Every Wendy's Salad, Ranked From Worst To Best

Wendy's has no shortage of menu options, so whether you're in the mood for a Wendy's burger, chicken sandwich, or baked potato, the popular fast food chain has you adequately covered. For those who aren't in the mood for burgers or perhaps want something that isn't fried, Wendy's also has an assortment of salads to make lunchtime a slightly lighter affair. 

Those who have been in the fast food game for a long time may remember that Wendy's once had an entire salad bar, but nowadays, the chain simply offers four core salad options, with the occasional seasonal salad cropping up from time to time. The main Wendy's salad options include a Parmesan Caesar salad, a grilled chicken Cobb salad, an apple pecan salad, and perhaps the most popular of them all, a taco salad. I purchased and taste-tested all four of these salads, all in search of an answer to one very important question: Which Wendy's salad is the best? 

To pinpoint the best one, I've ranked these Wendy's salads worst to best, considering certain factors to guide the way. These factors included how fresh and/or crisp the salad tasted, what sorts of toppings it came with (and how well those toppings worked with the rest of the salad), how good the dressing tasted, and overall, which salads felt the most cohesive, balanced, and full of dynamic flavors and textures.

It's hard to beat a good restaurant-made Caesar salad, especially one that has ultra-crisp romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons, plenty of fresh Parmesan cheese, and of course, a creamy Caesar dressing. Despite the fact that Wendy's Parmesan Caesar salad is coming in last place, I don't think that this was a bad salad. It featured all of the expected hallmarks that any good Caesar salad would have, but once all was said and done, I found myself (or rather, my taste buds) feeling a little underwhelmed.

The biggest issue with this salad is that the dressing just couldn't live up to the sheer deliciousness and freshness that a homemade Caesar dressing offers. This isn't Wendy's fault, as there's really no way that a fast food chain could feasibly offer anything that didn't come in a packet. But alas, the salad suffered from a lackluster Caesar dressing, and all of the other elements were a bit one-note in flavor. The combination of grilled chicken, shaved Parmesan (along with an Italian cheese blend with Asiago and Romano), croutons, and Caesar dressing became overwhelmingly savory, to the point where I found myself wishing for some other flavor element to break things up, be it tomatoes, a different type of cheese, or perhaps just a better Caesar dressing. 

Ultimately, with only four salads in the race, one of them had to take the last place slot. However, I didn't think that this was an awful salad by any means, which just goes to show that Wendy's has some pretty solid salads on its menu.

Much like a Caesar salad, a Cobb salad is an absolute classic. And for what it's worth, Wendy's take on a Cobb salad is one that mostly hits all the right notes. There's a romaine lettuce base along with an impressive assortment of toppings, including crumbled bacon, chopped tomatoes, grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, chopped hard-boiled egg, crispy fried onions, and ranch dressing to top it all off. There's no denying that this is one loaded salad, but also like with the Caesar, I was ultimately left a bit underwhelmed by the Cobb.

I don't have any specifically negative things to say about this salad, but as a whole (and despite the plethora of toppings), I found it to simply be a bit bland overall. The assortment of fresh toppings definitely made this one more interesting than the Caesar, but somehow a bite full of lettuce, cheese, tomato, chicken, and egg just wasn't that exciting. I do think that the crispy fried onions pulled quite a bit of weight here in adding both textural contrast and a nice salty, oniony flavor profile to the mix, but crispy onions can only elevate a salad so much. Also, the ranch dressing was a bit of a letdown, tasting generally creamy but lacking that tangy, herby flavor that homemade ranch has. 

Again, I didn't hate this salad, but it also didn't leave much of an impression. And there are a couple of better options in Wendy's lineup.

Though I can imagine that not everyone will agree with me on this, I absolutely love when a salad has fruit in it. Wendy's apple pecan salad takes the fruit-infused approach, with a romaine and spring mix base, apple chunks, dried cranberries, grilled chicken, roasted pecans, blue cheese crumbles, and a pomegranate vinaigrette as the dressing. This salad really stands out against Wendy's other offerings, as it has sweet, fruity elements that differ considerably from the other three salads that are strictly savory — a feature that worked very well to its advantage.

Something that I really appreciated about this salad was the contrast in flavors and textures. The romaine and chicken sort of take a neutral back seat to the crisp apple chunks, pecans, and dried cranberries, allowing those elements to shine. And just when you think that this salad might be a touch too sweet, the blue cheese crumbles come into play, adding a much-needed savoriness and funkiness that pairs wonderfully with the other salad elements. 

The only reason this one is a runner-up is because I could see it maybe being a little too sweet for certain tastes, especially once you mix in that pomegranate vinaigrette dressing. But for those fruit-in-salad lovers out there like myself, Wendy's apple pecan salad is a winner.

To say that I was nervous pouring a hot cup of chili over a bed of crisp romaine lettuce is a bit of an understatement, but I have to hand it to Wendy's — its taco salad, against all odds, is an absolute winner. The salad takes on a somewhat simpler approach than others on this list, featuring a romaine base with chopped tomatoes, corn, and cheddar cheese. Then the chili really transforms it into a taco salad, with extra toppings like crushed Dorito-like chips and a creamy salsa dressing honing this into something undeniably delicious.

While I was concerned that the hot chili would essentially eliminate any fresh crispness that this salad had to offer, that wasn't the case. The romaine base stood its ground against the chili, though the cheese did get a bit melty (in the best way possible). The winning nature of this top pick ultimately came down to how well all of the taco salad's elements worked together, especially the hearty, meaty, and bean-y chili, the tortilla chips, and the creamy salsa dressing. There were just enough heavy, rich elements to contrast against lighter ones, and the chips added just enough crunchy texture to make this salad interesting to eat. 

I have no notes and no complaints against Wendy's taco salad. And it's one that I'd absolutely order time and time again.

When ranking these four Wendy's salads, I first simply considered which ones I found to taste the best. Fortunately, all of the salads were pretty solid flavor-wise, so I had to move on to more specific criteria, like which ones had flavors that particularly stood out or which ones had the best balance of flavor. I found the salads that had a certain element that contrasted well against the other elements of the salad to be the most successful. For example, the apple pecan salad had a lot of sweet elements, but the funky blue cheese crumbles were just enough to break through that sweetness and make for a balanced salad. The taco salad had a lot of softer ingredients, but the crispy tortilla chips helped add just the right textural contrast to make the salad a little more complex.

One factor that made the grilled chicken Cobb and Parmesan Caesar salads weaker links was the fact that they were both a bit one-note in flavor. While the salads tasted good, they didn't have any elements that really made them pop or stand out amongst the rest, making them the weaker two options in Wendy's small salad lineup.