The Oreo Milkshake was once the ultimate milkshake flavor. When fast food brands were keeping it simple and playing it safe with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, Oreo emerged as an interesting alternative. Part chocolate, part vanilla, and featuring lots of textural elements, Oreo milkshakes represented something innovative in the fast food space.
Today, milkshake mix-ins are prevalent across the fast food landscape. At Five Guys you can mix anything from Oreos to bacon into your milkshake, Shake Shack has an ever-evolving roster of flavors that change with the seasons, Chick-fil-A has got the peach milkshake, and who could forget the Grimace Shake? It’s been the defining fast food event of the summer?
But just because milkshakes menus are more inventive than they’ve ever been, doesn’t mean you should sleep on the delicious power of the Oreo milkshake. So we decided to put our favorite Oreo milkshakes to the blind taste test to see which fast food brand makes the best. This summer we’ve done chocolate and vanilla, and now we’re doing Oreo! Why? Because it’s hot AF out and I’ll take any excuse to drink multiple milkshakes in one sitting for work. Even if it hurts my stomach!
Methodology
Blind fast food taste tests are tougher than they seem — in order for these tests to be fair we need to pick restaurants that are located close to one another so that we can pick up all the food while it’s still hot or, in this case, cold.
When I blind taste tested chocolate and vanilla milkshakes I had a strong system going and I could reliably pick up three to four milkshakes in a short amount of time, place them in a cooler, and find a shaded parking lot to taste test them all. But now we’re in July, the hottest month of the year in Los Angeles, which means even with the power of a cooler these milkshakes melt fast.
It took me two tries to make this Oreo milkshake taste test work, the first attempt was made around 2:00 pm, when drive-thru lines are their longest and the temperature is at its highest. This resulted in every single milkshake melting on me to the point of being undrinkable. In one case a Chick-fil-A employee handed me a milkshake that for some reason it exploded in my hand — with the lid popping the lid off and the shake running down my arm. To which the Chick-fil-A employee said “did you want some napkins?” not, “would you like another milkshake,” or “I’m so sorry we gave you a melted milkshake that exploded in your hand!”
It was at that point that I decided, this taste test wasn’t going to happen. So I went home and formulated a plan to pick up milkshakes at 11:00 am the next day when the weather is a bit cooler and there’s less traffic. Luckily, it was a success, I picked up Oreo milkshakes from Chick-fil-A, Five Guys, Jack in the Box, and Shake Shack, hit up a nearby shaded parking lot, put on a blindfold, and had my girlfriend pass me milkshakes at random.
Then we argued for about 10 minutes about which of the milkshakes was actually the best. Here are my tasting notes, and my ranking, which I still say is perfect (despite what my girlfriend says!). You may be asking why I didn’t include Dairy Queen’s Oreo Blizzard or McDonald’s Oreo McFlurry in this taste test. It’s for two reasons: 1) It’s too hot to round them all up without melting, and 2) Both are served with a spoon. They aren’t really milkshakes, so they’ve been disqualified.
Sound fair? Let’s dive in!
The Milkshake Taste Test
Taste 1
We’re starting right with this one, folks — this milkshake is luxuriously thick with a vanilla cream-forward flavor and a nice tasty Oreo cooking finish. The cookie crumbles blended into this milkshake are plentiful and surprisingly crispy, despite being soaked in a milkshake.
A lot of great texture here and a delicious flavor.
Taste 2
Not a fan of this one, it’s a bit too milky, it tastes like slightly spoiled soft serve ice cream, or at least what I imagine that to taste like. The texture is incredibly smooth and airy and the cookies are too thin and soft, offering no texture, no crunch, and a soggy mouthfeel.
Taste 3
Very smooth and loose in texture, it takes no effort to suck this one up through the straw. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it makes this shake come across as a little less satisfying and refreshing than something colder and thicker.
The flavor here is fantastic — it’s creamy and slightly chocolatey, with a perfectly balanced ratio of cookie to vanilla. The cookies provide a bit of texture, but are not as crunchy as Taste 1, instead, the cookies melt against the tongue, which helps the flavor to soak into the palate even better.
This just may be the winner.
Taste 4
Turns out I spoke too soon. I like a lot of what Taste 3 offers, but this milkshake straight-up tastes exactly like an Oreo. Exactly. I don’t want an Oreo milkshake to taste like a milkshake with Oreos blended into it, I want it to essentially be a liquified version of an actual Oreo.
This milkshake is perfect, it’s thick, cold, and supremely creamy which a strong chocolate cookie finish. It’s a bit like eating an Oreo inside out — it begins creamy and vanilla forward and ends with that strong cocoa finish. Without a doubt, this one is our winner.
The Milkshake Ranking
4. Chick-fil-A — Cookies & Cream Milkshake (Taste 2)
I used to be a big fan of Chick-fil-A’s Cookies & Cream Milkshake, at one point I even declared it the best fast food milkshake in the fast food universe. Boy was I wrong.. Once I put this one to the blind taste test all the flaws came to the forefront. It’s too indebted to that soft-serve flavor, I’m just not tasting enough of the cookies here.
What is there is way too soggy and soft, so not only does this milkshake suffer in terms of flavor, but texture wise it’s soggy, and cookies in a milkshake shouldn’t be soggy.
The Bottom Line:
Not enough cookie flavor and the texture is too soggy to be enjoyable. It’s almost as if cookies stain the flavor, not enhance it.
Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.
3. Jack in the Box — Oreo Cookie Shake (Taste 1)
There was a time when Jack in the Box’s Oreo Cookie Shake was the only Oreo Cookie Shake in the fast food landscape. It’s the milkshake that started the trend and as it stands, it’s still a pretty good milkshake.
But it’s far from the best. It has a great texture thanks to all the cookies that are blended into this milkshake, but the base flavor is where it suffers.
The Bottom Line:
On any day this is a great Oreo cookie milkshake, but if you’re looking for the best, you will have to look elsewhere.
Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.
2. Shake Shack — Cookies and Cream Milkshake (Taste 3)
This is the decision that is tearing apart my relationship! Look, I love Shake Shack! On average, I think this is the fast food restaurant that is consistently making the best milkshakes and bringing the most inventive flavors to the table. But this Cookies and Cream Milkshake just ain’t it!
It’s not thick and creamy enough, and the flavors are great but it just doesn’t satisfy the way something thicker and richer can.
The Bottom Line:
A great milkshake, but with all the flavors that Shake Shack offers, this one feels like it’s missing something.
Find your nearest Shake Shack here.
1. Five Guys — Milkshake With Oreos and Oreo Creme (Taste 4)
You could argue that Five Guys having both Oreo cookies and Oreo Creme as mix-ins is some kind of cheat, that this fact gives Five Guys an edge over the competition, but I’d argue — why are the other brands only giving us half of the experience? Throw a whole damn Oreo into the milkshake and blend it!
That’s what Five Guys seems to do apparently, and the result is fantastic. This milkshake tastes exactly like an Oreo, with the thickest and creamiest milkshake base out of all of the brands we tasted today.
I know my girlfriend doesn’t agree, but this is as perfect an Oreo Milkshake as I’ve ever tasted, and the only iteration of the flavor truly worth your time and money.
The Bottom Line:
Amazing, as close as you’re going to get to an actual Oreo cookie in milkshake form.
Find your nearest Five Guys here.
