Dave's Single Copycat Recipe: Wendy's at Home

This Dave’s Single copycat recipe makes two Wendy’s-style cheeseburgers at home. Each one has a square 4 oz (113 g) patty of 80/20 ground beef, seasoned with salt alone and cooked to 160 °F (71 °C). It gets one slice of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, crinkle-cut dill pickles, onion, ketchup, yellow mustard and mayo on a toasted potato bun. That build follows Wendy’s own US menu description, checked on November 1, 2026. The patty weight, fat ratio, cheese count and assembly order are my choices, because Wendy’s does not publish them.

Homemade reproduction, not the official recipe. Wendy’s publishes the list of components of the Dave’s Single, not its formulas. The bun recipe, sauce formulas, grill temperature and cooked patty weight are not public. Everything below that goes beyond the official description is marked as a third-party claim or as my own choice. Reference market: United States, menu checked on 2026-11-01.

What comes on a Dave’s Single in 2026?

On Wendy’s US menu, the Dave’s Single is a quarter pound of fresh, never-frozen beef with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mustard, mayo and onion on a potato bun. Wendy’s lists it on its US order page as “A quarter-pound of fresh, never-frozen beef, American cheese, crisp lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and onion on a potato bun.” The press release for the October 19, 2026 combo adds that the potato bun is toasted (Franchising.com, October 19, 2026).

Two details set this version apart from older copycats. Since March 30, 2026, Wendy’s premium burgers in the US, including the Dave’s Single, Double and Triple, come on a potato bun described as “soft and slightly sweet” and “inspired by classic Southern recipes” (Franchising.com, March 30, 2026). And mustard is back on the US build, after years off the menu.

Ingredients of the Dave’s Single: official, third-party and homemade

The table splits what Wendy’s states, what other sources report and what I chose. Read the left column as certain and the right one as my best reconstruction.

Dave’s Single copycat ingredients for 2 burgers

This shopping list makes two burgers. The sauce and topping quantities are the same as in my Dave’s Double copycat recipe; the Double just takes twice the beef.

• 8 oz (226 g) ground beef, 80% lean / 20% fat, split into two 4 oz (113 g) portions
• Kosher or fine salt
• 2 slices American cheese
• 2 potato buns
• 2 tbsp ketchup (1 tbsp per burger)
• 2 tsp yellow mustard (1 tsp per burger)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise (1 tbsp per burger)
• 6 to 8 crinkle-cut dill pickle chips (3 to 4 per burger)
• A few thin rings of sweet onion
• 4 tomato slices (2 per burger)
• 2 leaves of lettuce

Yield: 2 burgers. Cook time: 6 to 8 minutes for the patties (3 to 4 minutes per side), plus toasting the buns. Equipment: a heavy skillet, cast-iron pan or flat-top griddle, a thin spatula, an instant-read thermometer and, if you have one, an infrared thermometer for the pan.

No potato buns at your store? My homemade burger buns recipe has a potato bun variation that gets close to the soft, slightly sweet crumb Wendy’s describes.

How to make a Wendy’s Dave’s Single at home: step by step

Make a loosely packed square patty, sear it on a very hot flat surface, salt it, then build the burger fast while the cheese is soft. Once the pan is hot, the whole thing takes about 10 minutes.

1. Shape the square patties

Divide the beef into two 4 oz (113 g) portions and press each one into a square of about 4 1/4 inches (11 cm). Handle the meat as little as possible and keep it loosely packed. Make the square slightly wider than your bun: the beef shrinks in the pan, and you want the corners still sticking out at the end. That overhang is the Wendy’s look, and in my cast-iron pan the corners are also the crispiest part of the patty.

2. Prep the toppings

Slice the tomato and onion thin, wash and dry the lettuce, and set out the pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayo before you turn on the heat. Once the patties hit the pan there is no time to cut anything.

3. Toast the potato buns

Toast the cut sides of the buns on the dry pan or griddle until golden, then set them aside. Wendy’s 2026 release specifies a toasted potato bun, and toasting also keeps the sauces from soaking into the soft crumb.

4. Heat the pan to 390–450 °F

Heat the skillet or griddle until the surface reaches 390 to 450 °F (200 to 230 °C). An infrared thermometer is the easiest way to check. The beef should sizzle loudly the moment it touches the pan.

5. Sear the patties and salt them

Lay the patties in the pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until a brown crust forms. Salt the top, flip, and salt the seared side. Press each patty no more than twice: Wendy’s 2011 relaunch cut the number of presses from eight to two to keep the patty thicker and juicier, according to NBC News. Don’t add pepper or garlic powder. With this much sauce, salt is all the beef needs, and extra spice pulls the burger away from Wendy’s.

6. Melt the cheese and check the temperature

Lay one slice of American cheese on each patty right after flipping, and cook the second side 3 to 4 minutes. Pull the patties when an instant-read thermometer reads 160 °F (71 °C) in the center, the safe minimum for ground beef set by the USDA FSIS. My Dave’s Double copycat uses the same target.

7. Assemble the burger

Wendy’s does not publish its build order, so this is the one I use. Set the cheesy patty on the bottom bun, then add ketchup, mustard, pickles, onion, tomato and lettuce. Spread the mayo on the crown and close the burger. I put the sauces straight on the hot cheese and keep the cold mayo against the lettuce. Eat it right away, while the cheese is still soft.

Why this copycat is closer to the 2026 Dave’s Single

This copycat starts from Wendy’s own 2026 description, not from an old or made-up one. Three choices matter most.

• The potato bun and the mustard. Both are on the current US build, and I didn’t find either one in the online copies I compared. Food.com uses brioche and no mustard, and thefoodxp uses brioche too. For me the mustard is the bigger miss: without its tang, ketchup and mayo push the burger toward sweet and flat.
• Salt only on the beef. The Daily Meal reports that salt is the only seasoning listed for Wendy’s patties (The Daily Meal, January 29, 2025). The Food.com version adds pepper, garlic and onion powder, and its own commenters say the seasoning is too strong.
• A square, fresh, loosely packed patty. Wendy’s says its patties are square so the corners “hang over the bun so our customers can see the quality beef”, and that they are “prepared fresh on the grill” (Wendy’s fresh beef FAQ). A round patty, as in thefoodxp’s version, misses the look entirely.

Dave’s Single vs Dave’s Double and Wendy’s junior burgers

The Dave’s Single has one quarter-pound patty, the Dave’s Double has two, and the Jr. burgers use a smaller junior patty. The Dave’s line shares its toppings and potato bun, so the Single is all about balance: one patty against a full load of vegetables and three sauces. It’s the one I make most often. On the Double, the second patty buries the tomato and the mustard.

• Dave’s Single: one 4 oz patty. The vegetables and sauces count as much as the beef in each bite.
• Dave’s Double: two patties, meatier and richer. See my Dave’s Double copycat recipe.
• Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger: a smaller patty with bacon. Compare it in my Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger copycat.
• Son of Baconator: two junior patties and bacon. Recipe here: Son of Baconator copycat.

Wendy’s Junior Cheeseburger Deluxe on its wrapper (May 2025): one thin junior patty, one slice of melted American cheese and romaine lettuce on a plain bun. Next to the Dave’s Single’s quarter-pound (4 oz) patty, the junior patty is noticeably smaller. Photo: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Junior\_Cheeseburger\_Deluxe\_Wendy%27s\_(54504592125).jpg (Photo: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Junior\_Cheeseburger\_Deluxe\_Wendy%27s\_(54504592125).jpg)

Dave’s Single by market: US vs UK

The Dave’s Single changes from one country to another, and the UK version shows it most clearly. On Wendy’s UK site, the burger is called the “Wendy’s Single”. It has a quarter pound of fresh beef, American cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, pickle, fresh white onion, Heinz ketchup and Heinz mayonnaise on a toasted “Premium Bun”.

Mustard is not a UK topping, though it appears in the UK allergen list along with celery, egg, milk, wheat gluten and sesame. The UK bun is not the American potato bun either. To make the UK version, skip the mustard, use romaine and white onion, and swap the potato bun for a plain toasted white bun.

A short history of the Single, from 1969 to 2026

Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, and its hamburgers have been square from the start (Mental Floss). Back then the burger was simply the “Single”. In its October 2026 release, Wendy’s calls the Dave’s Single one of the five items on the original menu.

Dave’s Single copycat recipe, inspired by the chain that has sold square-patty burgers since 1969: “Quality Burgers Since 1969” in large letters on the dark facade of the Wendy’s in Bilton, Kingston upon Hull, England (April 2024). The UK version of the burger is the “Wendy’s Single”, with no mustard topping and a different bun. Photo: Hullian111, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wendy%27s\_in\_Bilton,\_Kingston\_upon\_Hull\_Apr24\_Exterior\_Signage.jpg (Photo: Hullian111, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wendy%27s\_in\_Bilton,\_Kingston\_upon\_Hull\_Apr24\_Exterior\_Signage.jpg)

• 1969: Dave Thomas opens the first Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, with square patties.
• Fall 2011: the Dave’s Hot ’N Juicy relaunch, codenamed “Project Gold Hamburger”, followed about 2.5 years of development, according to NBC News. It brought a thicker, looser patty pressed twice instead of eight times, a buttered toasted bun, red onion instead of white, fewer pickles and onions, and full-fat mayo. Mustard was dropped. The quarter-pounder sold for about $3.49 depending on the restaurant. Sources disagree on the exact launch date.
• October 2011: Wendy’s launch release lists “two slices of melted American cheese”, sweet mild red onion rings, crinkle-cut dill pickles, ketchup and real mayonnaise on a warm, buttered, toasted bun. It doesn’t say which burger size gets two slices (Franchising.com, 2011).
• February 2016: the Dave’s Single gets a “bakery-style bun inspired by Dave Thomas’ original recipe”, red onions and foil wrapping. It sold for $0.69 on February 16, 2016 in seven Florida cities (Franchising.com, 2016).
• November 10, 2020: Wendy’s blog describes the burger without mustard and says the formula “hasn’t changed in decades” (Wendy’s blog).
• March 30, 2026: the potato bun arrives on the US premium burger line.
• October 19, 2026: a Dave’s Single combo for $7.99 launches in the US, with mustard on the build.

For more on the chain, see the Wendy’s brand profile, or browse all our copycat and burger recipes.

Dave’s Single FAQ

What are the ingredients in a Wendy’s Dave’s Single?

In the US in 2026, a Dave’s Single has a quarter pound of fresh, never-frozen beef, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mustard, mayo and onion on a toasted potato bun. That is Wendy’s own menu description, checked on November 1, 2026.

How much does the Dave’s Single patty weigh?

The Dave’s Single patty weighs a quarter pound (about 4 oz or 113 g) before cooking. Wendy’s does not publish the cooked weight or the fat ratio of its beef. The 80/20 blend in this recipe is my choice.

How many slices of cheese are on a Dave’s Single?

Tasting Table (August 23, 2026) reports one slice of American cheese by default. Wendy’s 2011 launch release mentioned two slices without saying which burger size had them, and Wendy’s publishes no count today. This recipe uses one slice. Add a second if you like a cheesier burger.

Is there mustard on a Dave’s Single?

Yes, in the US: mustard is on Wendy’s 2026 menu description. Many copycats leave it out because it was dropped in the 2011 relaunch and missing from Wendy’s 2020 description. It is also missing from the UK build. Exactly when it came back to the US menu is not documented.

What bun does Wendy’s use for the Dave’s Single?

In the US, Wendy’s has used a soft, slightly sweet potato bun on the Dave’s Single since March 30, 2026, served toasted. The UK uses a different toasted “Premium Bun” that lists sesame among its allergens.

What seasoning does Wendy’s put on its burgers?

According to The Daily Meal (January 29, 2025), salt is the only seasoning listed for Wendy’s patties, sprinkled on the freshly grilled beef. Wendy’s has made no official statement, so treat it as a strong third-party lead.

Why are Wendy’s burgers square?

Wendy’s says its patties are square so the corners hang over the bun and customers can see the quality of the beef. The patties have been square since the first restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969.

How many calories are in a Dave’s Single?

There is no readable official US figure: Wendy’s US nutrition page didn’t load when I checked. FatSecret lists 570 calories, 34 g fat, 36 g carbs and 29 g protein. An older USDA entry for the “Dave’s Hot ’N Juicy 1/4 lb single” shows 576 calories and 1,017 mg sodium. Both figures predate the 2026 potato bun. The only official figure is 524 kcal, and it is for the UK version.

How much does a Dave’s Single cost?

Since October 19, 2026, Wendy’s has sold a Dave’s Single combo in the US for $7.99, with small Hot & Crispy fries and a small soft drink. It is a limited-time offer at participating restaurants. Wendy’s does not publish a national price for the burger on its own.

Why is it called the Dave’s Single?

The name honors Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas. The “Dave’s” prefix came with the 2011 Dave’s Hot ’N Juicy relaunch. In 1969, the burger was simply called the “Single”.

Where can I eat a real Dave’s Single?

Wendy’s serves fresh beef in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and other select international markets. The recipe varies by country. The UK version, for example, has no mustard topping and a different bun.