13 Fast Food Items That Are Worth Ordering Plain And Customizing At Home

We can probably all agree on one thing: When we order fast food, we don't necessarily expect its taste to be out of this world. Should it be relatively inexpensive? Sure. What about easy to obtain, especially compared to waiting for a table at a restaurant or cooking an elaborate meal at home? Of course. But regardless of which fast food chain we're ordering from or whether we're going for nuggets or a burger, we have to "eat" the idea that we're sacrificing taste for convenience. 

If you are searching for a better-tasting fast food item — be it a side, dessert, main, or drink — you may need to get creative and put in some work yourself. If you were to order a plain item at your favorite fast food chain rather than one that slathers on gimmicky condiments, limp lettuce, and a paltry amount of toppings, you are still letting the business do the hard work of cooking, assembling, and building a base — with which you can experiment. Once you get your fast food item of choice home, you can raid your crisper drawer, root through your pantry, and find creative ways to give your fast food order a more flavorful lease on life. To help get you started, we've curated a list of relatively simple and low-budget ways to customize your fast food order at home, many of which are based on our own experiences.

In case you haven't been to a fast food restaurant recently, just know that there are probably more chicken nuggets available now than ever before. Not only does McDonald's serve up its iconic McNuggets, but competitors like Wendy's and Burger King are engineering (and in the latter's case, re-engineering) this beloved favorite. While you might see them with some dipping sauce on the menu, rarely are chicken nuggets an exciting option, especially compared to some of the other ingenious fast food creations out there. 

However, that's not to say that nuggets aren't worthy of a facelift at home. Since their flavor and consistency are pretty standard across the board, you can elevate virtually any order of them by adding them to a resealable bag with your favorite sauce from home — including Buffalo, barbecue, even creamy garlic Parmesan — and giving them a shake to coat. While this will break down the nuggets' crispy coating, especially if you let them sit for too long, the sauce will still penetrate every crack and crevice, imparting a far better flavor than if you just dunked them into whatever ho-hum cup of sauce the drive-thru employee provides. Just be sure to keep a fork handy, as eating them can be messy.

Fast food salads probably aren't at the top of your must-order list, especially when there are more tantalizing menu options available. Plus, pre-assembled salads, which, in our experience, are often left to sit in a cooler until a customer orders them, don't stay very fresh. A bowl of watery, browning lettuce, sad, limp veggies, and chicken strips that are too cold to be palatable, all brought together with a packet of the cheapest dressing imaginable, isn't very appetizing. Luckily, if you bring this pre-made salad home, you can easily upgrade its texture and flavor with ingredients you likely already have kicking around in your pantry. 

Dried cranberries, walnuts, candied pecans, croutons, air-fried chickpeas, or even cheese crisps can give your salad a boost of flavor and texture. If you find that the veggies themselves are limp and don't want to resort to a "topping" per se, you can also make use of a bag of coleslaw mix and introduce a small proportion of cabbage and shredded veggies to improve the texture. A homemade salad dressing, like this Olive Garden copycat dressing or three-ingredient red wine vinaigrette, can also bring bold, fresh flavors that pre-packaged salad dressing just can't offer. 

We will start this one with a caveat: There are good fries to take home and experiment with, and others that should be simply enjoyed plain. McDonald's fries, for example, are thin, limp, and, as some would argue, so good that they're not worth messing with (which is probably why our writer declared them the best fast food french fries). No, in this case, you need something hearty, sturdy, and that can hold the weight of whatever homemade concoctions you want to add to it. We're talking about the Chick-fil-A waffle fries of the world, as well as the crispy and well-ridged crinkle-cut offering from Culver's. 

Options abound for how you can zhuzh up your fries. Cheese sauce is a great one. While some fast food places will sell cheese sauce, it tends to be gelatinous and sad. A high-quality store-bought queso is a much better alternative, as it would add extra spice and a fresher flavor to your fries. If you prefer something a bit on the hotter side, you could also chop up some hot chiles or candied jalapeños for your fries, too. Repurpose leftover bacon, or even grab a container of your favorite store-bought chili to heat up and smother your fries with. Using toppings like this is a great way to elevate (read: hide) a lackluster spud and turn what would normally be a boring side into a fantastic and flavorful one. 

When you stop at a fast food joint, your burger topping options are far from limited. Aside from the basic fast food burger, you'll also find ones topped with everything from Swiss cheese, mushrooms, bacon, and barbecue sauce to "fresh" vegetables, fried onions, and more. These options may appear enticing, though we will always be advocates for ordering a plain burger, then innovating it yourself at home — the reason being that fast food burger toppings tend not to be very fresh or high-quality. Rarely is the bacon succulent and crisp; it usually looks like the strips served in a school cafeteria. And don't let us get started on what chains like McDonald's try to pass off as "pickles." 

Stick to a basic burger (or cheeseburger, if you feel like a big spender). Then, when you get home, smother the patty with your favorite barbecue sauce to add sweetness and an undercurrent of smoke, freshly chopped onions (which will be much crispier than what you get at a fast food joint), and crispy lettuce — not whatever mixed greens have been sitting on the line for who-know-how-long. This would also be an excellent place to experiment with fermented toppings, which can cut through the richness of even the greasiest of burgers. A crisp, slightly sweet, and zesty batch of pickled red onions would do wonders, as would any brand of high-quality store-bought pickles.

Chili is a unique fast food option that we don't think all that much about until we have a craving for it. It can be a heartier alternative to burgers, hot dogs, and fries, and is perfect in the winter. While the chili base itself isn't usually bad — at least, not when our taster tried options from several chains and ranked them — the topping game is usually weak. Sure, you might find a scoop of sour cream here and there, or stale pre-packaged Saltines, but a great chili is worthy of a flavorful upgrade at home.

A sprinkle of cheese, a pinch of chopped green onions, and, if you feel like tempting fate, a shake or two of your favorite hot sauce can offer this entree or side a more sophisticated flavor. You can even take inspiration from the South and add a scoop of pimento cheese on top of your fast food chili. Our personal favorite is corn chips, as they offer a delectable saltiness, crunch, and complementary flavor to any number of chilis, whether they contain beans or not. Options abound, and they will always beat the paltry topping options at the Wendy's drive-thru. 

Fast food coffee has a lot in common with airplane food in that it's comically bad. But there are some days when you're just not feeling like brewing your own, and have to trust Mickey D's or Dunkin' to serve up an iced coffee, latte, or drip coffee that's at least halfway palatable. The problem? In our experience, it's rare that fast food chains get your coffee order right, and it's even more unlikely that it will have a balanced sweetness or the proper amount of cream. 

It's better not to tempt fate here; just order your coffee black and customize it at home. The standard creamers, sweetness, and milks are always ways to change its profile, though if you have more time and want to immerse yourself in your barista era, you could also add a coffee syrup, a medley of spices, or even homemade cold foam to your drink. Ordering this fast food item plain will allow you to put your own spin on it and ensure that it tastes just the way you like. 

Fast food breadsticks are usually something that we order because there is some offer, deal, or promotion attached — or we just see the advertisement pop up before we click the "place order" button and say, "Why not?" These breadsticks are usually pretty basic, and honestly, they're probably just a way for fast food pizzerias to use up leftover dough. As such, their flavor is just as much of an afterthought as their presence on menus. 

This upgrade can be a choose-your-own-adventure type deal. If your breadsticks come out dry and hard, melting down a pat of high-quality butter with some minced garlic before brushing it over the top can do the trick. This affordable hack will add tons of freshness and flavor to your breadsticks, and it might not even require a trip to the grocery store. You could also sprinkle your favorite cheese on top and put them into the air fryer or oven just long enough to fuse the cheese to the bread underneath. Another lifesaver? Ditching that awful pizza dipping sauce that usually comes with them and opting for a high-quality marinara, pesto, or Alfredo sauce instead.

In this day and age, it seems like there is a chicken sandwich everywhere you turn. Not only are bona fide chicken chains like Chick-fil-A and Popeye's deep in the action, but also once-burger behemoths like Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's are diversifying their menus and cashing in on our collective fascination with this seemingly simple sandwich. Some chains add condiments to their chicken sandwiches, though it's often not enough, or they end up making the chicken less crispy than it needs to be.

As such, if you can hold off on adding condiments to your chicken sandwich until you get home, we recommend doing so. That way, you can adorn your sandwich with all of your favorites: hot or Buffalo sauce (shake your chicken in a bag with the sauce like you would nuggets), add crispy lettuce, fresh (and most importantly) not watery tomatoes, and your favorite pickles (store-bought bread and butter pickles are a great choice for sweetness and pep). You could give this fast food favorite more of a sandwich spin by adding your favorite cheese (beyond the cheap American that fast food chains often offer), or even adding a scoop of pimento cheese on top; the latter comes especially handy if you're trying to recreate the Chick-fil-A Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich outside of its short run.

Fast food pizza is something we order to satisfy a craving. If we want good pizza, we'll go to one of the best pizza shops in our state — not Domino's or Papa John's. However, not all hope is lost for fast food cardboard (err ... pizza). If you are annoyed with the paltry toppings or limited selection for them at your local pizza chain, you can always take that pie home and doctor it up a bit. Sure, the toppings won't melt into the pie like they would if you ordered them on it, but a plain cheese pizza is still a good place to exercise your creative license post-bake via sauces, crisp or fresh toppings, and seasonings.

One of the easiest things you can do? Brush seasoned garlic butter on your crust before serving, just like you would with breadsticks. It will add an extra layer of richness and flavor and help revive virtually any stale or bland base. We also love adding sauces to the top of our pizza because they give a brightness that you just don't get from baked-on toppings. A drizzle of ranch, barbecue sauce, or even pesto can enliven every bite and make your pie feel like it came from a genuine pizzeria — not a Domino's assembly line. 

We probably have all had the experience of scarfing down a fast food breakfast sandwich on the road or out running errands and paying little attention to its quality. Although convenient, the flavor tends to be pretty bland, and the texture of the eggs is spongy (and may cause you to guess whether it's made with real eggs at all) — but it does the job that it needs to. However, you don't need to settle for a plain, bland breakfast sandwich, especially when you can spruce it up with condiments. 

As long as your choice of fillings is breakfast-adjacent and can fit within the confines of an English muffin, biscuit, bagel, or McGriddle, you're set. Think fresh avocado (or even store-bought guac) for extra creaminess and nutrients, or break out that special bottle of hot sauce that you've been dying to use. Store-bought salsa, mayo, and even a spicy chutney can elevate this sandwich, as can a sweet addition like maple butter, jam, or fruit preserves. 

Fast food sandwich chains are everywhere now, and the number of condiments and fillings available on the line is one of their biggest appeals. Pay for a basic meat sandwich and get all of the condiments you want on it for "free?" What a deal! However, we have fallen victim to this trap all too many times and encountered limp cucumbers, soggy lettuce, and tomatoes that are sliced so thin (and are so flavorless) that they shouldn't even be called "tomatoes" at all. 

It requires you to go a little out of your way, but ordering a basic meat-and-cheese sandwich and bringing it home to adorn it with condiments, spreads, veggies, and more is the way to go. A meatball sub tastes better in the summertime when it's drizzled with fresh pesto, whereas a couple of slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes can give a plain Italian sub some serious dimension. Like the burgers included on this list, this is a good time to break out the fresh lettuce and cheese, and turn to funky ferments to add an acidic pop to an otherwise ho-hum chicken or tuna salad sandwich.

Could we have made tacos, quesadillas, and burritos all separate items on this list? Probably, yeah — but the idea of how to elevate them is all similar. While their fillings and method of wrapping vary, these fast food Tex-Mex favorites from chains like Taco Bell and Del Taco all seem to face similar issues: There is usually nothing exciting going on inside of them. The sauce may be your only hope for reviving a basic beef-and-cheese taco, and even that requires a bit of DIY and packet-tearing on your part. As such, a pantry raid is more than warranted here. 

A good salsa can elevate almost any Tex-Mex item, and it's one that you should always add yourself rather than trusting the chain to do it. If salsa is added prematurely, it can make the wrapper wet and ruin the eating experience. Before diving in, unfurl your handheld just enough to pour in your favorite store-bought salsa, or if it's a looser sauce, dunk it right in. You could also add your own lettuce to your wrap; that way, you'll know it's extra crispy and fresh. If you're ordering a soft taco or burrito, you may want to add some crunch to your bite with a sprinkle of corn chips, too; we recommend adding Trader Joe's Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers to anything and everything you can for a hint of spicy, elote-inspired flavor and undeniable crunch.  

We are not immune to the craving for a sweet treat, especially in the summer months when Dairy Queen is open and churning out its iconic curled cones. The DQ ice cream menu is pretty pared-down (as is the case with most fast food soft serve options), and you may only get to choose between sprinkles and a dip on your cone. But when you take that basic ice cream cone home, you will have even more ways to customize it.

Instead of reaching for sprinkles, try rolling your cone in something with a bit more flavor and texture, like chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, chopped-up or mini M&M's, or cereal. That way, you'll still get the milky and subtly sweet flavor of your ice cream, along with the flavor and texture of your topping. You can also add your own syrups, expanding your options beyond the couple of dips available on the fast food menu. A peanut butter dip would be a great pairing for a chocolate cone; you can melt down peanut butter until it's drizzle-worthy, or make your own sauce with corn syrup and your favorite peanut butter brand. Aside from these upgrades, you could also repurpose your ice cream for some other treat. If you have spare glazed donuts, for example, you can create the most outrageous breakfast-inspired ice cream sandwich ever by slathering the soft serve in between them, or flip the cone upside-down and plunge it into a glass of soda for a fun take on a float.