Even the most basic burgers have the potential to be delicious and craveworthy. But nowadays, a fast-food chain has to serve much more than just beef patties and cheese on buns if it wants to stand out in a vast sea of burger slingers.
Maybe that’s why burger chains are always introducing interesting and even outrageous burger options to pique the interest of fast-food lovers across the world. Just last week, for example, Burger King debuted a limited-time “Super Cheeseburger” exclusively in Thailand with 20 pieces of cheese but absolutely no meat or other toppings. While Americans missed out on this extra cheesy sandwich, for better or for worse, there are a few fast-food chains in the United States that are serving up over-the-top burgers for the more adventurous eaters right now.
And sure, any customer can customize their fast-food burgers to make them over-the-top and outrageous. But some chains are taking the time to think up and develop their own extravagant burgers with unique toppings, interesting flavor combinations, and massive portion sizes.
Here are six fast-food chains that serve up some of the most over-the-top burgers.
Humans may never truly settle the debate on whether pineapple belongs on pizza. But does it belong on burgers? The Habit Burger Grill certainly thinks it does.
Habit serves a Teriyaki Char Burger topped with a slice of grilled pineapple, teriyaki sauce, and caramelized onions, plus more traditional burger toppings like tomatoes, pickles, mayo, and cheese. Other options at Habit aren’t quite as outrageous, but there’s still tons of customization potential for customers who want something over-the-top but don’t necessarily want beef with a side of pineapple. The chain also offers interesting burger extras like avocado, barbecue sauce, caramelized onions, and portabello mushrooms.
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Just peruse BurgerFi’s burger menu and you’ll find some of the most outrageous toppings and flavor combinations at any fast-food chain.
Look no further than the Breakfast All Day Burger that features beef, bacon, American cheese, maple syrup, a fried egg, a hash brown, grilled onions, and ketchup. There’s also a Swag (Spicy Wagyu) Burger packed with a fiery set of toppings, including charred jalapenos, candied ghost pepper bacon, and sweet tomato relish.
Of course, basic burger options are available for the customers who want something simple and recognizable. But BurgerFi’s commitment to serving over-the-top burgers also makes it a great option for the more adventurous eaters.
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Most fast-food chains serve fries on the side of their burgers. But at Checkers, that quintessential fast-food side dish has more of a starring role.
The chain offers a Double Fry Lover’s Burger that’s loaded with seasoned fries, in addition to the beef patty, cheese, pickles, and other condiments slathered on a toasted sesame seed bun. Sure, any fast-food customer can manually add fries to their burgers at their discretion. But Checkers takes it one step further by featuring the classic combination on its menu and doing the work for you, so all you have to do is pick up your burger and dig in.
The chain also offers several other burger options that impress with their sheer size and quantity of toppings. The Triple Smoky BBQ Bacon Buford, for example, features three beef patties, Swiss cheese, slices of bacon, chopped bacon bits, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, BBQ sauce, and smoky mayo for an absolutely monstrous concoction.
At Smashburger, the basic combination of a burger patty, cheese, and bun is more of a starting point than the end goal. The chain’s menu is absolutely packed with burgers that highlight nontraditional, wild toppings.
A prime example of Smashburger’s extreme burger philosophy is the Double Smoked Bacon Brisket Burger. This 1290-calorie sandwich features two smashed burger patties, aged cheddar, brisket, bacon, pickles, and bbq sauce on a toasted brioche bun.
You’ll also find extremely unique toppings on other Smashburger options, like truffle mayo, haystack onions, Texas-style pork burnt ends, and Anaheim chiles
Wendy’s deserves a mention on this list at the very least because of the Baconator. This iconic burger is stacked with a whopping six pieces of bacon and two quarter-pound beef patties. At 960 calories, the Baconator is a massive indulgence for even the most passionate of carnivores. The chain even offers a breakfast version of this famous sandwich that replaces the beef with grilled sausage and adds an egg to the mix.
While the Baconator is certainly the most over-the-top burger available at Wendy’s right now, it isn’t the only flashy burger option from the chain. Wendy’s also offers a Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger smothered in beer cheese sauce, bacon, honey mustard, crispy fried onions, pickles, and muenster cheese on a soft pretzel bun. Want to up the indulgence factor even more? Just order the Pretzel Bacon Pub Double or the Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple for one or two extra quarter-pound burger patties.
