I Tried Soft Serve From 6 Major Fast-Food Chains and This Is Simply the Best

The fast-food burger-and-fries debate will rage on forever. By this point, most people are extremely brand-loyal in the fast-food world when it comes to the entree. But one thing you don’t hear too much debate about? Soft serve.

Many fast-food spots have engineered their own whippy, swirly ice cream treats. Some have it as a dessert secret for only those in the know , while others built the entire business around it. Whose soft serve is the best? I hit every chain restaurant with soft serve in my area and found out.

Sonic flounders in many ways. The burgers aren’t great. The same goes for the chicken. But you know what they say about broken clocks, and when it comes to drinks and desserts, Sonic is in a league of its own.

This bad boy is creamy and full of rich vanilla flavor. Structurally, it’s unbeatable, yielding a perfect, soft pull when you dip your spoon in. No cones here, but that’s a blessing because there’s nothing worse than frantically licking around the bottom of a melting ice cream cone on a hot day. And it only gets better when you add toppings.

I was unaware Burger King had soft serve. This was news to me. The first two locations I visited told me they didn’t have an ice cream machine, but folks, my story is one of perseverance. The third time was the charm, and I got my hands on it.

Maybe it’s the thrill of the chase. Maybe it’s the power of a cold treat on a hot day. Whatever it is, Burger King’s soft serve is very, very good. It really tastes like ice cream, and it has incredible texture. The King surprises more and more every day.

Wendy’s brought chocolate to a vanilla fight, but somehow, that’s not enough to nail a first-place slot. That’s not so much a knock on Wendy’s as it is props to Sonic and BK. There’s actually vanilla in the chocolate Frosty recipe, and because it’s still soft serve, I count it. I love a Frosty dearly, but at the end of the day, it’s a big, thick drink. It's no match for the power of a refreshing vanilla cone.

What a head-scratcher. There’s something different about the vanilla in Chick-fil-A’s “Icedream.” It’s more like cream than vanilla; in fact, this tastes almost like a creamsicle, haunted by the ghost of orange flavor that isn’t even there. Very bizarre.

Purists will say this has far too much flavor for a vanilla cone. I say I like it. Especially with fried chicken.

There are two “types” of soft serve at play here, really. Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A went rogue with their wacky inventions, but Sonic and Burger King have a very similar product. Dairy Queen and McDonald’s have a similar product too, but for me, it’s inferior. The flavor profile on these cones is more like whipped cream than ice cream. It’s that nostalgic, roadside classic that so many people love, but it’s just too airy for me. 

Technically, this isn’t even ice cream, because according to the Dairy Queen site, you need to have at least 10% butterfat to hit that category. DQ’s only hitting 5%. (Sonic’s at 10%, by the way.)

Taste-wise, we’re looking at something nearly identical to Dairy Queen. Unfortunately, Mickey D’s soft serve begins to melt the minute it’s born (and that's assuming the machine is working when you go). This has been a problem for as far back as I can remember. Dairy Queen’s soft serve is actually quite rigid, and in a pinch I’d pick it over the melt-pile McDonald’s is pouring all over my hands.

For more taste tests, sign up for our free newsletters.