Fast food in America is synonymous with many things.
But which fast-food chain makes the best-tasting vanilla shake in town?
I recently sampled this plain and simple option from nine popular chains to find out.
Photo: Shutterstock. Design: Eat This, Not That!
Here’s how each stacked up, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the tastiest shake.
It cost me $5.59 and it tasted so bad that I almost asked for my money back.
Whipped cream and a cherry on top come standard.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
The taste:Absolutely shockingly bad.
The first sip was all chemicals and no real cream or vanilla flavor.
The aftertaste was a nutty flavor, like a walnut, that then went very bitter toward the end.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
Spoiler alert: it’s not a dream.
So I already knew what I was getting into with this shake.
It cost $5.75 and was also among my least favorites.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
That, plus whipped cream and a cherry on top, made this shake a very aesthetically pleasing shake.
Sadly, the taste didn’t match up to the look.
The taste:Strangely buttery and overly chemical-flavored, not unlike the Chick-fil-A ice cream cone.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
The color is your standard marshmallow white, not a pale yellow.
The taste:Overly sweet.
There weren’t, but the artificial sugariness dominated.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
There was none of that salty or fatty buttercream taste, just the sweetness of an imitation vanilla.
It was also a thinner consistency than others, making it very drinkable, if not exactly enjoyable.
10 Fast-Food Restaurants That Serve the Best Milkshakes
Carl’s Jr.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
The price was in the middle of the pack, too, at $5.17.
It had a hint of chemical flavor but not in an unpleasant way.
The shake does turn very syrupy very fast, and it doesn’t maintain its thickness for very long.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
It was very, very sweet, but not a bad experience overall.
Also, you’ve got the option to walk up to the window to order.
You don’t have to drive a car.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
A small vanilla shake cost me $4.06.
You just can’t really see any of the ice cream before you drink it.
It’s a really nice textured shake, not too thick but not too thin or runny.
Photo: Caitlin White/Eat This, Not That!
There was no strong vanilla taste, but no strange chemical aftertaste, either.
Overall, it’s a very middling option.
But it was just good, not great.
The flavor, at least, just didn’t hold up very well.
The taste:This one tastes the most like actual soft serve.
It’s also very milky, and you get that nice buttercream taste as it melts.
Actually, this shake gets a lot easier to drink over time.
When it’s handed to you, it’s almost impossible to drink because of how thick it is.
This shake cost $3.71.
This gives it more of a Starbucks-style Frappuccino look than a milkshake, but it’s contemporary and clean.
The taste:The shake was thick with a genuine vanilla flavor and no after taste.
Its thickness was consistent, yet it was still drinkable through a straw.
This felt like a classic fast-food shake to me.
It was nostalgic and creamy with a slight hint of butterfat.
It might not be the best ever, but it’s incredibly consistent.
It was still a shake with great flavor, but not as good as the cone.
Maybe adding the milk and syrup took away from the already excellent ice cream.
This shake was $6.45the most expensive in the entire survey andalmost the best.Almost.
(I’m looking at you, Rally’s!)
There were nice flakes of ice suspended throughout the shake, so you get a good amount of texture.
Still, there was one shake that I liked even better.
The difference in taste was obvious right away.
At $6.29, it’s on the expensive side, but worth the price.
Inside, the shake struck a marshmallow-white color.
It had a clearly thick texture, not too thin or melted.
