{"id":780281,"date":"2019-12-18T02:34:53","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T08:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/origin-www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=780281"},"modified":"2022-03-31T13:59:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T18:59:02","slug":"why-wendys-fast-food-baked-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-wendys-fast-food-baked-potatoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why Wendy\u2019s Is the Only Fast Food Chain with Baked Potatoes"},"content":{"rendered":"When you go to a fast food burger chain, the one side dish you can absolutely count on are fries. But for all the chopped and fried taters\u00a0in the restaurant, one side is conspicuously missing from all but one: baked potatoes.\r\n\r\nWendy\u2019s baked potatoes might be even more famous than the chain\u2019s fries (unlike McDonald\u2019s, which adds\u00a0this secret ingredient to its fries<\/a>). Customers load tubers\u00a0up with chili, broccoli and cheese, sour cream and chives, and more. The \u201cside\u201d can get hefty enough to count as a meal of its own\u2014each potato is about 11.5 ounces before adding toppings, according to\u00a0Thrillist<\/a>. Wendy\u2019s sells a whopping 1 million baked potatoes every week, making it a pretty major revenue-builder for the company. So why haven\u2019t more chains gotten on board?\r\n\r\nFirst of all, let\u2019s go back to why Wendy\u2019s started selling spuds in the first place. In the \u201980s and \u201990s, low-fat diets were all the rage and there was a definite appeal to replacing oil-drenched fries with a fat-free potato. Low-carb diets rose and fell, but the modest baked potato\u00a0kept standing.\r\n\r\nWe now know why \u201cfat is bad\u201d is just one of many myths about fat you need to stop believing, but baked potatoes are still a virtuous choice when you\u2019re surrounded by fattier, saltier options. A regular baked potato has 270 calories, seven grams each of protein and fiber, and no fat to speak of. Ordering one with broccoli and cheese can add some green to your plate, too. Even loading a potato with cheese and bacon bits won\u2019t put the 480-calorie side far off from the 420 calories in a medium order of fries, which only have five grams of fiber and six grams of protein.\r\n\r\nAs health-conscious customers have made the push to fast food chains to serve more nutritious choices\u2014most have side salads and apple slices\u2014you\u2019d think a plain baked potato would be a simple no-brainer. But for chains emphasizing the \u201cfast\u201d in \u201cfast food,\u201d it\u2019s not that simple. Here are the healthiest Wendy's salads, ranked.<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever cooked baked potatoes at home, you know it takes a while,\u201d Lori Estrada, Wendy\u2019s Vice President of Culinary Innovation, tells Thrillist. \u201cAnd we cook them from a raw state, in an oven, wrapped in foil, baked for an hour, just like you would at home.\u201d\r\n\r\nNaturally, the cooking itself would take a lot of planning. But there\u2019s also the matter of equipment. Fast food restaurants don\u2019t typically have convection ovens, like the ones Wendy\u2019s uses for its famous potatoes. Adding one in every location would be a major expense, and most chains just aren\u2019t willing to make the move\u2014especially if Wendy\u2019s already has its grip on the fast-food potato market.\r\n\r\nA few chains have tried to make the jump. Carl Jr.\u00a0used to<\/a>\u00a0sell baked potatoes, and as did Burger King during its early-\u201990s attempt to create a classier environment with table-service\u00a0Dinner Baskets<\/a>. Canadian Arby\u2019s and select U.S. locations have them on the\u00a0menu<\/a>. Unless anyone else decides to make a push for potatoes, though, you\u2019ll have to head to Wendy\u2019s for your fast food non-fry fix.\r\n\r\nLooking for more fast food fun facts? Find out\u00a0why Coke tastes better at McDonald\u2019s than anywhere else<\/a>.\r\n\r\n[Source:\u00a0Thrillist<\/a>]<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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