to slice up a bigger potato piece really thin, fry it to crisp things up, and try to pass them off as seasoned breakfast potatoes. Well, you can't fool this hash brown aficionado, and unfortunately, I have to disqualify you from the race on technicalities alone.

It pains me to say this, but Wendy's has dropped the breakfast potato ball in my humble opinion. Besides Wendy's seasoned breakfast potatoes essentially being smaller versions of larger roasted potatoes that border on French fries, there were other issues. To give credit where it's due, the crisp was good on these potatoes. However, the meager potato filling was a bit too starchy for my liking. 

The final straw for me was that the outside of the potato slices was obscured with way too much seasoning, with a weird, zesty finish. The portion was good, but there were too many broken pieces in the mix that looked like they were scooped from the fryer and thrown in to make me feel better about eating less-than-mediocre fries pretending to be breakfast potatoes. If you love seasoned fries or hash browns with your Wendy's breakfast, you will probably love them.

I suggest that avid Dunkin' fanatics bow out here because you are not going to like what I have to say. OK, so I am going to hold your hand when I say this, Dunkin' — these hash browns are an abomination to hash brown buffs on a global level. The sad little circles are a dumpster fire of epic proportions, lacking any kind of crispiness in every single bite. 

If you enjoy an overly greasy sleeve of forlorn breakfast food, then keep on running to Dunkin'. As if the skimpy portion isn't bad enough, with only six in my order, the seasoning was just too much. I tried to like these because my kids love them. However, this hash brown order — like every other one I've received from Dunkin' — consisted of pieces that were stuck together, creating a mound of underwhelming disappointment.

Even if you are fortunate enough to have an order of Dunkin' hash browns void of the sticking situation, there's no escaping the sogginess that makes them crumble almost immediately. Dunkin', you have brought shame to the hash brown community with these lackluster clumps of potato. It's no surprise that this ranks as one menu item that Dunkin' customers recommend avoiding.

To provide accurate reviews of these hash browns, I placed orders from each fast food chain listed above. I tried all the hash browns straight from the drive-thru window to ensure I got the freshest tasting experience possible, as well as keeping the comparison consistent and fair. (I admittedly may have also allowed my labradoodle to join my research efforts by throwing him a bite from every order.)

There were multiple factors involved when choosing each item's ranking. I mainly focused on flavor, texture, and portion size, with McDonald's delivering on all fronts to take the hash brown crown.