We tried loaded fries from major fast-food chains to see who does it best - and the winner is shocking

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

• Many fast-food chains have some form of loaded fries on the menu.
• We ranked loaded fries from the major chains that offer them.
• Amazingly, Taco Bell was found to have the best loaded fries, despite only just launching french fries in January.

Loaded fries are the very definition of decadence.

Strips of fried potato topped with copious unhealthy, yet delicious, additions like cheese, bacon, chili, beef, or gravy - the breadth of options is limited only by the scope of the imagination.

But as with any fast-food item, there's a fine line to walk between decadence and disgusting. Too much cheese, and they can become a soggy morass; too many toppings, and a gilded lily can become a gilded mess.

Most fast-food chains have offered some form of loaded fries over the years as a limited item, and a handful have them on the menu permanently. Of the six fries we tried from four chains - Arby's, Shake Shack, Taco Bell, and Wendy's - only one was a limited item.

Six cheese-slathered, bacon-filled orders of loaded fries later, we managed to rank them from worst to best - and the results were pretty surprising.

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