When you think fast food, hash browns aren’t the first things that pop into your head. With more and more fast-food restaurants offering breakfast, early morning options have never tasted better. So the next time when the early morning munchies hit (or you’re really craving midnight breakfast)—we ranked hash browns from five popular fast-food restaurants chains from worst to best. Dare to disagree.
5. Chick-fil-A
Although Chick-fil-A might not be the first place you think of for hash browns, the fast food chain has a pretty solid breakfast menu. The fact that we had to hunt down a Chick-fil-A that actually sold breakfast lowered the chain’s ranking on our list, but other than that, the hash browns were surprisingly good! The lil’ nuggets were a perfect size and packed a pretty good crunch.
4. Burger King
Burger King offers more nugget sized hash browns, serving them in small, medium, and large size packs (bring on the hash browns). Points to Burger King for serving a not-too-greasy-but-still-crispy hash brown, but, in the words of my younger sister, “They tasted too much like a potato.” The nuggets just needed a little more seasoning, but besides that, they were pretty good!
3. Taco Bell
Taco Bell recently added new breakfast items to its menu, continuing its legacy of being a safe haven for hungover college kids everywhere. While most of us would probably reach for a breakfast burrito first, their hash browns are not too shabby. The Taco Bell hash browns are longer and pretty thin, which make them extremely crispy. While they were on the greasier side, they had a lighter potato taste that I really enjoyed.
2. Dunkin’ Donuts
When it comes to East Coast breakfast food, Dunkin’ stands supreme. Their caramel iced coffee is an essential before (evil) early morning 8 am’s, and picking up a baggie of hash browns won’t disappoint. They come in bite size nugget form, making snacking easy. They’re pretty greasy, so you definitely need to wash your hands after polishing off the bag, but the classic flavor makes up for the mess
1. McDonald’s
The McDonalds hash brown is the most iconic fast food hash brown on the market, hands down. From it’s massive size to it’s perfectly “deep fried” crunch, Mickey D’s hash browns have my heart.
When making the early morning breakfast trip, don’t forget to add a hash brown on the side! While fast food hash browns are easy, convenient and delicious, here’s an at-home recipe you can try yourself!