Sonic Cheeseburger Copycat Recipe: Plain Version
Sonic cheeseburger copycat recipe: bun, beef and American cheese melted under the patty, just as Sonic builds it. Makes 2 plain burgers at home.
This Sonic cheeseburger copycat recipe rebuilds the Plain SONIC Cheeseburger at home: a toasted golden bun, one seasoned beef patty, a slice of American cheese. Nothing else. What makes it taste like Sonic is where the cheese goes. Sonic puts it under the patty, straight on the bottom bun, and lets the heat of the beef melt it. Don’t confuse it with the full SONIC Cheeseburger, which adds lettuce, tomato, crinkle-cut pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo; I give that build as a variant at the end. This is my homemade reproduction, not Sonic’s official recipe.
What is in a plain Sonic cheeseburger?
A plain Sonic cheeseburger contains only a bun, a beef patty and a slice of American cheese. Tasting Table lists it that way in its ranking of nine Sonic burgers, published October 27, 2026, and Cheapism sums it up as “just a patty and American cheese”.
Sonic’s own description is short: “100% pure seasoned beef” on a “golden, toasted” bun. The full SONIC Cheeseburger adds “crinkle cut pickles, ketchup, onions, creamy mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes”, according to Sonic’s product page, checked November 5, 2026.
Plain SONIC Cheeseburger vs. full SONIC Cheeseburger: both have a golden toasted bun, a 100% seasoned beef patty and American cheese under the patty; only the full version adds crinkle-cut pickles, diced onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo. Sources: Sonic product page, Tasting Table, Cheapism, checked November 5, 2026. (Table: Burger Breton, original compilation (CC BY 4.0), from sonicdrivein.com, tastingtable.com and cheapism.com)
On Sonic’s online menu, “plain” reads as an ordering option of the SONIC Cheeseburger rather than a separate item. Some of Sonic’s pages returned errors when I went back to them on November 5, 2026, so treat the exact menu status with caution. Sonic only operates in the United States.
Ingredients for 2 burgers
Two burgers take eight ounces of ground beef, two slices of American cheese and two plain white buns. US units come first, metric in parentheses.
- 8 oz (226 g) ground beef, divided into two 4 oz (113 g) portions
- 2 slices American cheese
- 2 plain white hamburger buns (not brioche)
- 1 tbsp (14 g) butter, softened
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
The 4 oz (113 g) patty is my assumption, not a published spec. Sonic gives no weight for the SONIC Cheeseburger patty. It does describe other cheeseburgers, such as the 2021 Bacon Jam Cheeseburger, as having a “quarter-pound, 100% pure beef patty”, and Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipes clone of the Sonic Burger uses the same quarter pound. Raw or cooked weight? Sonic doesn’t say. I weigh the beef raw.
Sonic cheeseburger copycat, step by step
Freeze a thick, bun-wide patty, toast a buttered bun, sear the patty three to four minutes per side and stack the cheese under it. Count about 10 minutes at the stove, plus the time the patties spend in the freezer.
1. Shape and freeze the patties
Shape each 4 oz (113 g) portion into a patty about the width of your bun, then freeze it on a plate until firm. The freezer step comes from the Top Secret Recipes clone, and it earns its place: a thick patty keeps its edges in the pan instead of slumping. Don’t press it. This is not a smash burger.
2. Toast the buttered buns
Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them, cut side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden. Sonic only says “golden, toasted bun”. The butter is my choice, borrowed from the Top Secret Recipes clone, and I’d keep it: a dry-toasted bun goes stiff under a hot patty.
3. Season and sear the patties
Season both sides of the frozen patties with salt and pepper, then cook them in the same skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Sonic doesn’t publish its seasoning, so salt and pepper is an assumption. Trust the thermometer over the clock: a patty that goes in frozen can need an extra minute to reach 160°F (71°C) in the center, the USDA safe temperature for ground beef.
4. Put the cheese under the patty
Lay one slice of American cheese on each bottom bun, set the hot patty right on top and close with the top bun. This is the Sonic signature: Cheapism notes the cheese is “always placed underneath the patty”. Sonic used the same placement on its 2021 Crave Cheeseburger and promised “extra melty cheesiness”. Move fast here. The cheese melts from the patty’s heat alone.
5. Rest and serve
Wrap each burger in parchment or foil for a minute before serving. The trapped steam softens the bun and finishes melting the cheese. That rest is my own trick for the soft, drive-in texture, and it’s the step I’d least want you to skip.
Why this recipe tastes like the original
This copy works because it reproduces the three things Sonic publishes, plus the texture reviewers describe: a toasted golden bun, seasoned 100% beef and American cheese melted from below.
Tasting Table described the plain burger as a dense, slightly firm patty against a “pillowy bun”, mild enough that the bread comes through. A thick quarter-pound patty, frozen and then seared, gets closer to that “dense chew” than a smashed one would. That’s my reading of the texture, not a published Sonic method.
Use American cheese, not cheddar. Plenty of home cheeseburger recipes reach for cheddar, but under a hot patty it tends to turn greasy and stay a slab. American cheese melts into one creamy layer that soaks into the bun.
Cheese under the patty: why it works
Putting the cheese under the patty lets the heat and juices of the beef melt it into the bottom bun. Sonic pitched this placement as the route to “extra melty cheesiness” when it launched the Crave Cheeseburger on July 7, 2021. For me it is the best idea on this burger: the bottom bun becomes a cheese-glazed base instead of a soggy one.
Official vs. copycat: what Sonic says and what I assumed
The table separates what Sonic or the press states from the choices I made for this homemade version, so you can see which parts are verified.
| Element | What Sonic or the press states | This copycat | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bun | “Golden, toasted bun” | Plain white bun, buttered and pan-toasted | Toasting official, butter assumed |
| Patty | “100% pure seasoned beef” | 4 oz (113 g) ground beef | Weight assumed from other Sonic burgers |
| Seasoning | “Seasoned”, not detailed | Salt and pepper | Assumed |
| Cheese | American cheese | 1 slice American cheese | Official |
| Cheese position | Under the patty, on the bottom bun | Under the patty | Cheapism; same placement on Sonic’s 2021 Crave Cheeseburger |
| Cooking | Not published | Skillet, 3–4 min per side, 160°F (71°C) | Home method |
| Toppings | None on the plain version | None | Per Tasting Table and Cheapism |
Variant: the full SONIC Cheeseburger
To make the full SONIC Cheeseburger, keep the same bun, patty and cheese, then add the toppings Sonic lists: crinkle-cut pickles, ketchup, onions, mayo, lettuce and tomato. Sonic serves the onions diced.
Ketchup and mayo are newer than you might think. On July 28, 2021, Sonic added them to the SONIC Cheeseburger and the SuperSONIC Double Cheeseburger, which until then were dressed with mustard only, according to The Takeout. Pickles, tomato, lettuce and diced onions stayed.
How the plain cheeseburger compares to other Sonic burgers
The plain cheeseburger is the simplest burger on Sonic’s menu, and reviewers split on it. Tasting Table ranked it ninth of nine, “perfectly tasty” but the “plainest and least interesting”, with the full SONIC Cheeseburger seventh. Cheapism ranked it second among Sonic cheeseburgers. I side with Cheapism. With nothing else on the bun, the cheese-under-the-patty trick carries the whole burger, and that is exactly the thing worth getting right at home.
If you want more, try the Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger copycat, the SuperSONIC Bacon Double Cheeseburger copycat, which uses the same 4 oz patties, or the SuperSONIC Jalapeño Double copycat. For the thin, crispy style, the All-American Bacon Smasher copycat is the smash version.
Plain Sonic cheeseburger FAQ
Short answers to what readers ask most, from the patty weight to calories and price.
How is the plain Sonic cheeseburger different from the regular SONIC Cheeseburger?
The plain version has only the bun, the patty and American cheese. The regular SONIC Cheeseburger adds crinkle-cut pickles, ketchup, onions, mayo, lettuce and tomato.
Why does Sonic put the cheese under the patty?
Sonic puts the cheese under the patty so the hot beef melts it into the bottom bun. When it launched the Crave Cheeseburger in July 2021, the chain said this placement gives “extra melty cheesiness”.
How much does the Sonic cheeseburger patty weigh?
Sonic does not publish the weight of the SONIC Cheeseburger patty. Several other Sonic cheeseburgers use a quarter-pound (113 g) patty, so this recipe uses 4 oz as a plausible assumption.
How many calories are in a plain Sonic cheeseburger?
Sonic does not publish the figure in any source I could access. An archived FatSecret entry lists 650 calories, 36 g fat, 48 g carbs and 30 g protein, but the item it describes may be outdated. Third-party databases put the full SONIC Cheeseburger at around 710 to 770 calories, depending on condiments.
Plain Sonic cheeseburger nutrition: 36 g fat, 48 g carbs and 30 g protein for 650 calories, according to an archived FatSecret entry. These are unofficial figures, the listed item may be outdated, and Sonic does not publish them. (Chart: Burger Breton, original chart (CC BY 4.0), rendered with QuickChart; data from FatSecret (unofficial), https://mobile.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/sonic/plain-cheeseburger)
How much is a cheeseburger at Sonic?
Cheapism listed the plain SONIC Cheeseburger at $5.29 in an article updated October 28, 2025, from an unnamed location. I could not confirm a 2026 price, and prices vary by restaurant.
Is the Sonic cheeseburger a smash burger?
No. Sonic sells its smash burgers separately as the SONIC Smasher line. Tasting Table describes the SONIC Cheeseburger’s patty as dense, which points to a thicker, shaped patty.
What bun should I use?
Use a plain white hamburger bun and toast it golden. Sonic only describes its bun as “golden, toasted”, and a soft white bun is the closest match at home. Brioche is too sweet and too rich for this build.
Where can I find Sonic Drive-In?
Sonic only operates in the United States. The chain had 3,412 restaurants at the end of 2025, according to the QSR 50 2026. It started in 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, as the Top Hat, became Sonic in 1959 and has belonged to Inspire Brands since December 7, 2018. The full story is on our Sonic brand profile.
More fast-food cheeseburgers to make at home
Compare this one with the Burger King cheeseburger copycat recipe and the Dairy Queen Original Cheeseburger copycat. For doneness, see our burger patty internal temperature guide. Browse every copycat in our burger recipes hub.
Sources: Sonic Drive-In product page for the SONIC Cheeseburger; Tasting Table, “9 Sonic Burgers, Ranked”, Carmen Varner, October 27, 2026; Cheapism, “Every Cheeseburger at Sonic, Ranked”, Wilder Shaw, updated October 28, 2025; The Takeout on Sonic’s 2021 condiment change; Sonic press releases for the Crave Cheeseburger (July 7, 2021) and Bacon Jam Cheeseburger (March 26, 2021); Top Secret Recipes Sonic Burger clone; USDA FSIS ground beef safety guidance; QSR 50 2026; FatSecret (unofficial). All checked November 5, 2026.
