Dave's Hot Chicken Sides, Ranked: Mac & Cheese, Fries & More

The chicken is why you come to Dave's. The sides are where the order quietly gets interesting, or quietly gets a thousand calories heavier, usually both. Dave's keeps the sides list short, but there's a clear best, a genuine showstopper, and one that I'd gently steer you away from. Let's sort them out so you spend your side slot wisely.

That's the ranking in a sentence. Below is the full order — what each side is, the calories, and which one earns your money — plus how to pair them with the rest of the menu.

The best side: mac & cheese

Start here, because it's not close. Dave's mac & cheese is the standout — creamy, sharp with real cheddar, and fresh instead of the gluey processed stuff most fast-food places ladle out. The pasta is tender without going to mush, and the sauce actually tastes like cheese. It has topped rankings of fast-food mac & cheese, and having eaten a concerning amount of the competition, I agree.

The kicker: it's only about 290 calories, which makes it one of the rare Dave's choices that's both the best and the lighter option (the full numbers are in the calories guide). It's also vegetarian. If you only order one side, this is the one. I don't make the rules; the cheddar does.

Every side, ranked (with calories)

Here's the whole sides menu in the order I'd actually order them, with calories so you can plan around your tenders.

Top-Loaded Fries: the showstopper

If the mac is the smart pick, the Top-Loaded Fries are the fun one. Dave's takes its crinkle-cut fries and buries them under cheese sauce, pickles, kale slaw, Dave's Bites, and a drizzle of Dave's Sauce. It's less a side and more a full meal that identifies as a side.

They come in Small, Regular, and Large (about 570, 780, and 1,230 calories), and you can set the heat since the bites carry the spice level you choose. Get the Regular to share or the Large if you've made peace with your decisions. Vegetarians: there's a cauliflower version of the loaded fries, covered in the vegetarian guide.

Spicy Buffalo Mac

This is what people mean when they search "Dave's buffalo." The Top-Loaded Spicy Buffalo Mac takes that excellent mac and loads it with buffalo flavor, Dave's Bites, and sauce — tangy, creamy, and spicier than the plain mac. It comes in Small, Regular, and Large (about 650, 1,000, and 1,500 calories), and there's a cauliflower version for the meatless crowd.

It's the heartiest thing in the sides column and easily a meal on its own. If you love the mac but want more going on — and more heat — this is the upgrade. Pair it with a milder tender so the whole tray isn't competing for the same five-alarm attention.

The one to skip: cheese fries

Here's the honest one. The cheese fries are the weak link. The cheese sauce tends to run watery and flat — it slides to the bottom of the container and tastes more like school-cafeteria nacho cheese than the sharp, proper sauce on the mac. Which is the frustrating part: Dave's clearly can do cheese, it just doesn't bring that same sauce to the fries.

So if you want cheesy fries, get the Top-Loaded Fries instead — more toppings, more flavor, same idea done right. If you want plain fries, the regular crinkle fries are genuinely good and hold their crunch. The cheese fries are the one spot where the menu's potential outruns the plate.

How to order your sides

A few rules of thumb to round out the tray without overthinking it:

• Default pick: mac & cheese. Best flavor, lightest of the cheesy options, vegetarian.
• If you're sharing: a Regular Top-Loaded Fries in the middle of the table does more work than four separate sides.
• If your tender is Hot or above: add the kale slaw — cool, crunchy, and it cuts the burn (the spice guide explains why).
• If you're watching calories: slaw (270) or mac (290) over loaded fries (570–1,230). Easy swap, big difference.
• Allergy note: the mac and cheese sauces contain dairy, and everything fried shares the line — details in the allergen guide.
• Rewards tip: the mac and kale slaw are both 300-point Frequent Fryer redemptions — a free side just for ordering direct.

My honest take

Here's the one opinion: the mac & cheese is the most underrated order at Dave's, side or otherwise. Everyone fixates on heat levels and forgets that the best thing in the cheese column is sitting right there for 290 calories. Get the mac, and get the Top-Loaded Fries when you want a party. Leave the cheese fries for a braver, less-informed version of you.

Sides are where a good Dave's order becomes a great one — or a heavy one, depending on how many of these you stack. Pick one star, not three. And if you're still building the rest of the meal, the what-to-order guide puts the whole tray together for you. The chicken brings you in; the mac is what makes you a regular.