5 Ordering Tips For The Best Wendy's Baked Potatoes

A classic baked potato with a melting square of butter on top is sublime. And if you want one quickly, Wendy's is one of a select few fast food places where you can pick one up. You may not know it, but the chain's baked spud is highly customizable, and we have five tips to help you go beyond the menu and make the best one you've ever had. 

Growing up, Wendy's was always the drive-thru chain where you didn't just say something like, "Give me the No. 2" (my classic McDonald's request back in the day). Wendy's had different side options like chili, a Frosty for dessert, and other experiments that didn't stick around as long as the baked potato. So your order instead consisted of various single items right out of the menu to create your own combo.

When Wendy's introduced baked potatoes in 1983, there were five varieties: sour cream and chives, cheese, bacon and cheese, chili and cheese, and broccoli and cheese. Today, four of those options remain, but the broccoli and cheese option has been replaced by a classic plain baked potato. The current selection will serve as the foundation of your baked potato order, and then you're going to add to each to make a new creation that's not on the menu.

Baked potato customization may not be as famous as the In-N-Out secret menu, but it's something you learn the more you visit — and one thing that sets Wendy's apart from other chains. Just about any ingredient Wendy's uses on any burgers or fries can be requested on a baked potato. And a tangy twist gives your potato depth and cuts through the heavy starch. 

Start with a blank canvas for this first suggestion: the plain potato. When placing the order, ask to add chives, diced onions, and pickles right on the potato. Sometimes, Wendy's adds far too much sour cream, and it can drown out all the flavors of the ingredients you requested. Instead, ask for it on the side and add enough to your taste. 

There's no need to stop at your request for a packet of sour cream for this zesty concoction. Ask for Wendy's Honey Mustard or Sweet Chili sauce on the side as well for a hint of sweetness to match the tart flavors. Ask for an empty chili cup or a courtesy drink cup to premix the sour cream and sauce. Finally, the creamy salsa Wendy's offers with its taco salad is mild, so it won't make you break out in a sweat, but it still adds some acidity.

Start with a bacon and cheese potato and request the chile lime taco strips (aka tortilla strips) that Wendy's includes with its taco salad. While you're at it, order Applewood smoked bacon strips as well. Each time your mouth feels the soft texture of potato, it will also get a surprise crunch from the taco strips and the extra helping of salty bacon. Don't forget to check the menu to see if Wendy's is offering its limited-time Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger. If so, request some of the fried onions which come on this.

With all these crunchy toppings, your baked potato can get a bit dry. I recommend pouring chili over it so the crunchy bits sit between softer layers. Of course, this addition will make this an extra hearty meal with ground beef from the chili, crumbled bacon bits, full-size bacon strips, and also gooey cheese melting underneath all of it. Every option here probably turns your baked potato from side dish to entree, but this one here may be the potato with the most main character energy. 

Start by ordering a chili and cheese potato as your base. Ask for the hot sauce, officially called Hot Chili Seasoning, which is meant to spice up a Wendy's cup of chili. Pour it over the chili and mix it well. Get a packet of sour cream with your order so you can subdue the heat if it becomes too much after a few bites. For a baked potato spicier and more loaded than this, you'd have to visit a taco truck.

You can also get a spicy potato without making chili the focus. Go with the bacon and cheese option and ask for a serving of Wendy's Scorchin' Hot sauce. The bright orange condiment over the cheese will immediately tickle the hairs in your nose to warn you of the heat you're about to experience. For just a touch of spice, go with the Sweet Chili sauce for a combination that will satisfy a craving without leaving you wishing you'd ordered milk to wash down your meal.

The cheese potato is a good foundation for what will ultimately be a chicken baked potato. Wendy's cheese sauce starts with cheddar and adds paprika, plus tomato and onion concentrates that offer an impactful hit of umami flavor. Add a 4-piece order of chicken nuggets, or spicy nuggets for a little kick. These are small enough that you don't need to cut them into smaller pieces; just push them into your spud and enjoy a deliciously gooey chicken baked potato.

If four nuggets are not enough for your hunger, Wendy's offers 6-piece and 10-piece orders of nuggets. There's also a whopping 50-piece party pack, but you won't have enough room on one potato for all that (and no, this is not a social media challenge). For a healthier chicken option, you can go with grilled chicken instead of fried nuggets. While some Wendy's may agree to sell grilled chicken on its own, it doesn't appear to be the norm and it's not listed on the menu as an option. If your local Wendy's can't do it, you can order a grilled chicken wrap (ranch sauce optional) and add some of the chicken to your baked spud.

We've touched on a few sauce options, but for this last tip, it's about letting the taste of the sauce shine. You can go with a plain potato here or add a few dry toppings like bacon bits and chives. Then choose a sauce based on what you're craving. Wendy's Signature sauce is savory, like adding Worcestershire sauce to a dish, and the Honey BBQ brings an aroma of smoke. Beyond the dipping sauces, you can try special sauces used on burgers and other menu items. Baked potatoes aren't served during breakfast hours, but if you get there just after 10:30 a.m., when the menu switches over, see if you can get one smothered in the white pepper gravy Wendy's uses on its biscuits. Or, depending on what limited-time options Wendy's has going, ask for the warm beer cheese sauce used on the Pretzel Bacon Pub burger line.

Of course, you don't have to stop at one sauce. The hot chili sauce packet that spices up Wendy's chili, combined with the Scorchin' Hot sauce, will probably have you running to the soda fountain for refills. Or perhaps combining the Sweet Chili with Creamy Ranch will make your potato a Buffalo wings sort of experience. So, while Wendy's company slogan may not advertise customizability the way Burger King's does, Wendy's myriad baked potato toppings show customers that we can, in fact, have it our way.