9 Fast Food Chains That Never Use Microwaves (And 5 That Do)

When a candy bar melted in the pocket of Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer, it wasn't just a dry cleaning nightmare — it was a eureka moment. Spencer had been working next to an active radar set that was emitting microwave signals. He put two and two together, and posited that microwaves could actually cook food. He successfully tested his hypothesis with popcorn, then eggs — and he filed a patent in October of 1945. A year later, the Radarange hit the market. It was 6 feet tall and weighed almost 800 pounds.

In time, the invention became more compact, less costly, and incredibly commonplace in American kitchens. The culinary cheat code has its advantages, especially for homemakers, even if we still can't figure out why the middle of our leftovers stays cold. But dining establishments, held to a higher standard of professionalism, aren't always forgiven for using microwaves as shortcuts. 

Minute Man, a now-defunct, Arkansas-based fast food chain that opened in 1948, was the first eatery to proudly use a microwave. Today, there are a number of franchises that not only refuse to use microwaves, but claim that stance as a badge of honor. Then there are others — including some of the most iconic names in the biz — that have no problem nuking their products. Whether that's problematic or not is up to the individual consumer. We're just here to provide you with info. Here are nine fast food chains that never use microwaves, and five that do.

Burger King has a long history of innovation in the fast food industry. When the Whopper was introduced by co-founder James McLamore in 1957, it was the first fast food burger to emulate the oversized offerings of drive-in joints — predating McDonald's Big Mac by more than a decade. Burger King was also a pioneer in fast food marketing campaigns, and one of the first chains to offer a value meal. 

It should come as no surprise, then, to hear that Burger King is game for microwave use in its kitchens. After all, the company was founded as Insta-Burger King in Jacksonville, Florida, and named after the Insta-Broiler used to cook its burgers rapidly. Food speed is in the brand's DNA, and it's well-known that Burger King uses a microwave to keep its patties hot after they've been broiled. (They are flame-broiled. They're just also non-flame microwaved.)

Some folks are caught off guard by this. Some accept the methodology. But the lesson here is that, at Burger King, you know what you're getting (in the sense that you really don't want to know what you're getting).

It's been going strong for 40 years and counting, after a family decided to invest in a restaurant instead of their children's college education. A risk? Certainly. A reward? Oh, yes.

Founded in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986 by a father and his four sons (the eponymous five guys), Five Guys has grown into a massive success — despite the fact that the company has barely spent a penny on advertising. The rise of Five Guys is instead attributed to word-of-mouth from the happy mouths that have been reeled in by its fresh, top-quality approach to burgers and fries (including, of course, Five Guys' secret menu loaded fries). Unlike Burger King, whose empire was built on speed, Five Guys' focus has always been on high-caliber eats.

One way the fast food chain maintains that high caliber is by refusing to use microwaves. Even its countertop suppliers know the deal with this kitchen: There will be no microwave present. This is how Five Guys started, this is how it rose up the fast food chain, this is how it has attracted celebrity advocates such as Barack Obama and Shaquille O'Neal, and this is how it's maintained its status as a preeminent purveyor of patties.

"To do two things at once is to do neither," said the Latin writer Publilius Syrus in Ancient Rome. Whether the folks behind Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers are aware of this old aphorism or not, the eatery has certainly abided by it.

Raising Cane's does chicken, only chicken, and nothing but chicken. It's all in the name of the fast food chain that was first founded near the Louisiana State University campus in 1996. As of 2026, there are over 850 Raising Cane's locations around the country. And despite what this impressive growth could imply, the chicken chain does not like to skimp on freshness and quality.

Anyone who has had freshly made chicken fingers as opposed to microwaved ones can tell you exactly why you won't see that appliance in any Raising Cane's kitchen. Battered by hand, cooked to order, and deep-fried on the spot, its menu's main character is as freshly delivered as its lemonade. There's not even a heat lamp involved in the process.

For a simple restaurant name, Boston Pizza's moniker is loaded with surprise and misdirection. The Canadian chain wasn't founded anywhere near Boston (it was Edmonton), nor by a Bostonian (it was a Greek immigrant named Gus Agioritis), nor does it serve only pizza. (It's got pastas, burgers, sandwiches, ribs, desserts, and much, much more.) This hasn't stopped its success. Boston Pizza has close to 400 locations throughout The Great White North, and the company leans into its innocently deceptive brand name.

Something else the food franchise is shameless about? Its microwave use. It's well-known that Boston Pizza has one of the most microwaved menus around. This hasn't pleased all Canadians, to be certain, yet the chain seems to accept any and all backlash regarding its cooking process, while it keeps on truckin'. At least one employee has been known to comp a customer who was unhappy about being served microwaved food, as evidenced by the fact that it was hot on one side and cold on the other. That sure sign of zapping is just plain insulting, and not something Canadians are generally known for.

After three decades in business, it seems that Qdoba has finally come into its own on the national stage. Not satisfied with being second banana to Chipotle — the Pepsi to its Coke, the Gimbels to its Macy's — Qdoba has pressed on by sticking to genuine cooking, and it's now paying off.

Started as Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill in Denver in 1995, Qdoba has done its best to maintain the "fresh" from that original name. That's a huge part of the reason why it was named the best fast-casual restaurant in the country by USA Today for five years in a row. The chain insists that all of its Americanized Mexican fare is made in-house, and it only ever uses high-quality ingredients.

What is the proof in the pudding — er, the queso? The fact that Qdoba never uses microwaves. This is part of the Holy Trinity of things that eateries tend to avoid to maintain a reputation for freshness, along with having no freezers or can openers. That's maybe going a bit overboard, to be honest, especially as many can openers also double as bottle openers. Sometimes staff members need to open that post-shift Dos Equis right then and there. After all, they've worked hard to make fresh, non-microwaved ingredients. 

At this point, there is probably very little that devotees of McDonald's don't know about their favorite fast food chain. They've seen the time-lapsed videos of what happens to a McDonald's burger when it's left out for alarming periods of time. They don't mind that they don't know what McDonald's McNuggets are made of. They're well aware that it's pretty much all Donald Trump eats. They don't care. They continue to embrace it, warts and all. They're loving it.

Thus, it's fair to assume that the customers who remain loyal to the Golden Arch don't give a hoot that McDonald's utilizes microwaves. The reason for this is that, presumably, people would rather have their food coming out hot than not. 

Those who frequent McDonald's are not really worried about the downsides of nuking food. They don't see the fact that poached eggs will explode in the microwave as an alarming sign about the appliance — and, to be fair, it doesn't seem as if McDonald's does this across the board for its menu items (that's what heat lamps are for). Nonetheless, Percy Spencer's brainchild is a documented component of Mickey D's output. Take that as you wish.

If there's a fast food chain with more integrity out there than In-N-Out, we'd all love to meet it. Since being founded in 1948 by Harry Snyder, In-N-Out has famously stuck to its guns when it comes to the quality of its fare. The results have born out the belief in that approach, as the family-owned, drive-thru pioneer rakes in about $2 billion a year in sales. This is amazing when you consider that the vast majority of the country doesn't have a local one (and the fact that In-N-Out's fries aren't that great).

Given its hyper-focus on fresh offerings, do you really think that any In-N-Out would possess a microwave? What would possess you to say yes to that in the first place? In fact, In-N-Out reps have gone to pains to declare that the restaurants don't even own a microwave, forget using one. We're thinking that this could be an exaggeration, because how else would workers heat up their coffee in the In-N-Out offices? With desk lamps? But as far as what the adoring public eats from its establishments, there's no nukery here.

Another fast food chain that holds its integrity in high regard (sometimes to controversial ends) is Chick-fil-A. Its beloved chicken has developed quite the fanbase, propelling the company to tens of billions of dollars in yearly revenue. The chicken sandwich alone is enough to carry the day, but Chick-fil-A ordering hacks like creating a "bowl" of various items have sent the Atlanta-based poultry purveyor into another stratosphere.

Accordingly, Chick-fil-A customers have high expectations when they spend their dollar there, and what they're not anticipating is anything going near a microwave. Accordingly, Chick-fil-A workers have joked that microwaves aren't allowed within a 15-foot radius of the place. What a microwave would be doing just hovering 16 or more feet from a Chick-fil-A might be an interesting story in itself, but the point is made.

Chick-fil-A has taken its stance even further, warning against the use of microwaves for customers reheating their meals on their own time. It's safe to say, the cosmic energies of a microwave have no place in a chicken chain that really believes in Heaven.

How the mighty have fallen. It's clear that Subway is struggling. It used to be, you couldn't walk outside without passing a Subway. And while in 2025, it was still only behind McDonald's and Starbucks in terms of global locations, the sandwich chain seems to be in a steady decline. This is mostly due to the quality of the product (which was never that high in the first place) being exponentially lowered by a kind of extreme franchising.

When even its employees are warning customers about the worst Subway menu items, you know that things aren't going well behind the sandwich line. And this lack of quality is underlined by Subway's reliance on microwaves. Sure, it may be a specialized microwave built for a busy retail pace, but it's still a microwave. In fact, the average Subway location will have five different types of microwaves at its disposal — five. That's a basketball starting lineup, for a basketball team named The Crappy Sandwiches. Eating there might not be a great dining experience, but how great would it be to see that jersey?

If Chipotle was on this list for using microwaves, it might make national news and win this article a Pulitzer Prize. (Okay, your laughter doesn't have to be so loud and authentic.) Unfortunately for this writer and publication, it's just not the truth (stupid truth).

Like Qdoba, Chipotle is a major Tex-Mex chain with origins in Denver. Also like Qdoba, Chipotle has always espoused the freshness of its ingredients and the authenticity of its cooking methods. And although the industry-wide spike in menu prices has not been evaded by Chipotle (or ignored by miffed customers), the chain is still a go-to for many folks who want to avoid the burger-and-fries set of expedient meals.

Chipotle maintains a kitchen with standards, in at least one regard: There is zero microwaving. Like its nearest (yet still pretty distant) rival Qdoba, Chipotle lives by the mantra of "no microwaves, no freezers, and no can openers". Although this might be a clunky thing to repeat during yoga, it nonetheless defines an eatery where everything is put together right in front of you.

Steak 'n Shake is trying to meet the moment — RFK Jr.'s and MAHA's moment, that is. The burger chain's switch to using beef tallow to cook its fries has greatly pleased the current head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Time will tell if this is a wise move for either Steak 'n Shake or America's collective arteries. In the meantime, another recent revision from this patty-slinging child of Route 66 has made headlines: Yes, Steak 'n Shake is ditching the microwaves. 

As one newscaster expressed to an eye-opening degree, no one is quite sure what Steak 'n Shake was microwaving in the first place. Whatever it was, it won't be microwaved any more. In related news, if you're in the market for an industrial microwave, it might be prudent to stand outside the dumpster of a Steak 'n Shake at this time — or that could be a bit loony. But it's a fine line between prudence and lunacy, as no one has ever exactly said.

It's not news at this point: Panera has been going downhill. The sandwich-and-soup chain that you were never sure exactly how to categorize (Is it fast food? Fast-casual? Casual-quick? Formal-casual?) has seen better days. 

Much of this is self-inflicted: the overpricing, the outsourcing of its bread, the "Charged Lemonade" caffeine deaths, moving away from the clean ingredients that brought people there in the first place, yada, yada, yada. And part and parcel with Panera's quality degradation is the good, old microwave — so ubiquitous that customers have been able to use Panera's microwave for outside food, which is somehow both commendable and unsettling. The fact that there is even an unofficial policy around using Panera's microwaves more than validates the existence of its microwaves.

Microwaves are so ever-present at Panera, in fact, that the restaurants often keep one in the dining room for customers to use — which is, honestly, thoughtful. It's one thing to have microwaves as part of your menu output (that is discouraged). It's another to provide costumers with a helpful utility. Panera, you are the anti-hero of this list.

At the very outset of the 1990s, Baja Fresh was born in Newbury Park, California, a neighborhood about 30 miles from Malibu. From the get-go, the Tex-Mex eatery claimed to focus on farm-derived ingredients and food with zero filler. It's even told its franchisees that the emphasis should remain on the handmade instead of the processed, taking a noble approach in an often greasy business.

That approach extends to microwaves, meaning that Baja Fresh does not have them. How could they, and still purport to uphold such high standards? Expect the same company-wide abstinence when it comes to freezers, can-openers, and any other shortcut-creating appliances.

There's a reason why Baja Fresh is on our list of restaurant chains that use the highest quality beef in their tacos, and it fits with the brand's overall philosophy. It's also allowed the company to be so successful that it's expanded to Europe. That's perhaps no surprise, as Europeans have far less reliance on the microwave than their American counterparts.

The pride of North Carolina, the son of Charlotte, the legend of the South — this is Bojangles Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits. Founded in The Queen City in the summer of 1977, and franchised a year later, Bojangles has grown to offer over 800 locations throughout the Southeast, with nearly half of them in the Tar Heel State. 

One of Bojangles' co-founders was Richard Thomas, an ex-president of none other than Kentucky Fried Chicken. From the start, this brand knew what it was doing when it came to fast-food fried clucker. By focusing on real-deal Southern flavor, the chain has amassed quite the greasy-fingered following. And part of that pull is the fact that it doesn't use microwaves. 

In the 49 steps it takes to make a famous Bojangles' biscuit, nary a microwave is to be seen. This dedication is extended to everything else on the menu. It has rendered the chain's food so esteemed that, in 2016, Bojangles employees drove across the country to deliver chicken to the Carolina Panthers before they played in the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. No word on whether a microwave was used when they got there.