Late-Night Cravings: The Jack in the Box Munchie Meal Menu, Ranked

There is arguably no chain that spends more time marketing its food to late-night stoney-baloneys than Jack in the Box. The infamous Munchie Meal Box first launched in 2013, and now, 10 years later, it’s been slightly revamped. While at first there was a selection of nonsensical items combined into different boxes, you now have the ability to build your own Munchie Meal for $10.

But with nine individual components and only three spots to fill, what’s the best way to build yours out? Here’s everything you need to know.

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In the days before the chicken sandwich wars, the chicken sandwich from every fast food restaurant was a flat little disc with breading, much like the McChicken still is. It was the best in the biz at that time; crunchy, spicy, and reminiscent of proper fried chicken. It’s still a weird little frisbee of a chicken patty, but it remains my favorite thing on the Jack in the Box menu. You just can’t go wrong here.

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The first time I ever really thought about a fast food value menu, I was thinking about Jack’s taco deal. Two tacos for 99 cents is every middle school kid’s dream, and you could often catch me as a kid with a pair of those bad boys in my hands. We all know they’re wonderful, especially so with Jack’s taco sauce, and the fact that you can get two tacos and only take up one spot in your Munchie box is huge. Pair these with the Halfsie Fries and bing-bang-boom, you’ve got four different sides for the price of two. There’s no conceivable reason you should skip these.

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This is a must for me, but look, if you need to go for all Curly Fries, I get it. It’s what Jack does best. I find that they can occasionally get a little too salty, especially with all the other goofy stuff you've got going on in your box, so this a nice way to even it out a bit.

They’re why we’re all here, you know? These things are Jack’s masterpiece. So crunchy, so golden, so well-seasoned. And what an elegant vessel for dipping, the curly fry! It’s like breaking off the tip of that hill that Jack Skellington walks on (is he the Jack behind all of this?) and taking it for a swim into some barbecue sauce. Divine stuff.

It’s a classic, right? Mayo, ketchup, mustard, and cheese meet on Jack’s signature buttery buns, and this is kind of what fast food’s all about. And, if you’re worried about all the other shenanigans that Jack used to get up to, this is one of the most toned-down choices you can make.

This is basically the Ultimate Cheeseburger, but with more of the classic fixins: lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. Jack in the Box generally has better produce than places like Wendy’s, so this isn’t necessarily a death blow. Sure, tomatoes are a highly controversial fruit, but there’s no denying that a burger tastes better with the sharp stinging crunch of an onion.

It’s 2023 now, and Jack can’t sit idly by while every other fast food restaurant competes for chicken sandwiches. Enter his Cluck Sandwich, which features a thicker, somewhat juicier version of the Spicy Chicken, topped with pickles and “Good Good Sauce” which, believe it or not, I did not create the name for. It’s a spicy aioli not unlike the one they serve at every other chain. The Cluck is just fine, but you only get one choice for your sandwich. I think you want the Spicy Chicken.

I assure you, there’s nothing wrong with the Jack in the Box onion rings. They’re fried onions, and in my book, that’s a win no matter where they come from. The only thing keeping them down here is that everything else is just a better choice. You can’t leave that drive-thru window without tacos or curly fries. You just can’t do it.

Jack’s fries aren’t bad. In my day, they had little bits of skin on them, which was the business. You could get regular fries if you wanted, but … why would you do that?