There is no greater fast food dish than the double cheeseburger. It’s a flavor bomb of culinary perfection — juicy, savory, beefy — a true joy to bite into. It’s the sort of food that ignites the pleasure centers in your brain and makes your mouth water. There isn’t a single menu option that bests the double cheeseburger, not even the fried chicken sandwich (try as they might).
French fries come pretty damn close. But at the end of the day, you’re going to grab a burger over fries if you’re forced to choose.
Whether you eat fast food daily, weekly, once a month, or once a year, if you want the best most rewarding experience, make it a double cheeseburger. But where is your money and time best spent? We’ve thought about this a lot — putting burgers from fast casual and fast food chains to the blind taste test, exploring the more adventurous builds, hell, we even sampled 19 different burgers from the same restaurant, all to find the very best.
And we think we’ve found it. Ready to know the champ? Here are the best double cheeseburgers your money can buy ranked from inessential to most delicious.
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18. Dairy Queen — Two Cheese Deluxe 1/3lb Signature Stackburger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
This burger is shortcoming upon shortcoming. The meat is too dense, with a cardboard-like texture making eating two patties overwhelming. The lettuce is watery, the tomatoes are never ripe (in my experience) and the overall build of ketchup, mayo, pickles, and onions feels as if DQ is just checking the necessary boxes of what should be on a burger.
DQ keeps messing with the build here — it used to have one slice of American Cheese and one slice of Swiss and weighed in at a whopping 1/2lb. The burger has shrunk recently, changing to 1/3lb (which I think is a slight improvement, given the meat), and that Swiss was swapped in for a slice of White Cheddar. I preferred the Swiss.
The Bottom Line:
It’s the sort of burger that makes you wonder “Was I better off just making a burger at home?”
Find your nearest Dairy Queen here.
17. A&W — Papa Burger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Papa Burger? Is A&W sold on that name? It sounds like something a divorced dad who has the kids for the weekend calls his “specialty” dinner. This burger just tastes sad…
The bread is way too dense and dry, the shredded lettuce is often translucent and tastes wilted, the cheese doesn’t melt for some reason, and the meat is dry — which A&W tries to hide by slathering on “Papa Sauce,” the grossest name for a spin on Thousand Island ever.
The Bottom Line:
Considering A&W can barely make a decent root beer, you shouldn’t come here expecting to eat a good burger.
Find your nearest A&W here.
16. Burger King — Double Cheeseburger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Burger King’s Double Cheeseburger will reveal to you why so many BK restaurants are closing nationwide.
This burger simply isn’t good. The beef is charbroiled to the point of crispiness, resulting in probably the driest meat patty in all of fast food. The bread is too thick, and the pickles, ketchup, and mustard don’t taste nearly as good as they look in the above photo (the entire burger doesn’t look anything like the photo above would suggest).
The Bottom Line:
Skip this burger.
Find your nearest Burger King here.
15. Sonic — SuperSONIC Double Cheeseburger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
It brings me no joy to rank Sonic this low because I like Sonic — I think it’s a pretty solid fast food restaurant that I would suggest to friends for a very specific type of fast food. That type of fast food unfortunately is not a burger.
It’s not that this burger is bad, it’s just that everything ranked above it is significantly better. The burger build is fairly standard stuff: two salt and pepper seasoned patties, two slices of American cheese, pickles, ketchup, onions, mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes on a toasted bun. The onions here are diced, allowing for occasional bursts of sharp flavor that cut well through the pickles, while the ketchup provides some bright sweetness that pairs well with the umami quality of the tomato.
Notice I haven’t talked about the meat yet? It’s… fine. The flavor doesn’t jump out, it’s more texture than anything.
I also have a minor gripe with the fact that Sonic places a slice of cheese on the bottom bun. Cheese, meat, cheese, meat Sonic! That’s how you stack a double cheeseburger.
The Bottom Line:
If you’re going to Sonic get some mozzarella sticks, or jalapeño poppers, chili cheese fries, a breakfast burrito, hell… get a hot dog! Just don’t get a double cheeseburger unless you want to be underwhelmed.
Find your nearest Sonic here.
14. Jack in The Box — Ultimate Cheeseburger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Consider this my call for Jack in the Box to bring back the Meaty Cheesy Boys. When I was much younger there used to be a JiB commercial that parodied N*SYNC and the other boy bands of the time with a song by the Meaty Cheesy Boys that went a little something like this:
“Girl you know that there’s one thing that I love, and it’s not you that I’m thinking of. I want the Ultimate Cheeseburger! Cheese, meat, cheese, cheese, meat and that’s it! Baby, you know it’s hot and juicy because Jack won’t make it until you order it.”
Here’s a low rez version of the ad for those who need a refresher:
A few things:
1. This is a hilarious song to sing when you’re hungry (bonus points if you’re singing it to your partner).
2. It’s easily the best song about a cheeseburger ever (besides Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” obviously).
3. It’s a sad reminder that Jack in the Box used to have standards. There was a time they didn’t make your foot until you ordered it. They’ve dropped that policy and it shows.
This burger just isn’t that great. Jack in the Box’s meat quality is bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, this tastes like your typical frozen patty with no depth of flavor. While I appreciate the medley of cheeses which includes two slices of American cheese and one slice of Swiss cheese and provides a mix of salty and nutty flavors, overall this burger comes across like it’s missing something.
JiB uses a lot of ketchup, mustard, and mayo to trick you into thinking this burger has big flavor, but without an enjoyable meat component, it just falls flat.
The Bottom Line:
Do yourself a favor and order the Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger. It’s far superior.
Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.
13. Del Taco — Double Del Cheeseburger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
I have sung the praises of the Double Del Cheeseburger many times in my life, and I think the reason is that I’m surprised that Del Taco, a Mexican-inspired fast food chain, makes a pretty decent burger. But when I think about it, I haven’t actually ordered this thing that many times. Because why would I choose this over a taco or burrito?
Here is what works about this burger: the patties are juicy and perfectly cooked. The American cheese melts (which can’t be said for some of the lowest-ranked burgers on this list), the tomatoes are bright and vibrant, and the burger sauce is tangy and gives each bite a savory finish.
But at Del Taco you’re better served with a big Avocado-packed burrito or even a crunchy taco.
The Bottom Line:
Good, but not great enough that you should order this over an Epic Avocado or Cali Burrito (it has fries inside of it!) instead.
Find your nearest Del Taco here.
12. McDonald’s — Double Quarter Pounder With Cheese
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
As I mentioned in the opening of this article, I eat a lot of cheeseburgers. But no other cheeseburger has shifted around between bad, good, and great as much as McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
I think I’ve figured out why. When you order this burger from McDonald’s, you need to eat it immediately. What you’ll find here are two big and beefy patties of meat seasoned with a touch of salt and a lot of black pepper, three slices of cheese, paper-thin pickles, caramelized onions, ketchup, and mustard.
The ingredients all combine for a wonderful mix of beefy, salty, sharp, and tangy flavors with a touch of sweetness. But if this burger sits for any time, it becomes nearly inedible. The beef will start to harden and dry out, which makes eating through two-quarter-pound patties an absolute chore.
The Bottom Line:
For best results, eat your quarter pounder immediately after ordering. It won’t survive even a 15-minute drive home.
Find your nearest McDonald’s here.
11. Carl’s Jr — Superstar With Cheese
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Carl’s Jr has several double cheeseburgers but simplifying the menu down to the single best double on the menu was fairly easy. Easy because the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger was disqualified. That’s not a double cheeseburger it’s a double bacon cheeseburger. If you don’t want bacon, you gotta go Superstar.
Here you get a mix of special sauce and mayo above two cheese-topped charbroiled patties, sliced onions, and tomatoes. Carl’s does what Burger King can’t, they actually manage to make a charbroiled burger that is juicier than it is dry. I like the charred flavor here, it adds an extra dimension to what is otherwise a standard double cheeseburger.
The Bottom Line:
The best charbroiled double cheeseburger in fast food. But if you’re looking for something more adventurous, definitely order that Double Western Bacon.
Find your nearest Carl’s Jr here.
10. Umami Burger — The OG Umami Burger
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Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
It pains me to say this but if you haven’t been to Umami Burger in a few years, you should know things have changed in a big way there. Eating this burger used to be a near-religious experience, but now they straight-up taste like they’re made out of ghost kitchens — there is no character here, it tastes similar to your average hotel room service burger.
Ever since the brand was sold to SBE Entertainment Group the quality has significantly dipped. That’s what happens when “making profit” is the business model instead of “making burgers.”
The build of the OG burger consists of umami sauce, dill pickles, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, American cheese, and grilled onions. Unfortunately, nothing about this burger really stands out.
The Bottom Line:
RIP to the old Umami Burger.
Find your nearest Umami Burger here.
9. Rally’s — Big Buford
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
The Big Buford makes the case that more cheeseburgers should utilize red onions over white. Red onions have a milder bite and a bit more sweetness, which pair nicely with this burger’s umami-rich tomato, earthy dill pickles, and ketchup, mustard, and mayo mix.
The build here makes it so that you get produce first, and then your layers of meat and cheese. I prefer meat first but I’m not opposed to this build! The burger is juicy, the produce is one point, and it’s overall a pretty damn good burger.
The Bottom Line:
Rally’s makes some good burgers, I don’t think the brand has anything truly great but you can’t go wrong here. This burger and a side of fries is a meal worth ordering.
Find your nearest Rally’s here.
8. The Habit — Double Charburger
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Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
While I called Carl’s Jr’s Superstar the best fast food charbroiled cheeseburger, the Habit’s Double Charburger is the best charbroiled cheeseburger in all of fast casual food.
The meat is juicy and savory with a distinct flame flavor that melds perfectly with the rest of the ingredients. Below the charbroiled patty is a stack of carmelized onions alongside tangy pickles, mayo, shredded lettuce, and juicy tomatoes.
This burger has one thing holding it back: the toasted bun. I like a toasted bun as much as anyone else, but The Habit’s bun is always so toasted that it gives an audible crunch. It’s an issue at every restaurant in the chain that I’ve ever been to so it must be company policy to over-toast the bun, which is a shame because I think that takes away from how good the meat is.
The Bottom Line:
A great burger that is held back by its overly toasted bun.
Find your nearest Habit here.
7. Wendy’s — Dave’s Double
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Wendy’s iconic square patties are so thick that Wendy’s is the only fast food chain where I’d rather eat a single cheeseburger than a double. Having said that, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the Dave’s Double isn’t great. It’s overwhelming, incredibly greasy, and very salty, but… still great!
One bite into this burger and the meat will burst with addictive-greasy umami-esque flavor notes. The bun is soft and buttery, the cheese melts perfectly across each square-shaped patty, ensuring none of your cheese gushes out to the side. The onions are crispy, the tomato juicy, and the pickles have a snap and tang, but… this lettuce drops the ball.
Jesus Christ, Wendy’s has to do something about this lettuce. Inside each burger is a single leaf of Romaine. The water clinging to the leaf and its overall limpness of flavor and texture tamps down the savory elements of this burger and single-handedly holds it back from ranking higher.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious burger but a reminder that lettuce isn’t just a throwaway ingredient. It can make or break a great burger. So I’m going to go ahead and say skip this one and order a Baconator instead, which ditches the lettuce for bacon.
Find your nearest Wendy’s here.
6. Chili’s Double Oldtimer with Cheese
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
This gigantic burger (my guess is 1/2 pound) features two thick beef patties, two layers of cheddar cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, shredded lettuce, and mustard.
One bite will flood your tastebuds with a sumptuous beefy flavor that makes way for sharp and nutty cheese notes, the snap of tomatoes, and a sweet and briny combo of flavors from the red onions and pickles.
The Bottom Line:
If you’ve been sleeping on Chili’s line of burgers, you’re f*cking up.
Find your nearest Chili’s here.
5. Fat Burger — XXL Double King Burger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Fat Burger’s XXL Double King Burger holds the title for the only double cheeseburger that can make shredded lettuce work. The lettuce has a great snap to it, offering a nice texture, while the pickles and onions add a sharp sense of tang and mild spice, which pair nicely with the two well-seasoned patties sandwiched together by two slices of melted American cheese.
In a subtle twist, Fat Burger places each slice of cheese under the patty. I swear this changes the way a burger hits the palate — not in a worse way, just in a way that comes across as slightly off to me. Call me picky if you want, but we are essentially splitting hairs at this point in the ranking. Small minuscule details like this make all the difference when we’re near the top of the ranking.
The Bottom Line:
Each bite is a wonderful savory bomb of flavor. It’s not our favorite but it might well be yours.
Find your nearest Fat Burger here.
4. Red Robin — Haystack Double
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
This year I tried 19 different Red Robin cheeseburgers and this was my favorite double (non bacon) cheeseburger on the entire menu. The build is slightly smaller than a typical Red Robin burger and features two burger patties, Campire mayo (which is a tangier smokier version of mayo) crispy fried onions, and two slices of American cheese.
The meat is juicy while the sauce brings in some smokey tang to each bite which pairs nicely with the sweetness and crunch of the onion.
The Bottom Line:
Red Robin’s best double cheeseburger.
Find your nearest Red Robin here.
3. In-N-Out — Double Double
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Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
In-N-Out will always hold a special place in my heart. As a Los Angeles native, the very first cheeseburger I ever ate was a Double Double, so every burger I’ve had since is measured up against what this burger offers. It is to me, simply what a burger is supposed to taste like.
The meat patties here are delicious, perfectly seasoned, and cooked to a medium well state. The burger has a semi-salty mouth-watering quality that is paired with the best American cheese in all of fast food.
Seriously, In-N-Out, where do you get your cheese from? Start retailing that sh*t ASAP.
The bun is perfectly toasted with a crisped edge that provides a pleasing crunch with each bite. The lettuce is crispy and fresh, the tomatoes are juicy, thick, and always ripe, and the special sauce is delicious with chunks of tart relish.
In-N-Out’s burger is so on point that it’s the only chain that hasn’t given in and produced a bacon cheeseburger. Because they don’t need to. This is such a good burger that it doesn’t need another meat to make it next level.
The Bottom Line:
A truly amazing cheeseburger that is worth the hype it receives. Elevate it by asking for chopped chilis in your burger.
Find your nearest In-N-Out here.
2. Five Guys — Cheeseburger
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Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
The draw of Five Guys is that the burgers here are fully customizable. So let me talk about the base before offering some builds.
The meat patties are fresh beef cooked to order. They’re juicy, beefy, and I’d guess just under a quarter of a pound. The bun is a standard sesame seed bun and the cheese is salty, a bit creamy, and melts perfectly. Just the meat, cheese, and bun make for a delicious burger that some days will hit the spot even better than our number one choice.
One of my favorite builds is bun, meat, cheese, grilled jalapenos, and onions. It’s beefy, spicy, salty, and incredibly savory.
Another great build is to ask for a grilled cheese and add two patties, this will give you a crispy buttery bun and a more decadent spin on a classic cheeseburger. Elevate this with some barbecue sauce and grilled mushrooms and you have a sweet, smokey, and savory umami bomb of a burger.
The Bottom Line:
This burger is neck and neck with our number one choice. Five Guys is expensive (a double will run you $12), but if you know how to build your burger, it’s worth every penny.
Find your nearest Five Guys here.
1. Shake Shack — Double Shack Burger
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
I can say with confidence that Shake Shack has the greatest hamburger patty in all of fast food. I know, I’ve tasted patties completely dry and this one stands far and above the rest.
The way the meat melts in your mouth is just fantastic. It has this wonderful depth of flavor, it’s meaty, juicy, fatty, savory, and has an interesting slightly sweet carmelized crunch to it thanks to the Maillard crust. It is burger perfection. And that’s just the meat!
The produce here is also bang on — the tomatoes are juicy, the lettuce has a slight bitter complexity to it, the burger sauce is sweet, tangy, and rich, and the cheese is a great balance of salty and creamy flavors all served inside a soft and spongey potato bun.
The Bottom Line:
The greatest fast food double cheeseburger your money can buy right now.
Find your nearest Shake Shack here.
