Son of Baconator Copycat Recipe: Wendy's Bacon Cheeseburger at Home

This Son of Baconator copycat recipe follows the specs Wendy’s published at launch in 2012. For two burgers you need 9 oz (255 g) of ground beef shaped into four thin square patties, 8 slices of thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, 4 slices of American cheese, ketchup, mayo and two buttered, toasted buns. Allow 40 minutes. This is my homemade reproduction, not Wendy’s recipe. The chain has never published its bun formula, its seasoning or its griddle settings, so I flag every choice of mine below.

Why bother? Wendy’s has no restaurant in France and has had none in Spain since the 1990s, so outside North America the Son of Baconator is hard to find. The US “copycat” pages don’t help much either: most of them are full Baconator recipes, with two quarter-pound patties and six slices of bacon. That is a bigger, different burger. I wanted the small one, built to its real proportions. Honestly, I think it is the better of the two, and I explain why in the comparison below.

What’s in the Son of Baconator: the original ingredients

The Son of Baconator is two 2.25 oz beef patties, four strips of applewood-smoked bacon, two slices of American cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise on a buttered, toasted premium bun. That is the full list from Wendy’s launch press release of July 10, 2012, titled “Don’t Call Him Junior” (Franchising.com, QSR Web). No secret sauce, no onion, no pickle, no lettuce.

What the sources say about each layer:

• Beef: two patties of 2.25 oz each, according to the 2012 launch release. That is about 64 g per patty. The release does not say whether that is raw or cooked weight, and it may have changed since. Wendy’s described the beef as “100% pure, North American, fresh, never frozen”.
• Patty shape: square, and wide enough to stick out past the bun. Wendy’s describes its patties as 100% real beef with no additives or fillers, cut square so they overhang the bun (Wendy’s beef FAQ, May 22, 2025). The Daily Meal reports that the Son of Baconator uses the same “Jr.” patties as Wendy’s Junior burgers (The Daily Meal, November 26, 2023).
• Bacon: four slices of “thick, center-cut, fresh-cooked Applewood Smoked Bacon”, in the words of Craig Bahner, Wendy’s chief marketing officer in 2012. According to The Daily Meal, Wendy’s Baconator bacon comes from Sugardale Foods in Ohio, a supplier since 1982, and is cooked in the restaurants.
• Cheese: two slices of American cheese.
• Sauces: ketchup and mayonnaise, nothing else.
• Bun: a “premium” bun, buttered and toasted. Its recipe is not public.

Baconator vs Son of Baconator: the difference

The Son of Baconator is a scaled-down Baconator: smaller Junior patties and four slices of bacon instead of six, with the same cheese, ketchup and mayo. The original Baconator, launched in 2007, stacks two quarter-pound patties (about 113 g each) and six slices of bacon (Wikipedia, The Takeout, December 8, 2024). The Son followed in July 2012. The Takeout puts it at roughly 300 calories lighter than its big brother.

	Baconator	Son of Baconator	My homemade version (per burger)
Launched	2007	July 2012	—
Beef	2 × 1/4 lb (about 113 g each)	2 × 2.25 oz (about 64 g each, 2012 release)	2 × 2.25 oz (64 g) raw, square
Bacon	6 slices	4 slices, applewood smoked	4 slices thick-cut applewood smoked
Cheese	2 slices	2 slices American	2 slices American
Sauces	Ketchup, mayo	Ketchup, mayo	Ketchup, mayo
Bun	Premium, buttered and toasted	Premium, buttered and toasted	Soft enriched bun, buttered and toasted

Two things surprised me when I did the math. First, two 2.25 oz patties make 4.5 oz (about 128 g) of beef, a little more than a single quarter pound (113 g). So the “small” Baconator still carries more beef than a classic quarter-pounder. Second, the Son has more bacon for its size: about 0.9 slice per ounce of beef, against 0.75 for the Baconator. That is why I prefer it. Every bite tastes of smoke and salt, while the big one turns into a beef sandwich halfway through.

Bar chart, beef per burger: Baconator 8 oz (227 g), Son of Baconator 4.5 oz (128 g), classic single quarter-pound patty 4 oz (113 g). The “small” Baconator still carries more beef than a quarter-pounder. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Wendy’s July 10, 2012 launch release and Wikipedia “Baconator” (CC BY-SA 4.0))

Ingredients for 2 homemade Son of Baconators

For two burgers you need 9 oz (255 g) of ground beef, 8 slices of bacon, 4 slices of American cheese and 2 buns. The beef, bacon and cheese counts come straight from the 2012 specs, doubled. The fat ratio, the bun and the sauce amounts are my own choices after testing.

• 9 oz (255 g) ground beef, 80/20 chuck (my choice; Wendy’s does not publish a fat ratio)
• 8 slices thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon
• 4 slices American cheese
• 2 soft enriched burger buns, about 4 in (10 cm) wide
• 1 tbsp (15 g) soft unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• Fine salt
• Black pepper (optional; Wendy’s has never said whether it uses pepper)

Equipment: a cast-iron skillet or flat griddle, a sheet pan, parchment paper, a stiff spatula and a digital scale. Don’t skip the scale. On one test my patties crept up to 80 g, and the bacon went from star to garnish. I also tried a 90/10 blend: at 64 g and 3 minutes of cooking it came out dry and grey, so I went back to 80/20.

Son of Baconator copycat recipe: step by step

Bake the bacon, toast the buttered buns, sear thin square patties on a very hot surface for 2 minutes plus 1 minute, melt the cheese, then stack. Prep takes 15 minutes and cooking about 25, mostly oven time for the bacon while you do the rest.

1. Shape four square patties

Weigh the beef into four 64 g (2.25 oz) portions. Press each one between two sheets of parchment into a square about 4.5 in (11 cm) on a side. It shrinks in the pan, and you want the corners to stay past the edge of a 4 in bun, the way Wendy’s patties do. Keep them in the fridge until the pan is hot.

2. Bake the bacon

Lay the 8 bacon slices on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 400 °F (200 °C) for 15 to 20 minutes. Pull them when the edges are browned and crisp but the slices still bend. In my oven that was 17 minutes; start checking at 15. Drain on paper towels.

A homemade bacon cheeseburger with crisp bacon and melted cheese: the bacon should be browned at the edges but still bend, as in step 2 of this Son of Baconator copycat. (Photo: jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/7927684@N03/9633688930))

3. Butter and toast the buns

Spread the cut sides of the buns with the butter. Toast them cut side down in the dry skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Set them aside.

4. Sear the patties

Heat the skillet or griddle to about 430 to 445 °F (220 to 230 °C), until a drop of water skitters and vanishes. Salt the patties on both sides, and add pepper if you like. Cook 2 minutes without touching them, flip, and cook 1 more minute. A 10-inch skillet takes two patties at a time, so cook in two batches rather than crowding the pan.

Thin burger patties searing on a very hot flat-top griddle, the same high-heat sear (about 430–445 °F) used for the Son of Baconator copycat’s 2-minute-plus-1-minute cook. (Photo: J Wynia, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/73451168@N00/49978037281))

5. Melt the cheese

Lay one slice of American cheese on each patty right after the flip, during that last minute. If it is slow to melt, cover the pan for 20 to 30 seconds. Take the patties off as soon as the cheese drapes over the edges.

6. Assemble the burgers

Spread 1 tbsp of mayo on each top bun and 1 tbsp of ketchup on each bottom bun. Stack a cheesy patty, a second cheesy patty, then four slices of bacon, and close. That order is mine: Wendy’s has not published how its crews build the burger, so I won’t pretend this is how it’s done in the restaurant.

Why this recipe tastes like the original

It tastes close because it keeps the four things that define the Son of Baconator: the beef-to-bacon ratio, thin square patties, melted American cheese, and ketchup plus mayo with nothing else. Most copycats online miss the first one. They use quarter-pound patties and six slices of bacon, which makes a Baconator. One page I found even adds a mustard-relish sauce and a “cheesy filling” that appear nowhere in Wendy’s launch description.

The thin patty does the rest. At 64 g on a very hot surface it browns in 3 minutes and stays juicy, which gets you that fast-food griddle crust. Those timings come from my own tests, not from Wendy’s, which doesn’t publish its settings. The buttered, toasted bun is in the official description, and it earns its place: the butter keeps the ketchup and mayo from soaking into the crumb.

Tips for finding the right bacon and cheese

Thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, sold in most US supermarkets, gets you closest. Wendy’s specifies thick, center-cut, applewood smoked and freshly cooked. Hickory-smoked bacon works too, but the smoke reads sharper. In the UK, use thick-cut smoked streaky bacon.

For the cheese, buy real American slices that melt smoothly, not a sharp aged cheddar. If you can’t find them, a mild young cheddar sliced thin is the next best choice. It melts less glossily and tastes a little tangier, and I could tell the difference in a side-by-side test.

Individually wrapped American cheese slices, the smooth-melting cheese that gets a homemade Son of Baconator closest to Wendy’s. A mild young cheddar is the fallback. (Photo: Mike Mozart (JeepersMedia), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/39160147@N03/15136958841))

More double bacon cheeseburgers to make at home

Burger King’s answer to the Baconator is in my Bacon King copycat recipe. For flame-grilled flavor, try the Ultimate Double Whopper copycat, and for heat, the Sonic jalapeño double cheeseburger copycat. All of them live in our burger recipes section.

FAQ: Son of Baconator questions

What is in a Wendy’s Son of Baconator?

Two 2.25 oz beef patties, four slices of applewood-smoked bacon, two slices of American cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise on a buttered, toasted premium bun. That is the list from Wendy’s July 10, 2012 launch release.

What is the difference between the Baconator and the Son of Baconator?

The Baconator uses two quarter-pound patties and six slices of bacon. The Son of Baconator uses two smaller Junior patties (2.25 oz each at launch) and four slices. Cheese, ketchup, mayo and the bun are the same.

How many calories are in a Son of Baconator?

The Takeout (December 2024) and The Daily Meal (November 2023) list 630 calories. The Impulsive Buy reported 700 calories at launch in July 2012 (The Impulsive Buy, July 11, 2012). Wendy’s official product page was unreachable when I checked on October 9, 2026, so treat these as dated figures, not current official values.

How much beef do I need for a homemade Son of Baconator?

Use 2.25 oz (64 g) of raw beef per patty, two patties per burger. For two burgers that is about 9 oz (255 g). The 2.25 oz figure comes from the 2012 launch release, which does not say whether it is raw or cooked weight.

What sauce does Wendy’s put on the Son of Baconator?

Only ketchup and mayonnaise. There is no secret sauce, mustard or relish on it.

Why are Wendy’s patties square?

According to Wendy’s, founder Dave Thomas wanted the patty to stick out past the bun so customers could see the quality of the beef (WRAL). Thomas opened the first Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1969, a story we tell in our history of the hamburger.

Historical marker for the first Wendy’s, opened by Dave Thomas on East Broad Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1969, where the square patty that overhangs the bun began. (Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Map: site of the first Wendy’s restaurant, East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio (opened November 15, 1969). (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL)

Is the Son of Baconator still on Wendy’s menu?

Yes, it is on Wendy’s US menu, and probably in Canada too, but availability varies by country. I couldn’t confirm it on the official product page, which returned an error on October 9, 2026, so check your local Wendy’s app before you go.

How much does a Son of Baconator cost?

Prices vary by location, and the figures online come from unofficial aggregators, so I won’t quote one. For dated 2026 prices and Wendy’s Biggie Deals, see our burger value wars 2026 comparison.

Are there Wendy’s restaurants in Europe?

Yes, in a few countries. The UK has close to 50 restaurants, Ireland got its first in Cork in October 2025, and a July 2025 deal plans 170 restaurants in Italy by 2035 (Toute la Franchise, updated July 22, 2026). France has no Wendy’s. Spain has had none since the chain pulled out in the 1990s; in 2022 it was looking for a master franchisee to return (Alimarket, June 20, 2022).