Fast Food Hash Browns, Ranked Worst To Best

Nothing hits the spot like a delicious serving of hash browns to start your morning off right. Many people, including myself, love the convenience of picking up hash browns from a fast food restaurant as a quick snack. They tend to be cheap, easy to eat, and satisfying.

Now, hash browns in general have been around for a long time. Their history dates back to at least the late 1800s, and they have been a staple at many diners and breakfast restaurants. As for their presence in fast food restaurants, that's a different story. It wasn't until 1977 that McDonald's began serving hash browns on its breakfast menu. After that, other fast food spots followed suit — but not that much quickly after. Chick-fil-A jumped in about10 years later, introducing its hash browns in 1989. Dunkin' didn't begin serving hash browns until 2008.

To this day, there aren't that many fast food restaurants that sell hash browns. Out of the six fast food restaurants that sell hash browns in my area, I was incredibly curious to see which one offered the best. I went ahead and picked up the smallest hash browns size from Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin', McDonald's, Taco Bell, and White Castle. With my own rating scale of crispiness, oiliness, flavor, texture, and amount given per serving, I conducted a thorough tasting of each of these restaurant's hash browns and ranked them from worst to best. Here's how they fared.

White Castle paved the way for fast food burgers, but it's actually one of the few fast food restaurants that sells hash browns all day long. These Hash Brown Nibblers came in a small box with about 20 bites per order. They were all very uniform, with the same exact size and color. They didn't particularly look browned or crispy and instead were a bit pale looking.

When I bit into the hash browns, I was disappointed that there wasn't even a semblance of crunch. Instead, the hash browns were very soft and mushy. To make the texture even worse, they were incredibly oily, scoring a six out of 10 on my personal oily-scale. As I chewed the bites, I could feel that they were actually soggy from the oil and could feel the oil on my teeth.

The flavor was disappointing as well. I thought that the oil overtook the flavor of the hash browns, almost making them taste a bit pungent. The aftertaste, especially, was downright unpleasant. I wasn't even interested in taking more bites, as I simply didn't enjoy these at all.

The gluten-free hash browns at Dunkin' are a popular menu item that many people buy to go along with their breakfast sandwiches. These came in a little packet with about seven hash brown rounds per order. From appearance alone, they looked incredibly tasty. They were browned on the outside, looked like they had some type of seasoning on top, and had a strong, herby scent that flowed from them.

When biting into the Dunkin' hash browns, though, you may be a bit disappointed. Even though they may look like they're browned and crispy, they were actually a lot more fluffy and soft, not oily at all. Now that may be the preference for some people, but for me, I want my hash browns to have a crunch. The flavor itself was starkly different from all of the other hash browns that I tasted, almost resembling the taste of a burger. If I had eaten one of the hash browns and suddenly lost my memory, I would think that I had just finished off a burger by the taste left in my mouth. It was definitely an odd sensation.

If you're looking for hash browns that are incredibly flavorful, this would be a good choice. According to the ingredients, they're seasoned with garlic and onion powder, parsley, and other unspecified spices. Although the flavor is an interesting one and I do actually enjoy it — it's simply not my preference when thinking of the overall expectation of hash browns.

Chick-fil-A received high marks in our ranking of fast food breakfast sandwiches, which make for a delicious morning meal, especially when paired with a side. The hash browns came conveniently in a long box with about 12 hash brown bites. The bites were very thick and full and were visually more browned than both Burger King and White Castle — both of which have a similar style of hash browns.

I thought that the hash browns had a good amount of crisp to them, but they were a tad oily — scoring a three out of 10 on my oily-scale. I could sense a slight taste of oil as I chewed. I do think that the fact that the bites were nice and crispy helped to offset the oil, however. Taste wise, they had a neutral flavor with an aftertaste that was smooth and buttery. The hash browns definitely had a touch of savory to them as well, but overall the level of sweetness overpowered that. That doesn't have to be a bad thing — it just depends on what you like better. Overall, I didn't prefer the sweeter taste and the oiliness; however, I loved the crunch and think that 12 bites is the perfect size.

A certain level of expectation comes with McDonald's being a pioneer of fast food hash browns. These hash browns look completely different from most of what's on the market. They are sold as one singular piece — about four inches long and in the form of a rectangular patty. They also come in an adorable little sleeve, which is perfect for holding while you chow down on the treat.

When I first bit into the McDonald's hash browns, they had a perfect crunch. They were nice and solid and could easily be held at the bottom without breaking apart. They had a pleasant and neutral flavor with almost a buttery-like taste. They also weren't very herby or even salted. Instead, the hash browns tasted completely different from McDonald's iconic french fries, which were originally a labor-intensive process – even though both are made from similar ingredients like potatoes, oil, natural beef flavor, and salt. I personally really enjoyed the flavor of the McDonald's hash browns because they had a very simple balance of sweet and savory, they weren't salty, and they could go well with any type of breakfast or as a snack. My only deduction for these hash browns is that they appeared to be very oily, rating a five out of 10 on my oily-scale. I personally don't enjoy it when you notice the amount of oil in food. Other than that, I think these are great hash browns.

The Burger King hash browns came with about 20 little rounds per order. They were all very uniform, shaped in the same exact way, and came in an adorable little bite-size piece. Visually, they were a very natural light-cream color and didn't give the outright impression that they'd be very crunchy. However, these were actually the crispiest hash browns that I tasted. The fried crust, specifically, seemed to be much thicker than what the other restaurants served.

Burger King's hash browns were a tad oily, scoring a three out of 10 on my oily-scale. I didn't necessarily notice too much oil as I was chewing them; however, a buildup of oil appeared on my mouth and fingers — a classic telltale sign. Overall, it didn't overtake my experience of eating the hash browns, but the more I ate, the more oily I felt. I did enjoy the taste of these. They had a very clear potato flavor, with almost the same exact taste as the Burger King french fries. They weren't as salty as the fries but definitely had a nice hint. There was also a bit of an acidic aftertaste, which I personally enjoyed in hash browns because it cut the sweetness. Ultimately, I enjoyed the crispiness, the large serving size, and the taste of these hash browns.

The Taco Bell hash browns became part of the national menu back in 2014 when the restaurant released a full breakfast menu. As of 2024, however, not every single Taco Bell serves breakfast, so be sure to check your local spot to see if it's available. If you're able to find a location that does serve these hash browns, it's definitely worth it to try one out.

The Taco Bell hash browns had the most incredible crunch that I've ever experienced from a hash brown. Every single bite was decorated by the satisfying, crispy sound. It looked very similar to the McDonald's hash browns, served in a rectangular patty. However, It's a bit bigger than the McDonald's hash browns, so Taco Bell scores some points there. Besides the 10 out of 10 crunch, the flavor of these hash browns was exactly on point as well. It had a buttery, pleasant, neutral taste to it. I didn't taste any sort of spices or herbs that popped through, and I also didn't get any type of unpleasant aftertaste lingering on my tongue. It tasted like a simple fried potato, and for my personal preferences, that's exactly how I want my hash browns to taste. These hash browns were slightly oily, scoring a three out of 10 on my oily scale — but I almost didn't notice the oil very much because of how crispy and enjoyable the hash browns were.

When taste-tasting the hash browns, I focused on a few set criteria. The first thing was the amount of hash browns that were provided in a serving. All of the hash browns were priced in the $2-$3 range, so it was fair to compare the amount that was given from each restaurant. For the taste test, I took note of the amount of crispiness, oiliness, and overall balance of flavors.