14 Hacks To Upgrade Your Fast Food French Fries

Most people would be lost without the magic that is fast food french fries. Known to be affordable and mouthwateringly delicious, there really is nothing like treating yourself to an order of those crispy treats. No matter what fast food french fry is your favorite – whether it be McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Five Guys, or Zaxby's — we know tons of ways to make your fries taste even better.

Sometimes, getting creative with your fast-food favorites can help completely transform the food, and who doesn't love to try new things? We compiled a comprehensive list of all the ways to take your french fries to the next level. Whether you want to make them a bit more satiating, add pops of flavor, or make them more like a dessert — we've got you covered. If you can finish this article without ending up in your closest fast-food drive-thru, we commend your self-control.

To start off simply, one of the absolute best seasonings in the fast food world is Zaxby's seasoning. It's a light orange spice that comes with the crinkle fries. Although Zaxby's doesn't say what exactly is in its special seasoning, many people on the internet have guessed that the spice contains paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and salt. This delicious mixture gets into all the crevices of Zaxby's crinkle fries, so you get more seasoning per bite.

If you're a major lover of Zaxby's seasoning, you're going to love this hack. When you order your french fries, you can actually ask for an entire cup of the seasoning on the side for no extra charge. Some people use the cup to pour the seasoning all over the top of their fries, and others use it to dip their fries in, almost like a sauce. The earthy, zesty flavoring of the spice is so delicious that you'll want to head to Zaxby's.

If you are a salty and sweet person, you're really going to want to try this hack of dipping your french fries into a Wendy's Frosty. Many people enjoy dipping their fries into a Frosty specifically because it's a frozen dessert with a consistency that lives in between ice cream and a milkshake, making it the ideal dip. The flavor of Frosty that you get is totally up to you, though we're partial to dipping our french fries in the chocolate Frosty.

There are a few reasons why this combination tastes so unbelievably good. At the core of it, having the saltiness from the french fries mixed with the extra sweetness from the frozen treat is heaven. It gives the same effect as a chocolate-covered pretzel, but better. Another reason it's so great is that when you dip the fries fresh out of the fryer into the cold dessert, that satisfaction between the two temperatures just can't be beaten. It's the same reason why people love apple pie or warm chocolate cake with ice cream. The best part about this french fry and Frosty combo is that it's incredibly easy. All you need to do is order the right items, and you're all set.

In-N-Out is known to have some of the best burgers and french fries since 1948. Now, regular customers at In-N-Out may know this hack, but if you've only gone once or twice, this secret may surprise you. There's a "secret" menu at In-N-Out that allows you to customize your food in a certain way, with one option that allows you to order your french fries "animal style." You won't see this on the menu, but we promise it's legit. The In-N-Out website even has a page for its "Not So Secret Menu." According to customers on Reddit, some options on the secret menu have been going around through word-of-mouth, at least since the late '80s or early '90s. 

Ordering your french fries animal style means that the restaurant will load your french fries up with melted cheese, grilled onions, and In-N-Out sauce. It's the restaurant's own way of doing loaded french fries, and it's absolutely delicious. The In-N-Out sauce is similar to other Thousand Island-type sauces, and according to an In-N-Out fanatic on YouTube, it's made with mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and vinegar. It can get a bit messy, so make sure you ask for a fork with your meal!

In the U.K. and other parts of the world, it's incredibly common for people to put french fries in their sandwiches, resulting in a dish called chip butty. If you have never tried this, we understand that it probably sounds a smidge odd, but there must be a reason why it's so popular, so we had to look further into it.

This technique is especially great to try out at Burger King. The world-famous burgers and super crispy and flavorful fries are a perfect match. All you need to do is order your burger of choice (we think the Whopper is a solid candidate for this concoction), take off the top bun, and line up a row of french fries on top. For extra flavor, you can drizzle your favorite sauce right on top of the fries and then place the bun firmly back on. Since some of the burger patties at Burger King are square-shaped, the fries fit neatly on them. Once you bite into this loaded burger, you're going to love the extra crunch and flavor that the french fries add.

People go absolutely crazy over the sauce at Raising Cane's. The deliciously secret chicken sauce is meant to go with the chicken, but it tastes incredibly satisfying with the french fries as well. The sauce is said to be made with mayonnaise, ketchup, black pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. It's similar to many other fast food restaurants' special sauces — however, there is something especially addicting about Cane's.

When ordering your french fries, make sure that you get two containers of the Cane's sauce. Pour your fries into the to-go bag and discard the french fry container. Then, generously pour your sauce into the bag. Squeeze the bag at the top so it stays closed while you shake the bag vigorously. It will coat your french fries perfectly in the sauce. You can dig right in with a fork, and you will have the flavors of Raising Cane's sauce filling each and every bite.

Poutine is a Canadian delicacy that has many origin stories. It originally appeared in Quebec in the '50s, and it's been an incredibly popular variation on french fries ever since. Ultimately, poutine is brown gravy smothered over french fries with cheese curds on top. If you happen to find yourself at KFC craving that gravy and french fry combination, we think it's a great place to make your own poutine. At KFC, you can actually order an entire side of gravy all by itself. Of course, order french fries as well, and throw in a side of ranch. The ranch will take the place of the cheese curds, adding the creamy flavoring that's necessary for poutine.

To avoid making an entire mess, we recommend bringing a bowl or plastic food container to make this homemade poutine. Simply pour the french fries in first, spreading them out evenly. Then, generously pour that delicious KFC gravy right on top. Lastly, drizzle the ranch dressing over it. This concoction is especially yummy because the KFC fries have a special secret seasoning on them, which adds a unique flavor to the combination. 

If you've ever picked up a bag of kettle-cooked salt and vinegar chips, gone home, and immediately eaten the entire bag — you'll love this hack. One thing that can make the chips even better is if they're more filling. That's where french fries come in to save the day.

A&W is a great place to try this concoction. First, get a side of french fries and a couple of packets of malt vinegar. All you need to do is generously drizzle some malt vinegar right on top of the french fries. You can do this by keeping the french fries in their original A&W container, or you can throw them into the to-go bag and shake in the malt vinegar that way, coating the french fries evenly. This basically creates the effect of salt and vinegar chips but with french fries. Since the french fries at A&W come generously salted, all you need is the vinegar. This hack is great because it'll leave you feeling a bit more satisfied than if you were just going to eat the chips.

For this sweet and salty hack, you'll need a few ingredients. Head over to Sonic and order some french fries. Then, ask for a side of the chocolate sauce as well as caramel sauce. These are toppings that you can order with a sundae at Sonic, and you can ask for them in a separate container without ordering ice cream.

You can either leave your french fries in the fry holder or spread them out in a plastic container. Next, drizzle the chocolate sauce generously over the french fries. Then, add some caramel sauce, though we recommend doing about half as much caramel as chocolate, so the chocolate is the main flavor. This creates a delicious chocolate-caramel blend over the salty french fries. The taste is actually similar to a caramel-and-chocolate-covered pretzel. It's the perfect dessert for when you're still craving a salty touch. Plus, it's a little bit more filling than a completely sugar-filled dessert on its own because the french fries add some starchy bulk. 

If you're from California, this might not be as much of a hack to you. But if you're not, you're in for a treat. What you're going to do is add your french fries straight into your Taco Bell burrito. Taco Bell is one of the few Tex-Mex restaurants that offers french fries on its menu, and the french fries aren't just your regular fries. These are nacho fries that have a special seasoning that makes them extra tasty. The seasoning is made of "bold Mexican spices," per Taco Bell, and it has a little bit of a spicy kick to it.

Order whatever type of burrito you'd like, and go ahead and carefully open it up. Strategically place the french fries throughout the burrito and close it back up tightly. The crunch of the french fries adds a different texture to the burrito that isn't normally there, and the nacho fries specifically bring a fun new flavor to the entire meal. Whether you have chicken, steak, or pork in your burrito — the texture and taste of the fries will fit perfectly into any type of burrito.

Many people go wild over the salty, spicy, and sweet combination of foods. What's even more fun is trying unconventional pairings of those flavors, like cheesecake and french fries. For this hack, you're going to want to head to Popeyes and bring a plastic food container with you. Once you're there, order the caramel apple cheesecake cup and some french fries.

Dump the cheesecake into your container. Then, mix it around a bit so it's more of an icing consistency. Lastly, sprinkle in the fries on top and mix them around as well. The Popeyes Cajun fries add a salty, spicy, crunchy goodness to the classic dessert. It almost has the same effect as Mexican hot chocolate, where the spicy and sweet flavors complement each other flawlessly. This unexpected concoction is truly a delicious dessert to treat yourself to.

There is a famous scene in the movie "Elf" in which Buddy slathers spaghetti noodles with maple syrup. Now, we're not recommending you do that, but we are recommending that you try it on your french fries. It may seem a little bit odd, but it's the perfect sweet sauce to go with the salty french fries. Another option is to drizzle the french fries in honey, which gives the same effect. This is a great hack at McDonald's because the super-salty and thin french fries pair well with the sweet sauce. McDonald's also always has honey and syrup packets on hand, so all you need to do is ask for a few packets when you order.

This mixture leaves with you a salty, spicy, and sweet dish that is unbelievably delicious. You can have these fries by themselves, but this dish also tastes great as a side to a larger meal. Try it with the chicken McNuggets or a Big Mac. It's a super simple recipe that not only easily upgrades your french fries but your entire meal.

Social media is full of people tasting fast food concoctions that will make your mouth water. One common creation we've seen is people eating a variation of Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets mixed with french fries and sauce, making chicken nachos. When placing your order, get some french fries, chicken nuggets, and a couple of sauces. This recipe can go great with either the breaded or grilled chicken nuggets. We recommend buffalo and ranch sauces for the ultimate nacho flavoring.

For this concoction, you'll want a bigger container to hold the food. You can ask the restaurant for an empty salad container to easily mix the ingredients together. Throw in the fries and the chicken, and douse them with the sauce. Then, close the container and shake it so every inch of the fries and nuggets are equally covered in sauce. The buffalo adds a great, spicy flavoring while the ranch helps cool it down. Eat this meal with a fork, and make sure you get a fry and a nugget in every bite.

People love to use peanut butter in unconventional ways. It always seems a little bit odd at first, but surprisingly, the peanut butter flavor is incredibly versatile. The next hack you can try is creating peanut butter french fries at Five Guys. This can be done simply by ordering your french fries and asking for a side of peanut butter. Five Guys has peanut butter on hand because it's a topping available for the milkshakes. Once you get your order, heat up the peanut butter a little bit by sticking it quickly in the bag with the french fries. Let it sit for a minute or two to help warm it up to a runny consistency. Then, drizzle the peanut butter right over the french fries. It's similar to having peanut butter pretzels, but this mixture is arguably more tasty because of the warmth that the french fries bring to the equation.

This combination is actually a Dutch snack, sometimes seen on the streets of Amsterdam food carts. We're surprised that a fast food restaurant hasn't picked up on the trend yet. For now, you can create it yourself easily at Five Guys.

If you want to stick to plain french fries, we totally understand. We have one simple hack to upgrade your fast-food french fries without adding anything extra. Annika Rudolph, a former McDonald's employee, shared with us, "From my time working at McDonald's: If you order your fries unsalted, they will be served fresh out of the fryer. You can always ask for salt packets, but this way, you get the freshest batch."

Having fresh fries ensures that they will be nice and crispy, and none of the fries will have cooled down and gotten soggy. This is also a great option for people who are watching their sodium intake by forgoing the salt. If you still want to have salt but with fresher fries, you can do that too! Just add the salt after the fact.