Microwaves are a convenient appliance in your own kitchen. But when you’re spending money at a restaurant, even a fast-food chain, it’s nice to know that your food is freshly cooked and not heated in a microwave.
Believe it or not, there are some fast-food chains that never use a microwave — or even have them in their kitchens.
Here are some restaurants that are well-known for quality food and service, no microwaves in sight.
In-N-Out
In-N-Out, the West Coast’s favorite burger chain, is famous for serving high-quality food. The chain is so quality-focused that it will not open locations too far away from its own patty-making facilities in California and Texas. Part of that commitment to fresh food is eschewing microwaves (and freezers!). “In fact, we don’t even own a microwave,” explains the chain on its website.
Chipotle
Although Chipotle has had some difficult years, marked by snafus such as food-borne illness outbreaks and serving significantly smaller burritos than they used to, the chain still uses only fresh ingredients. Not only are there no microwaves in Chipotle restaurants, but there are also no freezers or can openers, either.
Qdoba
There’s an endless debate about which big burrito chain is best, but Qdoba follows in the footsteps of Chipotle on the issue of microwaves. There’s “no microwaves or can-openers in our kitchens,” according to Qdoba’s website. The one area where Qdoba and Chipotle differ? Guacamole and queso are always free on your burrito at Qdoba.
Raising Cane’s
The Raising Cane’s menu is super small: just chicken fingers, fries, and sides. So there’s not any need for a microwave, especially when the chain is committed to serving you freshly fried chicken. There’s not even any heat lamps in Cane’s kitchens according to the chain’s website, so you know your hot food is fresh when you get it.
Baja Fresh
While it’s not as well-known as the other burrito chains, Baja Fresh has “fresh” right in its name, so you’d hope that the food you get is high quality and not microwaved. Sure enough, the chain’s website states that they “don’t have can openers, microwaves or freezers in our restaurants.”
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Bojangles
This chain specializes in serving all-day biscuits and fried chicken, so you can get your Southern food fix whenever you want. None of that food will be heated in a microwave, though, since according to the chain ’s website, the “food is always flavorful and fresh, and we don’t use microwaves.”
Moe’s Southwest Grill
Yes, there’s another fast-food burrito chain on this list. Moe’s has no microwaves in its restaurants, a fact which it advertised in 2017 with a hilarious commercial where they dropped a microwave out of a helicopter. (Apparently, eight microwaves and two freezers — the chain doesn’t have those, either — were sacrificed for the ad.)
Five Guys
There aren’t a lot of burger restaurants on this list, but Five Guys makes the cut. A representative for the company confirmed via email that there are no microwaves in its kitchens. The same can’t be said for peanuts, overloaded bags of delicious fries, and toppings as far as the eye can see, though.
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Other Chains
There may be other chains that don’t use microwaves, as reported by other outlets or individuals on social media. We reached out to Chick-fil-A and Noodles & Company based on those reports and will update this article if necessary.
More Fast-Food Stories From Cheapism
- 10 Fast-Food Restaurants That Never Use Frozen Beef — While many fast-food restaurants rely on frozen ingredients, others strive to keep their products fresh.
- 6 Fast-Food Chains That Only Serve Freshly Cut Fries — Most run-of-the-mill fast food joints don’t go out of their way to impress — tossing frozen, prepackaged fries from freezer to fryer — but some don’t treat fries as just a sidekick.
- 7 Fast-Food Chains That Use Real, Whole Eggs — Wondering which chains actually crack real eggs, and which are serving up some egg-adjacent mixtures? We break it down.
