Jollibee Yumburger Copycat Recipe with Yum Sauce

This Jollibee Yumburger copycat recipe makes 2 burgers in about 25 minutes: a thin 90 g (3.2 oz) all-beef patty with salt and pepper, cooked to 160 °F (71 °C), on a soft toasted bun with a thick layer of sweet, tangy, creamy sauce. Jollibee has never published its recipe. So this is a reproduction. It keeps everything the chain confirms, and every guess is labeled as one.

What is on a Jollibee Yumburger?

A Jollibee Yumburger is a beef patty in a soft bun with Jollibee’s own burger dressing, and the plain version has no cheese, lettuce or tomato. In 2019, Jollibee described it as a “100% pure beef patty—seasoned to suit the Pinoy palate” with a “special burger dressing that’s equally tangy, sweet, and creamy” on “soft burger buns” (press release of May 15, 2019, republished by Chasing Curious Alice). Wikipedia puts it more bluntly: a beef patty topped with mayonnaise (Wikipedia).

The Yumburger goes back to Jollibee’s first years. Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia ice cream parlor in Cubao in 1975 and turned it into a fast-food chain in 1978. The rest of the story, with figures, is in our Jollibee brand profile.

The 2026 Glow Up Yumburger

The Glow Up Yumburger is the upgraded version Jollibee Philippines launched on February 20, 2026, with a bigger beef patty and more sauce, still at ₱45. That is the burger this recipe aims for (Jollibee Philippines). Jollibee did not give a weight for the new patty. Dorothy Ching, VP for marketing at Jollibee Philippines, said at the launch: “Our Yumburger is not just a burger, but a part of Filipino life and cherished memories” (Daily Tribune, February 23, 2026).

Yumburger vs Original Cheesy vs Special Cheesy

The three burgers share the same patty and differ only in toppings and sauce. Since October 1, 2025, Jollibee Philippines has sold two Cheesy Yumburgers alongside the plain one (Flow Galindez; Manila Bulletin).

Yumburger vs Cheesy Yumburger prices in the Philippines: ₱45 for the plain Yumburger (February 2026), from ₱69 for the Original Cheesy and from ₱75 for the Special Cheesy (October 2025 launch prices). (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from Jollibee Philippines, Flow Galindez and Manila Bulletin)

On November 3, 2026, Jollibee’s official Philippine burger menu also listed double versions of both Cheesy burgers, a Bacon Cheesy Yumburger, the Champ and the Amazing Aloha Champ Jr., with no prices shown (Jollibee menu). Menus vary from country to country.

Copycat Yumburger ingredients (2 burgers)

You need 180 g of ground beef, two soft buns and a five-ingredient sauce. Use 80/20 beef. I tried leaner meat once: at this thickness it dried out before it browned.

For the patties

• 180 g (6.3 oz) ground beef, 80/20
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/8 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp neutral oil for the pan

For the Yum-style sauce

• 3 tbsp (40 g) mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp (15 g) ketchup
• 2 tsp (10 g) sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 tsp sugar (optional, for a sweeter sauce)
• 1 pinch black pepper

For assembly

• 2 soft plain burger buns, about 10 cm (4 in) across
• For the Cheesy versions: 2 slices of American-style processed cheese
• For the Special Cheesy: 2 tsp ketchup, 4 to 6 dill pickle slices, 2 tbsp finely chopped white onion

Yumburger sauce recipe

The closest home match for the Yumburger sauce is mayonnaise, ketchup and sweet relish. Jollibee has never published the formula. I started from the copycat on Mae Serves You Food (Kristel Baclaan, July 10, 2022): 1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 tsp sweet relish and 1/2 tsp pepper for 5 burgers.

To me, that version leans too far toward ketchup and ends up tasting like any burger sauce. So I kept about the same amount per burger, roughly 2 1/2 tablespoons, but cut the ketchup by a third and more than doubled the relish. The relish brings the tang Jollibee promises. My view: the Yumburger is a sauce burger. Get the sauce right and the rest is easy.

Every review calls the sauce sweet. A 2018 review quoted by Wikipedia called it a “strangely sweet mayo”, and Spoon University described a “dollop of Jollibee’s sweet and tangy dressing served on a soft bun” (Spoon University, May 1, 2023). That is what the optional sugar is for. Taste first, though: sweet relish brands vary a lot.

Step-by-step Jollibee Yumburger copycat

Mix the sauce, press two thin patties, sear them to 160 °F (71 °C), toast the buns, assemble. Prep takes 15 minutes and cooking 10.

1. Mix the Yum-style sauce

Stir the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and pepper in a small bowl until smooth and pale pink. Taste, add the sugar if you want it sweeter, and chill while you cook.

2. Shape thin patties

Divide the beef into two 90 g (3.2 oz) balls. Press each one between two sheets of parchment into a disc about 11 cm (4.3 in) wide and 8 mm (1/3 in) thick. The disc should overhang the bun a little, because it shrinks in the pan. Any thicker and it stops tasting like fast food.

3. Season the patties

Sprinkle the salt and pepper on both sides just before cooking. All Jollibee says is that the patty is “seasoned to suit the Pinoy palate”. I keep it plain and let the sauce bring the sweetness.

4. Sear the patties to 160 °F (71 °C)

Heat the oil in a cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned and 160 °F (71 °C) in the center. That is the USDA safe temperature for ground beef; our burger patty internal temperature guide explains why. For a Cheesy version, lay the cheese on each patty for the last 30 seconds and cover the pan so it melts all the way to the edge.

5. Toast the buns

Toast the cut sides of the buns in the same pan for 30 to 60 seconds, just until warm and lightly golden. Stop before they crisp. The bun has to stay soft.

6. Assemble the Yumburger

Spread half the sauce on each top bun, set the patty on the bottom bun and close. For the Special Cheesy, skip the sauce and put the ketchup, pickles and chopped onion on top of the cheese, as Jollibee’s menu describes.

Best bun for a Jollibee-style Yumburger

Use a soft, plain, slightly sweet white bun about 10 cm (4 in) across. Skip brioche, whose butter fights the sweet sauce, and skip crusty artisan rolls. Jollibee only calls its buns “soft” and “fresh” and has never said whether they carry sesame. Photos of the Cheesy Yumburger seem to show a smooth top, so I leave sesame out. If you bake your own, my homemade burger buns recipe gives exactly the soft crumb this burger needs.

Why this recipe tastes like the original

This copycat sticks to the three things Jollibee confirms: an all-beef patty, a soft bun and a sweet, tangy, creamy dressing. Some blogs add egg, oyster sauce or breadcrumbs to the patty. I don’t, because no official source mentions them, and they turn the patty into a meatloaf. Lettuce and tomato stay out too: no official source lists them on the plain Yumburger.

The rest is a guess: the exact sauce formula, the seasoning, the patty weight, the type of cheese, and whether Jollibee cooks its patties on a griddle or a grill. A hot skillet gives a good sear either way.

Yumburger prices in 2026

A Yumburger has cost ₱45 in the Philippines since the Glow Up launch on February 20, 2026, up from ₱40 in March 2024 (Philstar, March 1, 2024). In the United States, jollibeefoods.com listed it at $4.49 on November 3, 2026, and the price varies by restaurant (Jollibee USA). For the full Manila menu with prices and addresses, see our guide to Jollibee in Manila.

Yumburger price in the Philippines, 2020 to 2026: ₱35 on a store poster in September 2020, ₱40 in March 2024 (Philstar) and ₱45 since the Glow Up launch on February 20, 2026 (Jollibee). In the US it was $4.49 in November 2026. (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from a Jollibee Teresa store poster (Elmer Domingo, CC BY-SA 4.0), Philstar and Jollibee Philippines)

A 24-hour Jollibee drive-thru in Teresa, Rizal, Philippines, in September 2020. The window poster advertises the Yumburger at ₱35. (Photo: Elmer Domingo, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jollibee\_Teresa,\_Rizal.jpg)

More copycat burgers from Asian chains

Another sweet, sauce-forward burger worth making at home is my MOS Burger teriyaki burger recipe. The other copycats are all in our burger recipes section.

Jollibee Yumburger FAQ

Is the Yumburger patty 100% beef? Yes. Jollibee describes it as a “100% pure beef patty”. It has published nothing about the seasoning beyond “seasoned to suit the Pinoy palate”.

Why does the Yumburger taste sweet? Most of the sweetness comes from the sauce, which Jollibee calls tangy, sweet and creamy. Reviewers describe it as a sweet mayo-style dressing.

What is the Yum sauce made of? Jollibee does not publish it. At home, mayonnaise, ketchup and sweet relish come closest. Treat that as a reproduction, not the official formula.

Does the Yumburger have cheese? The plain Yumburger does not. The Original Cheesy Yumburger adds creamy cheese with the Yum sauce, and the Special Cheesy replaces the sauce with ketchup, dill pickles and chopped onions.

What was the Yumburger Glow Up? It is the upgraded Yumburger Jollibee Philippines launched on February 20, 2026, with a bigger beef patty and more sauce, still at ₱45.

How much does a Yumburger cost in the US? Jollibee’s US site listed the Yumburger at $4.49 on November 3, 2026. The price varies by restaurant.