Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger Copycat Recipe
Two 2-oz patties, American cheese, crinkle-cut pickles, ketchup and mustard: a 15-minute home copy of Sonic's value-menu double, guesses clearly marked.
This Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger copycat recipe makes 2 burgers in about 15 minutes. You need 8 oz (230 g) of 80/20 ground beef split into four 2-oz (57 g) patties, American cheese, crinkle-cut dill pickles, ketchup, yellow mustard and two small toasted buns. Smash the patties thin on a griddle at 450–500°F (230–260°C) and cook 60–90 seconds a side, until they reach 160°F (71°C) inside. That’s the whole trick. It is my home reproduction, built from Sonic’s official menu description and press tests. Sonic doesn’t publish a recipe, so this isn’t one.
What is the Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger?
The Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger is a small double cheeseburger on Sonic Drive-In’s US National Burgers menu: two beef patties, American cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun. Sonic’s own wording is “two juicy, 100% pure beef patties, seasoned and layered with a slice of melty American cheese, pickles, ketchup, and mustard, all on a golden, toasted bun” (sonicdrivein.com, US menu, indexed text checked October 15, 2026).
It shares the menu with the SONIC Smasher burgers, the SONIC Cheeseburger, the SuperSONIC burgers and the Hatch Green Chile Cheeseburger. Sonic Drive-In was founded on June 18, 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, as Top Hat Drive-In, and became Sonic in 1959. Today it has about 3,365 restaurants, all in the United States (Wikipedia). Live anywhere else and your stove is the nearest Sonic.
From Quarter Pound Double to Jr. Double
In 2018 the burger was called the Quarter Pound Jr. Double Cheeseburger. That February, Sonic ran a TV spot called “Double Take” for the Quarter Pound Jr. Double Cheeseburger and Tots at $2.99, valid through March 4, 2018 (iSpot.tv). Six years later the press still used the old name: The Takeout paid $3.49 for a Quarter Pound Double Cheeseburger in March 2024, and Eat This, Not That! paid $3.89 in November 2024. I can’t find any announcement of a rename. The build hasn’t changed.
The name gives away the patty weight. A quarter pound (4 oz, 113 g) split between two patties is about 2 oz (57 g) each. That’s my deduction, not Sonic’s figure: the chain publishes no patty weight and doesn’t say whether it counts raw or cooked.
Don’t confuse it with the Double Stack burgers
The Jr. Double Cheeseburger is not the Jr. Double Stack or the Quarter Pound Double Stack, which were both limited-time items. The Quarter Pound Double Stack (November 2018, $2.99) had cheddar and cheddar sauce (Verdict Foodservice). The SONIC Jr. Double Stack (March 2020) added grilled onions, mayo and a brioche bun (The Fast Food Post). This recipe copies neither.
What’s official and what’s my guess
Only the ingredient list is official: beef, seasoning, American cheese, pickles, ketchup, mustard and a toasted bun. The weights, the seasoning, the bun size and the cooking method are my choices. The table shows which is which, so you know exactly what you’re copying.
| Element | What Sonic or the press says | My copycat choice |
|---|---|---|
| Patties | Two 100% beef patties, “seasoned” (official); “junior-sized” (Eat This, 2024) | Four 2-oz (57 g) balls of 80/20 beef, salt and pepper (guess) |
| Cheese | “A slice” of American (official); “two slices” (Eat This, 2024) | 1 slice per burger; 2 if you want the Eat This version |
| Pickles | “Pickles” (official); crinkle-cut on the Jr. Cheeseburger | 6 crinkle-cut dill slices per burger (count is my choice) |
| Sauces | Ketchup and mustard (official) | 2 tsp ketchup + 2 tsp yellow mustard per burger |
| Onions | None, per Eat This (2024) | None |
| Bun | “Golden, toasted bun” (official); “smaller bun” (Eat This) | Soft white bun, 3.5–4 in (9–10 cm), butter-toasted |
| Cooking | Not published | Smashed thin on a griddle at 450–500°F (230–260°C) |
Close-up of a Sonic Jr. Deluxe Burger (2010): one thin junior patty on a soft white bun toasted on the cut side. The bun and patty format matches the Jr. line, but this is not the Jr. Double. The Deluxe adds lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo, which the Jr. Double doesn’t have. (Photo: TheDapperDan, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fast\_food\_hamburger\_from\_Sonic\_Drive-In.jpg (3872×2592). Illustrative photo, not the Jr. Double; place it in the official-vs-guess section, lazy.)
Ingredients for 2 Sonic-style Jr. Double Cheeseburgers
Two burgers take 8 oz (230 g) of beef, two to four slices of American cheese and two small soft buns. Every quantity is weighed for 2 servings.
- 8 oz (230 g) ground beef, 80% lean / 20% fat, cold
- Kosher salt and black pepper, a pinch per patty
- 2 slices American cheese (4 if you follow the two-slice version)
- 2 soft white burger buns, 3.5–4 in (9–10 cm) across
- 1 Tbsp (15 g) soft unsalted butter, for the buns
- 12 crinkle-cut dill pickle slices (6 per burger)
- 4 tsp ketchup (2 tsp per burger)
- 4 tsp yellow mustard (2 tsp per burger)
Use a plain, soft white bun, not brioche. Sonic only says “golden, toasted”, and the brioche belonged to the 2020 Double Stack. Brioche is also too sweet and too rich for a burger this small; it buries the mustard. The 80/20 beef and butter-toasted bun are the same base as my Sonic All-American Bacon Smasher copycat, so you can cook both from one shopping list.
Step by step: how to make a Jr. Double Cheeseburger at home
The method is a fast job on a hot griddle: toast, smash, flip, cheese, stack. Weigh and unwrap everything before the beef goes down, because each patty is done in under three minutes.
1. Portion the beef
Weigh the cold beef into four 2-oz (57 g) balls. Keep them loose; packed balls smash unevenly and come out tough. Put them back in the fridge while you toast the buns.
2. Toast the buns
Spread the butter on the cut sides of the buns. Toast them cut-side down on the griddle or a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until golden. Set them aside, cut-side up.
3. Heat the griddle
Heat a griddle or cast-iron pan to 450–500°F (230–260°C). An infrared thermometer is the easiest check. Skip the oil: the 20% fat renders as soon as the beef hits the metal.
4. Smash and season the patties
Place two balls on the griddle and press each one flat to about 3/16 in (5 mm) with a stiff spatula. At that thickness a 2-oz patty spreads to roughly 4 in (10 cm), a little wider than the bun, which is what you want. Season the top with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook 60–90 seconds, until the edges are brown and crisp.
5. Flip and add the cheese
Scrape under each patty so the crust stays on the meat, then flip. Lay the cheese on right away: one slice on one patty for the official build, or one on each for the two-slice version. Cook another 60–90 seconds. Repeat with the last two balls.
6. Check the temperature
The patties are done at 160°F (71°C) in the center, the USDA’s safe temperature for ground beef (USDA FSIS). A 5-mm patty is hard to probe from the top, so slide the thermometer in from the side. My colleague Clara’s burger patty internal temperature guide explains the method.
7. Dress and stack
Spread 2 tsp ketchup and 2 tsp mustard on each bottom bun and add 6 pickle slices. Stack the cheese patty, then the second patty, and close with the top bun. Eat it right away, while the cheese is still soft.
Why this recipe tastes like the original
This copycat follows Sonic’s official ingredient list to the letter and only fills in what Sonic leaves out. Most of the resemblance comes down to weight, condiments and the pickle cut.
- Weight. Four 2-oz patties add up to the quarter pound the 2018 name promised. The burger stays small, as Eat This described it.
- Condiments. Ketchup and mustard, with no mayo and no onions. In July 2021 Sonic added ketchup and mayo to its classic and SuperSONIC cheeseburgers, which had only had mustard, but the Jr. line kept the ketchup-mustard pair (The Takeout).
- Crinkle-cut pickles. They’re documented on Sonic’s single Jr. Cheeseburger, which has the same toppings as the Jr. Double (AOL, 2024). The ridges hold mustard and ketchup; flat slices let them slide off.
My take: make it with two slices of cheese. With one slice, the bottom patty eats dry next to the sharp mustard, and the second slice is what makes it taste like a double rather than two thin burgers in one bun.
What I can’t copy with certainty is Sonic’s seasoning blend, its bun recipe and its equipment. If yours tastes cleaner than the drive-in version, that’s where the difference comes from.
Jr. Double vs. other value-menu cheeseburgers
The Jr. Double is Sonic’s budget double, and the 2024 reviews didn’t agree on it. Eat This, Not That! paid $3.89 for it in November 2024, “by far the cheapest burger on the menu”, and only missed the crunch of diced onions (Eat This). The Takeout, in March 2024, paid $3.49, ranked it last of nine Sonic value items and preferred the single Jr. Cheeseburger at $2.79 (via AOL).
Sonic Jr. Double (Quarter Pound Double) prices reported in the US: $2.99 with tots in the February 2018 promo, $3.49 at The Takeout in March 2024, $3.89 at Eat This, Not That! in November 2024. The single Jr. Cheeseburger was $2.79 in March 2024. Prices vary by location. (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from iSpot.tv (Feb 19, 2018), The Takeout via AOL (Mar 12, 2024) and Eat This, Not That! (Mar 24, 2024 → Nov 24, 2024) (1600×800 PNG; rebuild with localized labels per locale). FLAG for writer: eatthis.com lists $3.89, not $3.49; fix the copy and FAQ in all three locales.)
I side with Eat This, with one condition. Made at home with fresh 80/20 beef and a real crust, it’s a better burger than its reputation, because the crust gives the thin patties more flavor than their size suggests. If you want Sonic’s bigger, spicier double, make my SuperSONIC Jalapeño Double Cheeseburger copycat. For the same ketchup-mustard-pickle profile from other chains, compare it with my Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger copycat, the Burger King cheeseburger copycat recipe and the Dairy Queen Original Cheeseburger copycat. All of them are in the recipes hub of American fast-food copycats.
Four American value-menu burgers side by side (2010): McDonald’s McDouble, Burger King Buck Double, a Sonic Drive-In Jr. Deluxe in its foil bag and Wendy’s Double Stack. These are the small fast-food burgers the Jr. Double competes with. (Photo: TheDapperDan, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Value\_menu\_hamburgers.jpg (3804×2592). Place it in the value-menu comparison section, lazy.)
FAQ
What’s on a Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger?
Two seasoned 100% beef patties, American cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun, according to Sonic’s US menu (checked October 2026). It has no onions, per Eat This, Not That! (2024).
Does the Jr. Double have one or two slices of cheese?
Sonic’s official description says “a slice of melty American cheese”. Eat This, Not That! got two slices in its November 2024 test. My recipe gives both; I make mine with two.
How much do the patties weigh?
Sonic doesn’t publish it. The 2018 name Quarter Pound Jr. Double points to two patties that add up to 4 oz (113 g), so about 2 oz (57 g) each. That’s a deduction, not an official weight.
Is the Jr. Double the old Quarter Pound Double Cheeseburger?
Very likely. Sonic advertised it as the Quarter Pound Jr. Double Cheeseburger in 2018, and the press still used the Quarter Pound name for the same build in 2024. I haven’t found an official announcement of a name change.
How many calories are in a Sonic Jr. Double Cheeseburger?
There’s no reliable figure. Unofficial sites disagree: fastfoodnutrition.org lists 600 calories and 31 g of protein for a 200 g burger, while FatSecret lists 390 calories and 21 g of protein. Sonic’s official nutrition PDF wasn’t reachable on October 15, 2026, so treat both numbers as rough.
How much does it cost?
Prices vary by location, and I have no verified 2026 price. It was $2.99 with tots in a February 2018 promotion, $3.49 at The Takeout in March 2024 and $3.89 at Eat This, Not That! in November 2024.
Can I add onions, lettuce, tomato or bacon?
At home you can add anything, but then it’s no longer a Jr. Double copy. If you want bacon, my Sonic All-American Bacon Smasher copycat is built for it.
What bun works best for a small fast-food burger?
A plain, soft white bun about 3.5–4 in (9–10 cm) across, toasted in butter until golden. Sonic only confirms a “golden, toasted bun”, so the size and the butter are my choices. Skip the cheapest thin buns: they go soggy under the mustard before you finish the burger.
Where can I eat a real Sonic Drive-In?
Only in the United States, where Sonic has about 3,365 locations (Wikipedia). If you’re in Texas, my colleague Daniel’s guide to the best burgers in Dallas puts Sonic in local context.
Sources and method
I built this recipe from Sonic’s official menu description (US, indexed text checked October 15, 2026), the 2018 iSpot.tv ad, The Takeout’s March 2024 value-menu ranking (via AOL) and Eat This, Not That!’s November 2024 taste test. The patty weight, seasoning, bun size, pickle count and cooking method are my own hypotheses, marked as such above. Food safety temperature: USDA FSIS. Company history: Wikipedia.
