5 things Food Network star Sunny Anderson always orders from fast-food chains — and her tricks for making sure they're freshly made

Sunny Anderson is a celebrity chef, New York Times-bestselling cookbook author, and a host of "The Kitchen" on Food Network. However, despite her love for home cooking, Anderson told Insider that she's also a major fan of fast food.

Among her go-to orders: McDonald's french fries.

"I'll usually order two or three orders of McDonald's fries to kind of force [staff] to make it fresh," Anderson told Insider at a press event for Citi Field in Queens, New York, in March 2023.

"Another tip is to say 'no salt,' and then they have to make it fresh. Then, you pull up to the window and ask for a salt packet, which is so rude but it totally works," she said.

"I like the bagel bites," she told Insider. "I'll get two of the everything bagel bites and I always tell them, 'Make it toasty,' because sometimes if you don't, the cream cheese on the inside is rock hard, cold, and that's about it."

"Sometimes I'll get a bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant or a plain bagel or a sesame bagel, toasted," she continued. "Oh, and the snacking bacon. Can we just give a little applause for snacking bacon?"

Anderson said that she rarely orders full-size donuts, but will sometimes order Munchkins. 

"It's so weird. It's Dunkin Donuts and I'm not getting donuts, but it's all about the savory there for me," she told Insider.

"If you're in the right city, the dirty rice is amazing, but it's really hard to get that Cajun rice," Anderson told Insider. 

Popeyes Cajun rice is often brought out as a limited-time-only menu item, making it hard to get your hands on.

"Then I'll get either a dark or spicy three-piece with a biscuit, or I'll get the spicy chicken sandwich," she continued.

"I also like a soft taco with extra lettuce," the Food Network star said.

She also recommends the chain's frozen drinks.

"I'm addicted to the blue-raspberry flavor right now," she said.

"Onion rings. You got to have them," she told Insider. "And then it's either a Coney dog or a cheeseburger or double cheeseburger and the tots."

Anderson also likes a cherry limeade with extra lime. 

"You got to have a little bit of everything, but the onion rings," she said. "Oh, my God."