Fast food is designed to be the ultimate convenience. It’s fast, cheap, and most restaurants don’t even require you to leave your car to get your food. But above all else, it’s curated. Almost every fast food menu has numbered combos, prepared food combinations designed to help you make a decision even easier. But as convenient as fast food menus are, they’re also, in 2022, pretty damn huge. Not Cheesecake Factory huge but the typical fast food menu can have as many as 10 different food combinations! Deciding on where to eat is hard enough, but then you roll up to the drive-thru and have to choose between a chicken sandwich, a double cheeseburger, a salad, a sandwich, or whatever the hell you want to classify a Jack in the Box Munchie Meal as?
Despair not! We’re here to help!
We’ve eaten a ton of fast food, from every Taco Bell taco and chalupa to all the side options at your favorite fast food joints, and in this journey, we’ve become intimately familiar with every combination of food at just about every major fast food chain. So to make your fast food lunch journey totally stress-free, we’re going to shout out the absolute best combo meal at each fast food restaurant. In the event a menu doesn’t have combo meals, we’ll make one for you.
Our hope is the next time you find yourself in your favorite fast food drive-thru, you can consult this list and find the best bang for your buck. Let’s dive in!
Arby’s — Diablo Roast Beef Sandwich Meal
I know this is a bit of a controversial choice considering it’s not part of the permanent menu, but if you haven’t had Arby’s Diablo Roast Beef Sandwich, remedy that immediately. Not only do you get what Arby is best at: a cheddar-topped roast beef sandwich, this limited edition item adds Diablo BBQ sauce, spicy seasoning, and freshly diced grilled jalapeños to the mix — making this legitimately one of the spiciest sandwiches you’ll ever eat.
It’s meaty, smokey, savory, a bit sweet, and spicy to the point that it’ll produce sweat on your brow. Arby’s doesn’t get better than this. Add to this order a side of onion and garlic-y curly fries and the beverage of your choice (Coca-Cola, every time, or a milkshake if you can’t handle the heat) and you’ve got the best meal from Arby’s your money can buy.
The Bottom Line:
Arby’s Diablo Roast Beef sandwich is a new limited-time-only menu item, but it’s easily the best Arby’s has ever tasted. Not only does Arby’s have the meat, but they also got the heat as well.
Find your nearest Arby’s here.
Burger King — BK Bacon and Swiss Cheese Royal Crispy Chicken Meal
I’ve covered a whole lot of Burger King and my conclusion is that of all the fast food restaurants, this is the one that needs the most help. From the fries to the signature burgers, everything out of Burger King is pretty sub-par, with one exception: The Ch’King sandwich.
Launched in 2021, the Ch’King was made in response to Popeyes and, while it’s not nearly as good as the GOAT, it’s still a pretty solid chicken sandwich in any of its many forms. The best iteration of the Ch’King is currently the BK Bacon and Swiss cheese Royal, which features a thick and tender hand-breaded breast filet topped with savory royal sauce, Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.
The chicken is juicy and meaty, with a well-seasoned breading that combines black pepper and garlic, and onion powder, with a slice of melted Swiss providing some sweet nutty notes, and crispy bacon bringing some smoke in.
The tomato and lettuce are almost inedible, but they add a nice texture to the overall mouthfeel and the occasional juicy burst of freshness. Couple this meal with some fries and a Coca-Cola and you’ve got the best BK has to offer.
The Bottom Line:
Burger King doesn’t do a whole lot right, but the Ch’King sandwich is in a class by itself. The full meal is the money you’ll ever spend at Burger King.
Find your nearest Burger King here.
Carl’s Jr — Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger w/ Crinkle Cut Fries
Hands down, the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger is Carl’s Jr.’s best burger. They could ditch every other burger on the menu and keep only this one and it would still be worth a trip to Carl’s. It’s beefy, smokey, savory, crunchy, tangy, and sweet — a medley of complimentary and contrasting flavors that make each bite an unforgettable experience.
Also come on, fried onion rings in a burger? That should be a fast food standard.
Pair that smorgasbord of sensations with the garlic and onion-forward flavor of the Criss Cut fries and you have a nearly perfect, incredibly indulgent meal. This is fast food at its finest.
The Bottom Line:
Pairing a Western Bacon Cheeseburger with an order of Criss Cut fries is a guaranteed good meal. It delivers the sort of decadent salty and indulgent experience that only fast food can deliver.
Find your nearest Carl’s here.
Chick-fil-A — Spicy Deluxe Combo w/ Waffle Fries & An Autumn Spice Milkshake
Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Deluxe is the infamous restaurant’s best sandwich. It’s perfectly seasoned with a mix of smokey paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic, onion, and black pepper, with a slice of melted pepper jack cheese providing an extra kick of spice and a creamy finish. It is hands down one of the best spicy chicken sandwiches in all of fast food and yes, I’m going to say it, better than Popeyes spicy chicken sandwich (Popeyes OG is still the GOAT though).
Pair this near-perfect sandwich with some waffle fries and the seasonal Autumn Spice Milkshake and you won’t be disappointed. The Autumn Spice milkshake is a seasonal fall drink that combines brown sugar spice with Chick-fil-A’s thick and rich vanilla soft serve. What do you do when the Autumn Spice isn’t on the menu? Default to the other seasonal milkshake, the peach!
Chick-fil-A’s sandwich isn’t dangerously spicy, so it shouldn’t ignite your taste buds. But if it might you have a nice cool milkshake to wash everything down with.
The Bottom Line:
You only have a few more months to be able to experience this combination of flavors, so head to Chick-fil-A ASAP.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
Chipotle — “The UPROXX” Custom Burrito
Chipotle doesn’t have combos, making it one of the most frustrating restaurants for indecisive people. Let us make your life easier. We did a whole article series about how to order the best Chipotle burrito, taco, and bowl, but if you want the best of the best, you have to go burrito.
Here is the build: pinto beans, white rice, barbacoa, tomatillo red salsa, cheese, lettuce, and guacamole. The experience will smack your taste buds with an intense burst of heat that fizzles out into earthy and creamy flavors and ends with a touch of sweetness.
It may sound bare bones, but trust us, not only will this be the best Chipotle burrito you ever eat, but the employee helping you will actually be able to fold it without having to bust out an extra tortilla to wrap it all together, meaning it won’t come apart on you as you eat it.
Pair this burrito with a side order of chips and guacamole and you’ve got the perfect chipotle meal.
The Bottom Line:
Chipotle gets a lot of flack for being some of the least flavorful Mexican food on the planet, but our burrito build fights against that very fair criticism by prioritizing simplicity.
Find your nearest Chipotle here.
KFC — Two Piece Drum & Thigh Combo
KFC’s best combo is its simplest. Just two pieces of juicy Original Recipe fried chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, and the beverage of your choice. We’re highlighting the leg and thigh because dark meat is always juicier than white meat, but it’s important that you order Original Recipe over Extra Crispy.
Original Recipe gives your tastebuds 11 herbs and spices to enjoy, including thyme, rosemary, oregano, pepper, onion, and garlic. What do you get with Original Recipe? Salt. That’s it.
All of KFC’s sides are kind of subpar, but there is something special about taking a chicken leg and dunking it in a bowl of savory, rich, and buttery mashed potatoes and gravy. It’s the whole reason KFC’s Famous Bowl exists, which is delicious but isn’t quite as juicy and satisfying as the bone-in bird.
The Bottom Line:
It’s the first combo on KFC’s menu because it’s the best tasting and most essential. Don’t overthink it, just get it.
Find your nearest KFC here.
In-N-Out — Double Double Combo w/ Grilled Onions & a Root Beer Float
In-N-Out has just three combos on the menu going from the best, the Double Double, to the worst, the Hamburger. With the Double-Double you get two tiny patties of salty ground beef melded together with fast food’s greatest-tasting American cheese. Make sure you ask for grilled onions to add some savory caramelized sweetness to each bite.
In-N-Out burgers are incredibly small, this is probably the only double cheeseburger in fast food that you can eat without slipping into a food coma after. So what do you do with all that extra room in your stomach? Explore the Secret Menu with an order of Animal-Style fries (more cheese and onions!) and a Root Beer Float.
The Bottom Line:
Not just the best order on the entire In-N-Out menu, one of the best orders you can ever hope to eat in all of fast food.
Find your nearest In-N-Out here.
Jack in the Box — Sriracha Curly Fry Burger Munchie Meal
Jack in the Box, like Taco Bell, is a stoner’s paradise. This is the sort of fast food chain you stumble into after a late night when you have zero inhibitions and you feel like taking your tastebuds and stomach on an absolute ride.
No meal is going to help you achieve that like this monstrosity. A combination of a sriracha-doused cheeseburger stuffed with a small order of curly fries between a split top bun with an order of Jack in the Box’s weird-ass tacos, and a mix of curly and regular fries with a small drink. It’s salty, spicy, greasy and yes, it will turn your stomach in a few hours — but goddamn will it be worth it.
How do you elevate the meal even further? Ditch the soda that comes with it and get an Oreo Shake instead. Why? Because you only live once!
The Bottom Line:
It’s nearly 2000 calories and who knows how much sodium, it will undoubtedly take a year or two off your life but, who cares? Everyone should experience this at least once, preferably high, drunk, or under the influence of something.
Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.
McDonald’s — Double Cheeseburger w/ Fries & a Coke
This isn’t actually a combo at McDonald’s, it’s a combination of value menu items but there is just something so good about a meal that tastes this flavorful for under $5. Sure it’s not a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder, but it has that unmistakable McDonald’s flavor. Nothing in this burger taste like what it is, the pickles don’t just taste like pickles, they taste like McDonald’s pickles. That combination of mustard and ketchup? It has this unmistakable flavor that just screams “McDonald’s” so loudly that you could pick it out in a blind taste test with ease.
The meat patties here might be thin but that’s actually this burger’s strength, McDonald’s meatier burgers may offer a more satisfying meal but it’s a lot easier to taste just how mediocre McDonald’s meat is. It’s grainy, dry, and over-salted, but with the Double Cheeseburger, you can hardly tell.
Especially if you cram your burger with some fries! Wash it all down with McDonald’s suspiciously delicious coke and you have an answer as to why fast food is as beloved as it is.
The Bottom Line:
A testament to how delicious cheap fast food can really be.
Find your nearest McDonald’s here.
Popeyes — Chicken Sandwich w/ Cajun Fries
If you’re going to Popeyes you have to get the best chicken sandwich in all of fast food. Is the sandwich overhyped? Absolutely. Taking a bite isn’t going to change your world, but the general public went nuts for this chicken sandwich for a reason — it truly is fast food’s best.
The chicken is tender, juicy, and well-seasoned, with just a hint of sweetness that is even better accentuated when you pour a dab of honey on it. The only thing better than Popeyes’ Chicken Sandwich is the Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Chicken Sandwich, which is the same chicken sandwich doused in a sweet and spicy sauce.
That sandwich was unfortunately a limited-time affair, but the OG is still good enough to hold the crown for fast food’s best chicken sandwich. Pair this delicious sandwich with a side order of cajun fries and you can’t go wrong. Popeyes’ best menu item with its all-time best side order.
The Bottom Line:
It’s the GOAT for a reason. This meal combines the best Popeyes has to offer in a single combo.
Find your nearest Popeyes here.
Rally’s/Checkers — Fry Lover’s Double Combo
Let’s be real, the reason anyone goes to Rally’s/Checkers is for the fries. The Big Buford? It’s good. The Mother Cruncher? Maybe the best name for a chicken sandwich ever. But the real star of the show is those weird crispy seasoned fries. They have a light and airy seasoned batter housing buttery molten potato inside. They’re near-perfect fries, and you’re probably going to end up shoving them into your burger or sandwich anyway so you might as well let Rally’s do it for you.
The Fry Lover’s burger features two beef patties, two slices of American cheese, tomato, red onion, dill pickles, and ketchup with a layer of fries on top of it all. And the best part about it is that you still get a side order of fries to go along with your burger.
The Bottom Line
It’s one of the few fast food combos that attempt to give you everything you could ever want.
Find your nearest Rally’s here.
Raising Cane’s — The Three Finger Combo
It was kind of tough to decide on a single best order at Raising Cane’s because the chicken chain has just one product: chicken tenders. Even their chicken sandwich is just three chicken tenders between a bun! So why did we decide on the 3 Finger Combo? Because it’s the perfect portion.
You get three wonderful fresh never-frozen chicken tenders with a side of average crinkle-cut fries, a slice of Texas toast, and a drink of your choice (get the lemonade). If you really like Cole slaw — what’s wrong with you? — go ahead and get the Caniac Combo which will score you an additional chicken tender and a side of coleslaw to go along with your fries and Texas toast.
Your last option is the Box Combo which is ridiculously huge, giving you six tenders, two pieces of Texas toast, Cole slaw, and extra fries. It’s enough to split between two people. The Three Finger Combo on the other hand hits that Goldilock’s zone.
The Bottom Line:
Aside from ordering the sandwich, you can’t really go wrong with Raising Cane’s combo options. The Three Finger Combo will get you the perfect portion of everything.
Find your nearest Raising Cane’s here.
Shake Shack —Double Shack Burger & A Seasonal Shake
What makes Shake Shack special is the proprietary Pat LaFrieda butcher blend that makes up their beef. It’s the reason why Shake Shack’s meat patty tastes different from every other meat out there in the fast food realm. It’s gourmet, and decidedly not fast food.
It’s delicate, sumptuous and practically melts in your mouth. But everything else at Shake Shack? It’s like they’re not even trying. Don’t muddy this delicious burger with something as disgusting as Shake Shack’s weird crinkle-cut fries. You may be looking to the cheese fries thinking that’ll liven them up, but it won’t, they’re awful too, unless you really like movie theater nacho cheese sauce.
Keep it simple and order a Double Shack Burger and a milkshake and bathe your taste buds in luxuriousness. We’d pick a specific milkshake but the Shack constantly rotates their best flavors every three months or so. Right now the shake menu includes an Apple Cider Donut shake, a Pumpkin Patch shake, and Choco Salted Toffee. Each of those sounds better than vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, so always go seasonal!
The Bottom Line:
It might feel weird to eat a cheeseburger without a side of fries, but hey, now you have an excuse to get a Double.
Find your nearest Shake Shack here.
Taco Bell — Mexican Pizza Combo
Two Crunchy Beef Tacos and a Mexican Pizza, how can you go wrong? This combo brings together all of Taco Bell’s best foods into one meal. What do you do when the Mexican Pizza leaves the menu again, which it probably will? Just order a grip of crunchy tacos.
The Crunchwrap, the Beefy 5-Layer, and the grilled burritos are good too, but the crunchy taco is Taco Bell at its finest.
The Bottom Line:
Taco Bell has a big menu, but let’s be real. The beans are bad, and tortillas are gummy, and most of the meat options outside of ground beef are dry and low quality. The best things from Taco Bell are fried.
Find your nearest Taco Bell here.
Wendy’s — Baconator, Fries & A Chocolate Frosty
Wendy’s best cheeseburger is the Baconator. It’s a mountain of meat, two thick quarter-pound beef patties, two layers of crispy bacon, mayo, and a light buttery bun. There is no room for lettuce or tomato here, it’s all about the meaty flavor, and since Wendy’s doesn’t use frozen ground beef and has probably the best bacon in all of fast food, this thing delivers on the flavor.
The fries are fine, what’s going to make them delicious though is dipping them into that chocolate Frosty. Suddenly you’ll turn some mediocre French fries into a flavor bomb of sweet and salty sensations. The perfect indulgent treat to sit alongside your decadent Baconator.
The Bottom Line:
This is the sort of meal you eat when you really want to treat yourself. It’s fatty, salty, sweet, and indulgent. That said, it’s not a simple lunch you order during a 30-minute to hour-long break unless you can work through a massive food coma.
Find your nearest Wendy’s here.