13 Fast Food Chains That Do And Do Not Use Real Cheese

What completes the perfect platter of spaghetti, pairs flawlessly with crackers, and provides the finishing touch to a big, juicy burger? Cheese, of course. Everyone's favorite dairy product has been re-imagined countless times, with savory sharp cheddars, creamy Bries, shredded mozzarellas, and crumbly blues tying together salads, mac and cheese bowls, and sandwiches all over the world.

But these aren't the only types of cheeses that have been brought into existence over the years; artificial versions have found their way into the market, too. Pasteurized processed cheese products (such as American cheese, Velveeta, or Cheez Whiz sauce, to name a few) are cheese-like foods that contain small amounts of real cheese, yet are mostly composed of additional dairy ingredients, preservatives, salt, food dyes, and other fillers. If a processed cheese-like product is made up of less than 51% real cheese, it's not actually considered cheese per the FDA – but seeing as these products are often ultra-meltable and tend to keep longer than real cheese, they have become an irresistible ingredient for use in many fast food restaurants. While many of our favorite franchises continue to use slices, chunks, shreds, and squares of the real thing, there are those opting for cheesy fakes ... and you might be surprised to find out which they are. Here are 13 fast food chains that do and do not use real cheese.

Panera Bread's delicious and extensive menu is celebrated for its freshness, with the company professing its dedication to selective food sourcing and steering clear of problematic artificial ingredients. And in the case of the cheeses found between the pillowy bread slices of Panera's cold and hot sandwiches, we're happy to report that they also follow the company's clean promise.

From its limited-time Steak and Wake sandwich melted-over with aged white cheddar to its delightful Toasted Garden Caprese smothered in drippy mozzarella and more, Panera uses real slices of cheese on the majority of its celebrated sandwich offerings. Even its mac and cheese (a product which, we all know, is infamous for its use of powdered and artificial cheeses) contains real cheddar, according to the company's online menu. There are, of course, a few exceptions to be found, such as the processed cheese product (American cheese) composing the company's take on a grilled cheese or the artificial cheese sauce used in its Broccoli Cheddar Soup bowl. But hey, a few fakes in a sea of real is a pretty cheese-forward ratio, we'd say.

Starbucks is the biggest coffee shop chain in the world, and it isn't too hard to see why. The company's celebrated array of coffees, teas, and other beverages is as delicious as it is varied ... but let's not forget about the food. From bakery favorites like scones and muffins to hot breakfast sandwiches featuring — you guessed it — melted cheese galore, there are plenty of options with which to pair your Summer Berry Refresher. And if you're wondering whether that warmed cheddar slice found atop your Sausage, Cheddar & Egg sandwich is real, we're here to report that you can rest — or should we say, dine — easily.

There's no processed cheese to be found on the menu of Starbucks. All of the mozzarella, Monterey Jack, cheddar, or Gouda found within the folds of its sandwiches, or placed within its to-go protein boxes, is real. This, interestingly, is also true of the chain's Impossible Breakfast Sandwich, which features a slice of sharp yellow cheddar that instantly renders this plant-based entrée non-vegan-friendly. While this last could potentially be seen as a negative for those avoiding animal byproducts, we still have to hand it to Starbucks for the quality of its dairy lineup.

Okay, we know this one seems a bit unbelievable at first. But if you must throw some shade in the direction of the well-known Southwestern chain, it turns out, you can't throw it based on the accusation of fake cheese. Per the Taco Bell website (which, in an act of commendable transparency, lists all the ingredients used in its extensive menu), the cheese sprinkled in your quesadillas and tacos is legitimate. More specifically, the chain opts for a shredded cheddar or three-cheese blend: no powdered cheeses to be found in your limited-time, classic Meximelt.

The only product on the Taco Bell menu labeled as "cheese" which appears to be undeserving of the title is the Nacho Cheese Sauce, which consists mainly of cheese whey, preservatives, and a mixture of vegetable and canola oil rather than actual melted cheese. Overall, though, if you're a queso snob seeking a fast food meal that will include a sprinkling of the real deal, Taco Bell is actually a pretty safe bet — as long as you avoid the Nacho Cheese Sauce-covered Loaded Beef Nachos and Nacho Fries, of course.

In 2017, popular Southwestern chain Chipotle announced to the world that it was the first of its kind: a large scale restaurant chain featuring an exclusive array of ingredients free from artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Of course, this stance against controversial, processed fillers applied to its cheeses, as well, so it shouldn't come as too big of a shock to learn that the shreds used to fill your burritos, top your rice bowls, or spread throughout the middle of your quesadillas is 100% real. Savory Monterey Jack is the company's professed cheese-of-choice — a mild cow's milk cheese celebrated for its superior melting ability. The perfect choice for a melty quesadilla, right?

But perhaps the most surprising and exciting aspect of Chipotle's real-cheese usage comes from its nacho cheese product. Unlike most fast food liquid cheese dips, which utilize processed oils and artificial flavors in place of real melted cheese, Chipotle's Queso Blanco is made using the same melted-down Monterey Jack that it uses to construct the rest of its entrées and sides, along with the addition of real white cheddar. If you've been holding off on dipping your chips into a cup of warm gooey goodness on the basis of artificial ingredients, there's no need to deny yourself when dining at Chipotle. Dip away, friend.

Many restaurants, fast food chains included, have taken strides to offer higher-quality ingredients to their consumers — and burger chain Wendy's, home of the delicious and iconic Frosty, is one of them. The chain has always stood out for its exclusive use of never-frozen beef, and in 2017, Wendy's partnered with Wisconsin state's BelGioioso cheese company to become the first national chain to offer fresh mozzarella on its menu nationwide. Following this trend, Wendy's has maintained its offering of real cheeses on a number of its products, such as the shredded cheddar sprinkled on its Avocado Chicken Salad or the melted Monterey Jack found atop its Curry Bean Veggie Burger,.

Still, although Wendy's does have some legitimate slices to be found on its menu, the use of fresh cheese at the franchise is hardly exclusive. Quite a few of the company's breakfast sandwiches, such as the Classic Egg & Cheese, as well as its beef burgers, like the Baconator, do contain processed American cheese. The FDA classifies American cheese as a "cheese product," rather than a technical real cheese, as it falls short of the 51% cheese composition required for the title. However, an alleged Wendy's manager on Reddit claims that it is possible at some locations to have the cheese on a sandwich or burger swapped for another upon request — so if processed cheese isn't your thing, there's hope for your Wendy's order yet. 

Ahh, Chick-fil-A, every poultry-lover's fast food paradise. While the franchise's original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich comes only with pickles and a fried chicken patty, branch-offs which do include cheese have been added to the menu over the years. In addition, the chain's take on a macaroni side dish requires hefty amounts of cheesy goodness. But at a chicken-focused restaurant, you may be wondering if all of this cheese is simply an artificially-induced afterthought?

On the contrary, there are no artificial cheeses to be found on the mouth-watering Chick-fil-A. Melted atop the various specialty sandwiches offered by the chain, you'll find real slices of Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, spreadable pimiento cheese, and others. And when it comes to the cheese within the celebrated Chick-fil-A mac and cheese side? Instead of relying on powdered cheese to construct that delicious bubbly, briny flavor, alleged employees have divulged on online platforms that a real blend of cheeses is sprinkled atop the noodles before the batches are subsequently baked — creating that slightly-burned, crunchy top all baked macaroni lovers know and covet. Are you craving something cheesy all of a sudden? We'll meet you at Chick-fil-A.

The Jack In The Box burger chain is one that appears to harbor a bit of a black and white reputation among consumers — simply put, eaters seem to either love or hate the restaurant with the smiling jack mascot. But if you're one of those consumers who simply can't stand Jack In The Box, you might just end up knocking it up a few points on your mental fast food pegboard when you hear this next fact about its menu.

As it turns out, much of Jack In The Box's cheese is legitimate, as per information put out on the company's official online ingredients list. There are real cheddar and Swiss slices, along with real shredded cheddar bits, to be found in many of its entrées. However, there are some artificial cheeses listed, as well, like the eyebrow-raising pasteurized "Swiss-style" cheese, pasteurized American cheese, and a cheddar cheese sauce (this last one, at least, contains a bit of melted cheddar alongside its processed counterparts). It's difficult to determine exactly where, and on which menu items, the real cheeses versus the artificial ones can be found, as Jack In The Box's website doesn't specify in regard to individual entrées. Either way, despite Jack In The Box's seemingly black-and-white reputation, its cheese lineup appears to fall somewhere in the gray. 

"No McDonalds burgers have cheese. The 'cheese' they use is literally plastic," reads a comment posted to the TikTok page of a former McDonald's corporate chef, Mike Haracz. In his response video, Chef Mike subsequently debunked the theory that many McDonald's skeptics love to spread across the internet: McDonald's cheese slices are not, in fact, composed of plastic.

But while they may not be plastic, it can't exactly be said that they are real cheese, either. The cheese slices used atop U.S. McDonald's burgers are processed pasteurized American cheese, made with milk, cream, water, sodium citrate, salt, cheese cultures, citric acid, enzymes, soy lecithin, and added color, as outlined on the company's website. Since the FDA requires that a cheese must be composed of at least 51% cheese to be considered "real," American cheese — such as that found atop your Quarter Pounder — is out. Interestingly, however, things appear different at McDonald's locations in other countries when it comes to their burger cheese. On the McDonald's U.K. website, for example, the burger slices are described as being 60% real cheddar and other cheeses — something that would fit with the FDA's requirements. This makes us wonder as to how heavily cultural consumer taste and different countries' laws surrounding the use of processed cheeses plays into how slices are selected for use at fast food chains around the world.

Bojangles is generally known for its biscuits, fried chicken, and sausage patties, rather than for its cheese. However, the chain concentrated in the Southern United States does have a macaroni and cheese side dish up for grabs on its menu. As you'd expect, it consists of a bowl of noodles smothered in a creamy cheese sauce ... but what it does not consist of, from what we can gather, is any hint of real cheese.

There is a rather off-putting lack of transparency in regard to the Bojangles menu, with a full-scale list of ingredients not present on the company's website. In regard to the chain's macaroni and cheese, only two ingredients are listed in its description: noodles, and cheese sauce. Though it's impossible to determine exactly what this sauce consists of officially, an independent consumer-run Bojangles branch-off website assumes that it is likely a combination of a processed liquid cheese blend alongside whey, modified food starch, and sodium phosphate. One alleged former employee on Reddit seems to support this theory by describing the preparation involved for the Bojangles mac and cheese, which allegedly involves simply thawing the saucy dish from-frozen and serving; no fresh cheese included. 

If you're a big-time Burger King fan, we hope that this next slightly-disparaging fact regarding its menu doesn't dethrone your personal fast food monarch. Burger King, being primarily a burger-focused chain, obviously comes with numerous cheese burgers on its menu, along with an array of cheesy breakfast sandwiches. And while each meaty, savory, melty bite might satisfy your taste buds, unfortunately, it's not going to satisfy your desire for real cheese.

Because American cheese does not meet the cutoff for being considered "real" by the FDA, the nearly exclusively-offered American slices used on Burger King's burgers and sandwiches are not technically considered cheese — rather, "cheese product." However, there are a few menu items containing what appears to be real Swiss (the Single and Double Mushroom Swiss sandwiches) and mozzarella (on the newly-added Cheese Leleh Burger). Still, we can't be 100% sure as to how processed these slices may be given the absence of a full ingredients list on the Burger King website. We suppose that how this information might affect your orders going forward depends how highly you hold the King on a pedestal, and how offensive you personally find fake cheese to be, of course. 

Sonic Drive-In is a chain which often brings with it as much nostalgia as it does deliciousness, its retro feel transporting consumers to a time past with a menu full of milkshakes, burgers, and fries, and roller-skate-clad carhop servers, of course. Cheese plays a big role in the company's classic All-American-style fast food menu, with shreds and slices covering tater tots and the tops of Sonic burgers brought to the car windows of hungry customers nationwide.

But as pleasurable as enjoying a hefty Sonic order in your car may be, unfortunately, the cheese melted on top of every single one of its burgers is artificial, processed American cheese. While it does appear the side dishes and breakfast entrées requiring shredded cheese — such as the chain's Chili Cheese Tots, Chili Cheese Fries, and select breakfast burritos — are sprinkled with real cheddar, we're not sure it's enough to make you forget about the dairy crimes being committed across its array of main course offerings. 

Fast food chains can be either painfully vague or painlessly transparent in their openness regarding the ingredients used in their food — and in the case of Dairy Queen, the franchise chooses honesty. The company best known for its ice cream Blizzards very blatantly admits that things aren't exactly fresh when it comes to the cheese placed atop its beefy burger entrées, attaching a "fake" label in a level of openness rarely seen on fast food menus. 

Listed in the ingredients for Dairy Queen's various cheeseburgers, such as the Two Cheese Deluxe Stackburger or the Backyard Bacon Ranch, are cheeses like sharp American or melted white cheddar. However, following these elements is a double-asterisk, which is outlined at the bottom of the page as referring to an artificial processed cheese product. Still, we have to give some props to Dairy Queen for unashamedly providing its customers with all the facts, in this case. Will it be enough to convince you to add a burger to your next order? The choice is yours. 

Tim Hortons is a Canadian restaurant franchise specializing in coffee and breakfast favorites. Naturally, cheese plays a big role in the chain's various bagel, croissant, and English muffin sandwiches, with their bacon, sausage, and fluffy egg fillings held together masterfully by one perfect slice of golden, melty cheese.

However, it's worth noting that this particularly-tasty slice of yellow goodness is not something the FDA would likely consider real, as Tim Hortons lists it as being simply "processed cheese" on its online menu. The unnamed, mysterious Tim Hortons sandwich cheese product prompted its very own Reddit thread, in fact, in which a poster attempted to get to the bottom of the artificial slices used by the franchise so that they could buy them in-store and recreate the sandwiches at home. This, at least, stands testament to the fact that even if the company's cheese is fake, it will still taste delicious on a warm bagel paired with a steaming cup of Joe on a chilly Canadian morning. Will a false slice keep you from digging in? Only you can decide.