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A Definitive Ranking of the Best Fast Food Vanilla Milkshakes

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at TAMU chapter.

We aren’t talking chocolate – sometimes #basic is a good thing. We took the time to rank the vanilla milkshakes at some of the most popular fast food restaurants so you don’t have to waste your time figuring that out yourself.

#SpoonTip: If you’re REALLY on an ice cream kick, check out the best ice cream store in every state.

8. Dairy Queen

vanilla

Photo courtesy of Todd Brock on seriouseats.com

We were just as surprised as you probably are right now. But it’s true. Their vanilla milkshakes seemed to be blended ice with milk. We chalked this up to the vanilla being their base for other flavors, instead of the main event.

7. Arby’s

vanilla

Photo courtesy of goodiesfirst.com

This shake became oddly frothy after a 5-minute wait and the texture was just watery in general. I had higher hopes for this milkshake.

6. Sonic

vanilla

Photo courtesy of Todd Brock on seriouseats.com

Like Dairy Queen, we think the vanilla at Sonic is mostly used as a base. And that’s probably a good thing. It did have the strongest flavor out of the bunch, but was oddly chemically-vanilla tasting.

5. McDonald’s

vanilla

Photo courtesy of McDonalds.com

McDonald’s vanilla milkshake was very off-white, but the consistency was better than expected. They also gave us whipped cream and a cherry which is arguably the best part about their milkshakes.

4. Burger King

vanilla

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Although the consistency of this milkshake was not perfect, we thought that the slight Mexican vanilla flavor was deserving of a high ranking on our list. I still think the Oreo milkshake is the way to go though.

3. Whataburger

vanilla

Photo courtesy of @jakegreer7 on Twitter

The vanilla flavor in this milkshake was on point. The texture was what it should be. Whataburger has vanilla down pat, but it wasn’t the most memorable.

2. Chick-fil-A

vanilla

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Chick-fil-A gave us a powerful vanilla flavor and whipped cream with a cherry to boot. This milkshake is actually perfect with french fries.

1. Wendy’s

vanilla

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Beating out their competitors by a landslide, Wendy’s proved to have the best vanilla milkshake in both true vanilla flavor and creamy consistency. The vanilla was not too overpowering but most definitely there while the texture was not too thick but not too thin.