We Tried 13 Fast Food Burger Buns And This One Was The Best

Oftentimes, the hamburger bun tends to be an afterthought, seen as something that's there for the sole reason of keeping your fingers clean as you devour a greasy meat patty with sloppy toppings. The fact is, it does make up a significant portion of the sandwich, so with that in mind, one Mashed reviewer set out to rate 13 different fast food buns. To do so, they ordered each chain's basic burger and tasted the buns on their own then with the complete burger. Using their observations, they ranked the options from worst to first. The best-tasting bun of the bunch, in their opinion, is the one sold by In-N-Out.

In-N-Out may be notorious for having some of the worst fries in fast food, but its burgers seem to have scads of celebrity fans. Among them are Kim Kardashian, whose go-to order is a cheeseburger, cheese fries, and a shake, and Rob Lowe, who orders his In-N-Out burger without the bun as befits an Atkins endorser. So, what is Lowe missing out on, bun-wise?

According to our reviewer, the chain's buns are taller than those of its competitors, and the bread benefits from being toasted. This, they say, makes for a textural contrast between the spongy interior and crispy exterior that other chain burger buns simply don't have.

No matter how good the bun may be, there may be times when we want to lighten up our burger. As previously mentioned, Rob Lowe enjoys his In-N-Out in the form of a carb-light lettuce wrap, and you can do this, too, if you just ask for your burger "protein-style." Several other restaurants on our list, including Five Guys, Shake Shack, and Sonic, also give you the option to replace the bun with lettuce. At In-N-Out, however, there's a far tastier (although messier) alternative: two slices of cheese.

The "Flying Dutchman," although it doesn't appear on In-N-Out's regular menu, is nevertheless a fairly well-known secret menu item. The cheese on this sandwich isn't a true bun stand-in, however, since the preparation inverts the burger by placing the patties (two of them) on the outside while the cheese goes on the inside.

While some In-N-Out fans may advocate for using grilled onions to wrap the Flying Dutchman, ordering this item protein-style makes for a far neater presentation. The lettuce not only does a decent job of containing any condiments you add to the burger but also provides some crunch that somewhat makes up for the loss of a crispy toasted bun.