23 Most Bad-For-You Fast Food Menu Items, According To Employees

Fast food — it’s so good, yet so, so bad. We’re more than aware that our favorite fast food delicacies aren’t too kind to our insides. But are they really that detrimental? According to these fast food employees, the goodies we consume on the fly are actually grosser than we ever thought.

Although fast food chains like McDonald’s are making strides toward creating healthier menu options with their promises to obtain better meat and include vegetarian options on their menus, we’re still aware that most fast food restaurants aren’t exactly known for their healthy and nutritious ingredients. But we’re mostly cool with not knowing the details.

Ignorance is bliss, right?

But thanks to forum sites like Reddit, fast food employees have been able to spill the beans about what really goes on behind the counter at our favorite fast food joints, and unfortunately, we’ve learned some pretty gruesome details about where our food comes from, what it goes through before ending up on our tray, and what ~other specimens~ might be tagging along for the ride.

We’re warning you now: your favorite fast food menu items may not be so appetizing after you get through this list.

Sorry about it.

1. Dunkin’ Donuts Coolattas

“Never get the coolattas,” a former Dunkin’ employee told Reddit in 2018. “The machines at the one I worked were hardly cleaned.” We’ve heard horror stories about frozen beverage and ice machines. Mold, critters, and ~other things~ can hang out in there, and that’s just not cool.

And with a large Vanilla Bean Coolatta costing us about 840 calories, we think we’ll just stick with a hot coffee.

2. Fountain Soda

This former Jimmy John’s employee would find “grit” in their fairly clean ice machines. Like we said, we don’t even want to know what the ice machines at our local fast food spots look like.

3. Pizza Hut North Carolina Pizza

One Reddit user said that the North Carolina Pizza special at Pizza Hut in 2018 was popular among customers. However, “that pulled pork smells like cat food and that drizzle is the most confusing taste ever (imagine cane sugar, honey, mustard, cayenne pepper, turmeric and else, 30g of sugar/100g) and BBQ base…” Um — no thank you.

BTW, a Small Express Hand-Tossed Primo Meats Pizza reportedly contains 1,370 calories.

Knowing we can scarf down one of those bad boys all by ourselves, we’re slightly horrified.

4. Jimmy John’s Gourmet Veggie Club Sandwich

“If you’re trying to order a healthy option, don’t order the Gourmet Veggie Club,” a former Jimmy John’s employee divulged in a Reddit thread, shared by Men’s Health in 2017.

“It’s the second-most caloric sandwich behind something called the ‘Gargantuan’. Eight slices of provolone cheese will do that.” They pull you in with “veggie” and then bloat you up with “eight slices of provolone cheese.”

According to FatSecret.com, a single Gourmet Veggie Club contains 769 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 70 grams of carbs.

5. McDonald’s Australia Grilled Chicken

This McDonald’s Australia employee didn’t give any details about why the grilled chicken is so bad.

But hey, we’re not going to question it.

Another Canadian McDonald’s employee added that the grilled chicken usually sits around for a while, so make sure to specify you want it fresh.

6. Subway’s Tuna

“Subway [sic] tuna is literal poison in a container,” a former Subway employee told Reddit in 2018. “It is always several days older [than] expiration. I used to walk on shift and throw it out by look alone.”

Sadly, several other Redditor Subway employees feel the same.

7. Dairy Queen Chili

“You could be eating chili from the day the store opened as far as I know,” this Reddit user said. That’s so horrendous and definitely not worth the 710 calories per bowl.

8. McDonald’s Breakfast After Noon

As if those egg patties — although delicious — couldn’t get much rubberier. Yuck.

9. Burger King Chocolate Oreo Shake

The Burger King Chocolate Oreo Shake is the heartiest on the menu. Each shake contains a whopping 740 calories, 101 grams of sugar, and 70 milligrams of cholesterol. We love our Oreo Shake more than the next person, but we will definitely be reserving it for special occasions — like when the ice cream machine is up and running (and clean).

10. Chipotle Tacos

“I used to work at Chipotle, and never ever, ever order the tacos,” a former employee added to the 2017 Reddit thread.

“You get less than half the regular portions. Instead, order a bowl with whatever you want in it. Then ask for the taco shells, hard or soft, on the side. When I was there, the shells were free to get on the side.”

Thanks for looking out for our portion sizes, dude. We appreciate it.

11. KFC Chicken Pot Pies

We guess you can’t expect peak freshness from fast food restaurants. But three-month-old frozen chicken in KFC pot pies? Ick… And to make matters worse, a single chicken pot pie from KFC reportedly contains 790 calories, 45 grams of fat, and 66 grams of carbs.

12. Arby’s Beef ‘N’ Cheddar

The fact that this former Arby’s employee calls the stuff “cheese goop,” and says cleaning the goop pump prepared them for working with lab specimens makes us want to vom.

Thank you, next.

13. Chick-fil-A Grilled Foods (If You’re Gluten-Free)

“Don’t order grilled foods if you’re gluten-free,” a Chick-Fil-A employee wrote on Reddit.

“While technically gluten-free, a lot of cross contamination can occur. Be specific to be safe.”

14. Burger King Chicken Fries

This Reddit user explains how the BK Chicken Fries are “double fried,” which is why they sometimes taste so dried out. The worst part is, the chain pretends to sell them “fresh.” We see you, Burger King. We see you.

15. Wendy’s Fries

“My brother’s girlfriend used to work at Wendy’s and a saying there (about the fries) was: ‘They aren’t old until they’re sold,'” a Redditor added to the 2017 thread.

That’s absurdly gross.

We’ll wait the extra few minutes for some fresh fries, thank you very much. If we’re going to be taking in 420 calories with a medium fry, we want those calories to be hot and crispy.

16. McDonald’s Southwest Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Salad

You think you’re doing yourself a favor by ordered a salad at a fast food joint. However, you’re not really avoiding the calories. A Southwest Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Salad from McDonald’s contains 520 calories. We guess this Redditor is right:

Sad. Real sad.

17. Panda Express Mandarin Chicken

Yum…Microwaved chicken from a bag…We guess that’s why it’s called Panda Express.

18. Dunkin’s Donuts

Several former Dunkin’ employees told Reddit in 2018 that Dunkin’ doesn’t make their donuts in house. Rather, the donuts are shipped frozen and pre-filled with icing. They simply thaw, and are sometimes decorated, at the restaurant.

It probably depends on the location, though.

19. Panera Lemonade

Editor’s note: I used to work at Panera Bread in high school, and actually had to mix the lemonade and passion papaya green tea using concentrate and water from the sink. Super sugary, and really not that fresh.

20. Little Caesar’s Breadsticks

Honestly, we can handle day-old butter.

But we cannot handle floor breadsticks. Of course, this doesn’t happen in every Little Caesar’s, right? Right?! With each stick containing 100 calories (and then some from whatever floor stuff is stuck on them), we suppose we can do without.

21. Checkers Chili

We don’t know what’s worse: the fact that the chili is made with days old meat or how it’s never really thrown out. We won’t risk “rolling the food poisoning dice.”

22. Popeyes Bonafide Chicken Combo

The Bonafide Chicken Combo served with corn on the cob and a biscuit reportedly racks up 1,434 calories. Add a slice of pecan pie for dessert, and you’ve got yourself a 1,900-calorie meal. Hoo boy!

23. Dairy Queen Oreo CheeseQuake Blizzard

If mixed correctly, with all the proper ingredients, a large Dairy Queen Oreo CheeseQuake Blizzard will set you back 1140 calories — 39% of which are from fat. For some, that’s about a day’s worth (or at least half a day’s worth) of calories.

Oof. We don’t know about you, but we have to go take a shower and eat a salad stat.