How To Get The Freshest Wendy's Salad Possible

Wendy's prides itself on its fresh ingredients, touting that it makes its salads fresh every day. However, everyone knows that salads taste best when they're just assembled. So, how can you ensure your salad is as fresh as possible? Consider going to Wendy's in the morning.

It makes a certain amount of sense, right? Like many restaurants, Wendy's will typically handle most of its prep work for the busier lunch and evenings during the morning. In the restaurant business, mornings generally are less frantic than the rest of the day. It gives time for employees to set aside and prepare ingredients they might not have time to do later. So, in the case of salads, that means chopping up and dicing lettuce and tomatoes to be used in salads later. 

While you will still be getting ingredients prepared the day of if you order a salad in the afternoon, you may want to consider hitting up Wendy's earlier in the day. For the most part, Wendy's typically opens around 6:30 or 7 a.m., but you don't have to be an extremely early bird to get a fresh salad. Instead, you may want to wait a few hours. 

The optimal time to order a salad would be around 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., depending on your location. This is when Wendy's typically swaps over from its breakfast menu to its lunch menu. Unfortunately, there appears to be little you can do if you have a sudden craving for salads at breakfast time. While Wendy's may prep its salads in the morning, it doesn't serve them until its menu is swapped, as several Reddit users have attested. One Redditor, who claims to be a Wendy's employee, explained, "We always say no, Durning [sic] breakfast (6-10:30) we only serve breakfast items then at switch over it's only lunch items."

While you can blame the lettuce and veggies, another Redditor posits that it's the protein that actually causes an issue. They wrote, "It depends on how early you get there. If Salads aren't made yet they may say no because it's a huge pain in the a**, but they should let you it'll just take 12 minutes for the chicken to cook." Wait until after breakfast to make your order. Getting there early will also help you beat that busy lunch rush. However, if you're ordering a salad later in the day, you shouldn't fret. 

Popular advice may have you believe that you should ask Wendy's for a fresh salad to ensure the freshest possible ingredients. However, doing so may put you on bad terms with Wendy's employees and doesn't necessarily ensure the freshest possible salad. As one Redditor wrote, "If you want "fresh" food, don't go to fast food joints. If you want fast food, then just let them make it how they make it."

If you're ordering your salad later in the afternoon, you may not get the freshest salad possible, but your salad should still be in pretty good shape. According to Wendy's, its salads are made fresh daily. The chain also regularly receives new salad ingredients shipped to its locations two to three times a week. Since salad ingredients maintain their quality for only around five days, this helps to ensure that all of Wendy's salads are up to standard. With other restaurants like McDonald's phasing out salads, it's helpful to know that you can still get a salad on a go at Wendy's. Arrive early for the freshest possible salad, but if you buy a salad in the afternoon, then you shouldn't worry either. They rank among the best fast food salads.