8 Restaurant Chains That Are the Worst Offenders for Heat-and-Serve Food

There was a time when chain restaurants decided it would be cheaper to prepare food off-site and have dining locations heat it up for service. Most folks, very reasonably, hate this because if we wanted a microwave meal, we would have stayed at home and done that ourselves.

You're likely already trying to stretch your restaurant budget, so it can be extra disappointing to discover you're getting a heat-and-serve meal instead of a freshly prepared one that's worth your hard-earned dollars.

Learn which chain restaurants are the worst offenders when it comes to heat-and-serve food.

This summer, Panera Bread announced it would be ditching fresh dough production, which seems like a big red flag for a business built on its bakery. Instead of fresh-baked goods, they will now be serving partially baked, then frozen and rebaked third-party contracted dough.

According to Daily Meal, nearly everything on the menu is prepared off-site and arrives frozen. Even the eggs are no longer freshly cracked, and instead arrive as liquid whole eggs.

It's not surprising that much of TGI Fridays' menu is frozen, considering they have an extensive line of frozen foods available in grocery stores. That being said, some food is made fresh, including burgers, sauces, buns, and some potato dishes. Unless you're craving a burger, maybe skip the night out and save some money by grabbing their frozen meals to make at home.

Don't worry, the steaks are prepared fresh… but not everything on the menu is. Fries, fish, desserts, sauces, and dressings arrive frozen and are then heated on-site when ordered. Former employees have alleged that the lobster is microwaved unless customers specifically ask for it to be grilled. The French onion soup is also said to be made from a concentrate, which is then heated.

That baby back rib jingle slaps, but according to Mashed, most of the food is frozen. The chicken wings and fries are the main culprits, but the soup is also frozen and arrives in bags that only need to be thawed.

The initial claim originated from a Reddit AMA from 15 years ago, and they may have pivoted since then. Paula Forbes of Texas Monthly says the chain "is enjoying a TikTok-fueled renaissance and has found a new and faithful customer base in Gen Z." Zoomers resuscitating Chili's seems unlikely, but it's true the restaurant is on more stable ground financially in comparison to other fast casual chains.

A couple of years ago, a former Applebee's employee alleged that most of the food is pre-packaged and microwaved, saying they would never eat there. In fact, the only items they said weren't microwaved were the fried chicken, mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, steaks, grilled chicken, and burgers — everything else was frozen and cooked in the microwave.

Would you like a frozen breakfast sandwich to go with your overpriced coffee? The Starbucks kitchen isn't a Tardis and is exactly as small as it looks. All of their food arrives pre-packaged and is then heated and served to you along with your beverage order. You can save a lot of money on your Starbucks habit by looking up copycat recipes and swinging through the frozen breakfast section of your local grocery store.

The seafood chain has been struggling with bankruptcy for years, so the last thing they need is to be viewed as a heat-and-serve restaurant. There are many consumer complaints that their seafood is frozen, but, arguably, that's the only way you're having a seafood restaurant in landlocked areas.

According to Red Lobster's FAQ page, they have fresh-from-the-water seafood when possible, and other times use fresh catches frozen on the boat or at the dock. Lobsters, however, are fresh from the tank. If you're only in it for the Cheddar Bay biscuits, most grocery stores now sell ready-to-bake frozen Cheddar Bay biscuits, so an oven and less than 30 minutes can satisfy your craving.

A few years ago, a Redditor claiming to work at Olive Garden told the world that almost all their food was frozen, and internet denizens have been debating it ever since.

More recent commentary from Redditor mrvladimir says, "Proteins come in frozen and are thawed. Sauces and soups are from scratch. Breadsticks come in par baked. All that comes in frozen are the desserts, and the stuff that gets fried. Otherwise it's prepped pretty much daily."

The debate continues to this day, but promotions like the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl are probably still a safe bet to get more bang for your buck.

Chain restaurants are trying desperately to cut costs because Americans are cutting back on spending and, instead of eating out, are looking for ways to save money on groceries in the face of rapid cost-of-living increases.

Folks are going out to eat less and being choosier about where they want to spend their hard-earned money. The winners are increasingly local independent restaurants, with 38% of Americans who dine out indicating that is what they favor. People want freshly cooked food and portions that are big enough for leftovers.