Ever feel like you’re eating the same thing, no matter what choice you make on a fast-food menu? Been there. Although many chains dress up their menus to make them seem expansive, you’re often just eating the same 10 ingredients in 30 different ways. Wondering which fast-food chains are the biggest offenders? Here are seven fast-food chains that reuse the same ingredients the most.
Taco Bell
While there are multitudes of complex flavors and ingredients that make up Mexican cooking, that’s not really what you’re here for at Taco Bell. No, at the Bell, you’re often getting some combination that involves chicken or ground beef, shredded cheese (or nacho cheese), a tortilla (grilled or fried, rolled or folded), maybe some beans or rice, possibly sour cream, and some lettuce and chopped tomatoes for some color. Those options cover a considerable portion of the menu — and some feel it winds up tasting pretty much the same. Taco Bell also stretches its refried beans, provided by Basic American Foods, across most of the menu, and the same goes for any of its meat (supplied by Cargill).
Chipotle
We’re looking at a similar deal to Taco Bell here, but with even less variation. Chipotle’s entire kitchen is on display for you, from the grill to the ingredients, so all you really need to do is tell them a shape — burrito, bowl, salad, quesadilla, or tacos (though the portions seem to be shrinking lately). This place loves to brag about how fresh and clean, and minimally processed its ingredients are (annoyingly so, even if they used one of my all-time favorite commercials to do it), using beef, pork, and chicken from the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.
Subway
Sub shops are an easy pick for a chain that reuses the same ingredients (especially when they dump a bunch of sandwich ingredients into a bowl and call it a salad), but Subway goes above and beyond, wielding turkey like a Swiss army knife. You won’t be surprised to learn that Subway’s turkey sub is made of turkey, but did you know that the Cold Cut Combo is also made of turkey? We’re talking about the ham and the bologna, too. Both turkey-based.
Domino’s
Sure, they’ve got an assortment of toppings, but at the end of the day, this place is about various combinations of dough and cheese, all sourced from Domino’s own supply chains speckled around the U.S. Cheesy bread? Basically a folded over pizza. Bread bites? Please, that’s just pizza crust. Salads? That’s just pizza toppings in a bowl with some lettuce. Sandwiches? Pizza toppings on bread.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC is probably doing the least amount of wool-pulling when it comes to reusing ingredients. The Famous Bowl was essentially invented to reuse the same ingredients in a new way. Some people don’t like bone-in chicken with their mashed potatoes and corn? The Colonel figured that one out easily: Just stick some nuggets on a bigger bowl of mashed taters and corn, and then throw some shredded cheese on there for good measure, and presto, you’ve got a brand new item. (To be honest, I don’t get it with the cheese.)
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Panda Express
For the most part, when you walk into a Panda Express, you’re looking at chicken, steak, onions, and zucchini. Sure, shrimp shows up every now and then, and you might see a green bean or a mushroom or two, but the basis of your meal is going to be chicken, veggies, rice or noodles, all dressed in sauces that are minimally different from one another.
McDonald’s
All you’ve really got at McDonald’s is the choice between a burger patty or some fried chicken. This isn’t Jack in the Box, where you can toss some jalapeño poppers or two tacos or a pita sandwich into the bag. McDonald’s is guiding you down some specific lanes, and chances are high you’re ending up with some beef or a piece of chicken between two buns.
More Fast-Food Stories From Cheapism
- The Single Best Menu Item at 11 Major Fast-Food Chains — How do you know you’re getting the best of the best? We’ll help you narrow it down.
- Here’s What Popular Fast-Food Menu Items Originally Cost — Five-cent sliders, ten-cent fries, burgers for less than a bus fare — that’s what fast-food used to cost. The food hasn’t changed all that much, but the price tags have.
- The 9 Biggest Fast-Food Chain Ripoffs — Some fast-food chains always seem worse than others when it comes to overpriced, terrible food, so it pays to know which ones to steer clear of when money’s tight.
