The Popular Burger King Menu Item You Won't Find At Any US Locations

As an international fast food chain, Burger King has locations well beyond the United States, and the menu differs in each country. One particular item that a lot of international locations serve to their customers is notably missing from the U.S. menu, despite having a long history in the States; we're talking about the salad.

The U.S. is by no means the only country without the Burger King salads. Canada, the UK, Ireland, and South Africa, for example, don't have them either. Among the countries that do serve BK salads, however, there is no one golden standard, and the offerings range from hearty main salads to smaller sides. Argentina, also the home to one of the world's most unique Burger King locations, offers two types of Caesar salads and a tuna salad. In Switzerland, you can choose between a large chicken or veggie salad (with crispy vegetarian nuggets) and a smaller side salad without any added protein. Puerto Rico serves a Caesar salad, cranberry salad, and a garden salad with veggie nuggets — all made with locally-grown Salanova lettuce. There's also the side salad with just lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and onion. On the flip side, some countries keep their salad lineup very minimal. In Spain, Germany, and even China, you'll only find one small, basic salad on the menu.

The first time Burger King introduced salads to its menu was in the mid-80s, about 30 years after the chain first opened its doors. At that point, Burger King was already established as a fast food chain, with its signature offering none other than the iconic Whopper. Implementing salads was therefore something of an experiment, as the restaurant tried to cater to the dietary culture of the '80s and not get overshadowed by its competitors that were already in the salad game. And so, the Burger King salad bar was born. Customers could pick among 23 ingredients to create a salad of choice, either on a plate or stuffed inside a pita bread. Unfortunately, the salad bar was short-lived, and it completely disappeared by the early '90s.

Then, the salads were quietly introduced again in 2002, but on a much smaller scale. The true revival didn't come until 2006, when Burger King announced the rollout of a brand-new Fire-Grilled salad line. There were two salad bases, Garden and Caesar, which could be paired with either fire-grilled chicken or shrimp, plus one of the five available salad dressings. The salads then persevered on the menu for a long time and even saw a few upgrades along the way — until they were given the axe in 2022. But while enjoying Burger King's salads isn't possible anymore without booking an international trip, there are still some epic secret menu items to indulge in.