I Tried Every Burger at Whataburger & the Best Was Smoking Hot

The ardor of Western burger lovers for the iconic In-N-Out franchise is legendary, but San Antonio-based Whataburger also inspires fanatical devotion throughout its footprint that covers the Southwest and Southeast. One of America's fastest-growing regional burger chains, Whataburger has more than twice as many locations as the juggernaut of the West, and the announcement of new stores often leads to rapt anticipation among its fans.

Here in my home state of Tennessee, Whataburger re-entered the market in 2022 after years of denying local diners the simple joys of a #1 Whataburger Meal without making some sort of pilgrimage. As a deliberate part of the company's expansion strategy, Whataburger decided to locate its new Middle Tennessee stores outside of the urban core of Nashville, preferring to focus on the exurbs and restaurants easily accessible from the three interstates that cross downtown.

So, when my editors asked me to sample and rank the chain's 100% pure beef burgers, I knew there would be some logistical challenges for this urban writer. Yet, I soldiered on. Knowing that trying the long list of options in tranches would be necessary, I ordered my first batch via a delivery service. This turned out to be a mistake as I watched the driver's icon on my online map spend more than an hour making stops before delivering his precious cargo to my home. Chastened, I resolved to make the schlep to actually purchase the rest of the burgers in situ, so you might want to take these ratings with a proverbial grain of salt. (But not with the almost 2000 milligrams of salt that my favorite contained.)

Two further explanations: several of the items on the Whataburger menu are just single, double, or triple patty options of the same burger, so on the advice of my cardiologist, I decided to sample only one iteration of the classic Whataburger and Whataburger Jr. and extrapolate from there. The number in parentheses following some of the burger names is Whataburger's position on the menu, a shorthand that customers often use to order their favorites. Other burgers came from the chain's "All-Time Favorites" or "Limited Time Only" offerings.

Here's how each burger ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the very best.

Triple Meat Whataburger (#3)

The original Whataburger is one of America's most iconic fast-food burgers. It's now available in three sizes: single, double, and triple. I opted for the big boy as the beefiest representation of the chain's signature item. Considering that all of Whataburger's main offerings arrive atop a heaping handful of a 5-inch bun, plus three patties of beef stacked high on this menu mainstay, the #3 is basically a three-dimensional cube of a burger. The standard toppings are tomato, lettuce, pickles, diced raw onions, and a slather of mustard. At $7.99, it's a bountiful meal option without spending all your lunch money.

The look: Let's be honest. It's a rare hamburger that looks attractive fresh out of the wrapper, but at least the triple option at Whataburger offered the dimensionality to actually see the beef protruding from under the bun. Singles and doubles from the chain don't always have that advantage, so they can look a little sad, just squished buns with some sort of mystery inside. Fortunately, the #3 was definitely a handful, but not so massive that you'd need to unhinge your jaw like a python to take a bite.

The taste: The patty was nicely griddled, pretty typical of a smash burger. It was beefy, but not too salty, and the tangy dill pickles were a nice counterpoint to cut through the fattiness of the burger. The other vegetables were unsurprisingly disappointing considering the time of year when tomatoes are far past their prime in Tennessee and iceberg lettuce is rarely exciting. I found the meat-to-other-ingredients ratio to be a little bit out of whack, but then again I was the one who ordered the #3 instead of the single or double patty variation. Your mileage may vary.

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Avocado Bacon Burger (#6)

The #6 Avocado Bacon Burger cost me $7.49—a little steep when you consider that a triple beef burger is only a half a buck more than this uni-patty option. I guess when you consider what inflation has done to the cost of avocados and bacon (thanks, COVID-19!) it makes a little more sense. If I had to describe this burger in one word, it would be "creamy," which is not the word I would have expected to use in a burger review.

The look: If you're not good at timing the ripeness of your avocados to catch them right between hard as a rock and a scoop of brownish-green ooze, you're probably familiar with the avocado component of this burger. More of an unspiced guacamole than a distinct avocado, it was smeared across the bun leaving an ochre smudge. When you combine that with melty American cheese and a creamy sauce, you can see where my main adjective came from. Three slices of bacon did make the guac party a little more exciting.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The taste: The avocado provided more texture than flavor, but the addition of creamy pepper sauce made up for the bland ahuacate. The bacon was smoky and crisp, but not cooked to the point of crumbling, a real bonus when used on a burger that might be eaten in a car that dogs might be traveling in later. The burger seemed a little saltier than some of the others I sampled, especially for only having one beef patty. I'm guessing it came from the pepper sauce. The Avocado Bacon Burger is traditionally served on slices of Texas Toast, and that might have improved my experience. I opted for a regular bun to preserve the apples-to-avocados comparison.

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Whataburger Jr. (#7)

The diminutive Whataburger Jr. is available in both single and double patty formats. At $3.29 for the single version, it's pretty much in line with what you'd expect to pay for a fast-food burger that's not on the value menu.

The look: The ratio of meat to toppings actually worked out pretty well for the Whataburger Jr. Served on a smaller 4-inch bun, the #7 featured just enough lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles to complement the meat without overpowering the burger.

The taste: An unexpected benefit of ordering a single patty as part of a smaller burger was that the taste of the grill came through more than with some of the larger burgers. Kissed by flame and grease, this is a fine example of a single-patty burger, and you can see why it's one of the favorite burgers at Whataburger.

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Bacon & Cheese Whataburger (#5)

This is the last of the standard Whataburgers that I sampled: a straight-ahead bacon cheeseburger like you might make for yourself at home, and which I often do. At $5.99, it's a fair price for a fair version of the American classic topped with the traditional 5-inch beef patty, American cheese, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onions.

The look: Whoever made this particular burger for me must have not been on their "A-game" that day, because there were only two tiny slices of bacon on the #4 and a huge cube of iceberg lettuce the size of Las Vegas craps dice rolled out of the side of the burger when I took my first bite. I guess you could say it was "coming out." (A little craps inside humor for my fellow degenerate gamblers.)

The taste: Once the cube hit the floor and the lettuce ratio was restored, this turned out to be a decent bacon cheeseburger. I do contend that my particular burger probably didn't have as much sodium as the nutritional information indicated because I was shorted on the bacon and the beef wasn't that salty at all. It's the small victories my doctor appreciates.

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Jalapeño & Cheese Whataburger (#4)

Finally, we start to get a little weird with Whataburger's options, and I definitely discovered that the spicier options on the menu were the ones I preferred the most. Unsurprisingly for a Texas-based chain, Whataburger does jalapeños and spicy-sweet sauces very well. Paying $5.99 for this Jalapeño & Cheese option, featuring a single patty without bacon, does seem a little expensive, but what do I know about the jalapeño market anyway?

The look: At this point, I should have stopped taking the top buns off of my burgers expecting to be impressed. These are fast-food burgers being made by hardworking staff who were dealing with some pretty intense after-church traffic on the Sunday when I visited. Get it on the bun, wrap it up, and get it out the window or across the counter. We're not dealing with "sandwich artists" here. While it wasn't pretty, at least they weren't stingy with the jalapeños, and I appreciated that.

The taste: Kind of like the avocado in the #6, the jalapeños in the #4 are a feature, but not necessarily the focus. I appreciated the fresh green bite that they contributed to the burger, but they did compete with the pickles in terms of texture and tanginess. Overall, the slight flavor confusion didn't overpower the enjoyment of a solid burger.

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Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger

The Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger is an American success story. Originally rolled out as a limited-time offer in 2015, the burger became a sensation, with fans clamoring for its inclusion in the regular menu after it disappeared like the dead-beat dad of the fast food world, the McRib. (You know, he just shows up out of nowhere, makes everyone excited and happy for a little while, and then disappears without a trace before popping up again right after your birthday.)

Whataburger acquiesced to its customers' desires and added the burger to the "All-Time Favorites" section of the permanent menu in 2017. Yet the #6 Avocado Bacon Burger somehow merited its own number on the menu? Curious. This fan favorite, flavored with Whataburger's Sweet & Spicy sauce, cost me $7.89.

The look: What makes the Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger stand out are the thoughtful variations that Whataburger made during its creation. The onions are grilled instead of chopped raw, and both American and Monterey Jack cheeses contribute color and flavor to the concoction. Plus, the chain didn't even pretend to bother with any vegetable toppings on this one, eschewing the pale pink tomatoes of late autumn and the pretty much flavorless iceberg. A swath of what looked like pepper jelly also promised to bring the heat.

The taste: I'll admit I'm a sucker for sweet-heat combinations. Barbecue potato chips are one of my primary vices to the point where I've thought about putting a combination lock on the pantry to keep me from snacking. Upon first bite, I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly what type of sauce I was enjoying. Was it some sort of tangy barbecue-hot sauce hybrid or was it more like an Asian sweet chili sauce dyed the color of transmission fluid? I just knew I really liked it and that it played well with the grilled onions and cheese that was thoughtfully melted between the patties of the burger.

A little internet sleuthing turned up several copycat recipes that revolve around pepper jelly and barbecue sauce, so apparently, I wasn't too far off. Plus, I found out you can just buy the stuff at H-E-B grocery stores across Texas and Mexico, so I guess it's pilgrimage time again.

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Bacon Blaze Jalapeño Double

This new limited-time offer hit the menu between when I first started my Whataburger taste test odyssey and when I made my last visit for this story, so I had to add it to the list. I'm glad I did. Will the Bacon Blaze Double make the leap to "All-Time Favorites" like the Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger did? It might, but I doubt it because it's pretty pricey at $9.99 and it's basically a combination of a few other burgers already on the menu. It is an excellent burger, though.

The look: The Blaze is about delightful excess. Too much bacon, too many jalapeños, a slather of decadent jalapeño ranch dressing and jalapeño cream cheese—but it somehow just works! I also appreciated that the kitchen again melted the slices of aged cheddar between the patties to keep this from getting any messier than it already was.

The taste: Relying on plenty of smoky bacon flavor, pickled jalapeños, along with spicy ranch and cheese to complement the beefy patties was a very wise choice. I was impressed by how much pepper flavor shines through the ranch dressing. The bacon was crispy and offered a nice textural contrast to the gooey cheese and pickled peppers.

I don't know how long this burger will remain on the menu, but I assure you that it will be mine again—and soon!

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