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Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger Copycat Recipe

Copycat Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger: two patties, American and Jack cheese, bacon, grilled onions, mustard and a homemade pepper-jelly sauce.

By ClaraPublished

Bacon cheeseburger with melted cheese, grilled onions, glossy sweet and spicy sauce and green jalapeño on a soft white bun, styled like the Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger copycat

To make a Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger copycat at home, griddle two 4 oz (113 g) beef patties per burger and melt American cheese on one and Monterey Jack on the other. Add 3 strips of bacon, grilled diced onions, yellow mustard and a sweet jalapeño pepper sauce, then serve it on a toasted 5-inch soft white bun. This is my homemade reproduction, not Whataburger’s recipe. The sauce formula is proprietary, so I rebuilt it from the ingredient list printed on the retail bottle. The one part I’d never skip is the mustard. Without it the burger goes flat and sugary.

What’s on the Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger?

The Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger is a double cheeseburger with bacon, grilled onions, two cheeses, Whataburger’s Original Mustard and its Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce on a toasted 5-inch bun. Whataburger launched it as a limited-time item on Monday, June 29, 2015. Rich Scheffler, then VP of Marketing & Innovation, described it as a blend of sweet, savory and spicy (KSAT, June 29, 2015).

The official build, according to the launch announcement:

  • Two 100% beef patties
  • Bacon
  • Grilled onions
  • Monterey Jack cheese and American cheese
  • Whataburger Original Mustard
  • Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce
  • A toasted 5-inch bun

Whataburger only says “bacon”. Menu listings put it at 3 strips, so I use 3 strips per burger in my version. Third-party ingredient listings describe the patty as 100% pure USDA-inspected beef seasoned with salt and pepper. They describe the onions as diced yellow onions and the bun as enriched white bread made with high-fructose corn syrup (Whataburger menu ingredient listing, unofficial). That makes it a soft white bun, not a brioche.

What does Whataburger’s sweet and spicy sauce taste like?

Whataburger’s Sweet & Spicy sauce is more sweet than hot. Tasters compare it to pepper jelly with a little kick (Sporked), and some find it close to barbecue sauce. On the burger it softens the sharp yellow mustard. That sweet-against-sharp contrast is the whole point of the sandwich.

The 16 oz bottle sold at H-E-B lists these ingredients in descending order: sugar, water, apple cider vinegar, corn syrup, green jalapeño peppers, apple juice concentrate and tomato paste. Then, at less than 2%: modified food starch, salt, dehydrated red bell pepper, acetic acid, spices, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, konjac gum and xanthan gum (H-E-B product page). The label gives no proportions. My sauce follows that order: a sweet base first, then cider vinegar, then green jalapeño, apple and a touch of tomato.

Jar of red pepper jelly, the sweet base of the homemade Whataburger sweet and spicy sauce Red pepper jelly is the sweet base of the homemade sweet and spicy sauce. Sugar comes first on Whataburger’s bottle label, before cider vinegar and green jalapeño. 1600×1066. (Photo: Marco Arment (Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red\_Pepper\_Jelly\_(1962318754).jpg), CC BY 2.0)

Ingredients for 2 sweet and spicy bacon burgers

For 2 burgers you need 1 lb (450 g) of 80/20 ground beef split into four patties, 4 slices of cheese, 6 strips of bacon, one onion, mustard and about 4 tablespoons of sauce. Whataburger doesn’t publish its raw patty weight or fat ratio. Third-party nutrition databases put the cooked large patty at about 3 oz (84 g) (FatSecret). My 4 oz raw patties cook down close to that, and they match my Triple Meat Whataburger copycat.

Burgers

  • 1 lb (450 g) ground beef, 80/20, shaped into 4 patties of 4 oz (110–115 g) each
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 slices American cheese
  • 2 slices Monterey Jack cheese
  • 6 strips bacon (3 per burger)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 5 oz / 150 g)
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) butter or neutral oil for the onions
  • 2 tsp (10 g) yellow mustard
  • About 4 tbsp sweet and spicy sauce (recipe below)
  • 2 soft white burger buns, 5 inches (12.5–13 cm) across

Homemade sweet and spicy sauce (about 6 tbsp)

  • ¼ cup (80 g) red pepper jelly
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp (10 g) green jalapeño, seeded and very finely minced
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (or 2 tbsp regular apple juice, reduced by half)
  • 1 tsp (5 g) tomato paste
  • 1 pinch of salt

Plan on 15 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking, about 40 minutes in all. That works if you cook the bacon and the onions side by side while the sauce cools. Equipment: a flat-top griddle or a large cast-iron skillet, a spatula and an instant-read thermometer.

Step by step: how to make the copycat burger

Make the sauce first, then the bacon and onions, and finish with the patties so everything comes together hot.

1. Make the sweet and spicy sauce

Simmer the pepper jelly, cider vinegar, jalapeño, apple juice concentrate, tomato paste and salt over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring until smooth. Let it cool for 10 minutes. It thickens to a spoonable, glossy sauce that tastes sweet first and a little hot second.

2. Cook the bacon

Lay the 6 strips of bacon in a cold skillet and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, turning once, until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Keep 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan if you want extra flavor in the onions.

Bacon strips crisping in a cast-iron skillet for the sweet and spicy bacon burger copycat Step 2: bacon strips crisping in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for about 8 minutes before draining. You need 3 strips per sweet and spicy bacon burger. 1024×768. (Photo: Dano (Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/36101697408@N01/234576052), CC BY 2.0)

3. Grill the diced onions

Cook the diced onion in the butter or bacon fat over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden at the edges. You want them sweet and tender. Crunchy is undercooked; dark brown is too far. Push them to a cool corner of the griddle to stay warm.

4. Season and griddle the patties

Heat the griddle over medium-high to a surface temperature of 400–450°F (200–230°C). Season the patties on both sides with salt and pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Pull them at 160°F (71°C) inside, the USDA safe minimum for ground beef. It’s the same method I use for my Triple Meat copycat.

5. Melt the two cheeses

Right after flipping, lay American cheese on two patties and Monterey Jack on the other two. Cover for 30 seconds so both cheeses melt. American melts creamy and fast, and Jack adds a mild, buttery stretch. That pairing is why I keep both instead of swapping in cheddar.

6. Toast the buns

Toast the cut sides of the buns on the griddle for 30 to 60 seconds, until golden. The toast keeps the soft white bun from going soggy under the sauce.

7. Assemble the burger

Spread 1 teaspoon of mustard on the bottom bun. Add the American cheese patty, half of the grilled onions, 3 strips of bacon and the Monterey Jack patty, then spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce on top before closing the bun. Whataburger doesn’t publish its stacking order, so this is the order I use. It puts the mustard and the sauce at opposite ends so each one comes through.

Why this copycat stays close to the original

This copycat stays close to the original because it keeps every part Whataburger lists: two patties, two cheeses, bacon, grilled onions, mustard, sauce and a 5-inch bun. Other versions cut corners. The Front Range Fed copycat, for example, uses a brioche bun, cheddar instead of American, a sauce of equal parts barbecue sauce and red pepper jelly, and no mustard.

The mustard is the choice I’d defend hardest. Leave it out and nothing cuts the sweet sauce, so the burger turns cloying. The bun comes next: an enriched white bun is softer and less sweet than brioche, which leaves the sauce as the main source of sugar. And the sauce needs green jalapeño, cider vinegar and apple, because all three are on the official label. A barbecue base can’t fake them.

Whataburger original vs homemade copycat

The table compares the restaurant burger, as Whataburger and its retail label describe it, with my homemade version.

Component Whataburger original My homemade version
Beef Two 100% beef patties, salt and pepper Two 4 oz (113 g) 80/20 patties, salt and pepper
Cheese American + Monterey Jack American + Monterey Jack
Bacon “Bacon” (3 strips per menu listings) 3 strips per burger
Onions Grilled diced yellow onions Diced yellow onion, 8–10 min over medium heat
Mustard Whataburger Original Mustard Yellow mustard, 1 tsp per burger
Sauce Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce (proprietary) Pepper jelly, cider vinegar, green jalapeño, apple, tomato paste
Bun Toasted 5-inch enriched white bun Toasted 5-inch soft white bun
Cooking Griddle Griddle at 400–450°F (200–230°C), 160°F (71°C) inside

Whataburger original vs homemade copycat, part by part: beef, cheese, bacon, onions, mustard, sauce, bun and cooking. The official build comes from the June 29, 2015 launch announcement and the H-E-B label. (Table: Burger Breton, built from KSAT (launch build) and the H-E-B product page (sauce label))

Tips for the best sweet and spicy bacon burger

Two things make or break this burger: the bun, and the balance between sauce and mustard. Use a soft white bun rather than brioche. If you want to bake your own, my homemade burger buns shape well to 5 inches, but they’re brioche-style and slightly richer than the original. Sauce tastes flat? Add a few drops of cider vinegar. Too sweet against the mustard? Stir in another teaspoon of minced jalapeño.

If you live near an H-E-B or Kroger, you can skip the homemade sauce and buy the real thing (see the FAQ). Whataburger’s sauce has a thin, pourable texture, and you can thin mine with a teaspoon of water to get closer.

How many calories are in the Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger?

At launch in 2015, Whataburger’s Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger had 1,070 calories, 61 g of fat, 59 g of protein, 69 g of carbs and 18 g of sugar (The Impulsive Buy, June 30, 2015). A Jr. version also existed. An unofficial aggregator now lists 1,095 calories and 2,310 mg of sodium (Fast Food Nutrition). The gap could be a recipe tweak or just a different data source, so check whataburger.com before you rely on the current figures. I haven’t lab-tested my homemade version, so I don’t give numbers for it.

Bar chart of Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger nutrition, 2015 launch vs 2026 unofficial listing: 1,070 vs 1,095 calories, 61 vs 62 g fat, 59 vs 60 g protein, 69 g carbs and 18 g sugar in both. 2026 figures from Fast Food Nutrition, unverified. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from The Impulsive Buy (2015) and Fast Food Nutrition (https://fastfoodnutrition.org/whataburger/sweet-spicy-bacon-burger, unofficial))

Sweet and spicy bacon burger FAQ

What’s in the Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger?

Two beef patties, bacon, grilled onions, Monterey Jack and American cheese, Whataburger Original Mustard and Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce on a toasted 5-inch bun.

Is Whataburger’s sweet and spicy sauce actually spicy?

Only a little. Sugar is the first ingredient on the label and green jalapeño comes fifth, so it tastes like pepper jelly with a mild kick, not like a hot sauce.

How do I make Whataburger sweet and spicy sauce at home?

Simmer ¼ cup red pepper jelly with 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tbsp minced green jalapeño, 1 tbsp apple juice concentrate, 1 tsp tomato paste and a pinch of salt for 3 to 4 minutes. It’s an approximation built from the official ingredient list, not the proprietary formula.

Can you buy Whataburger sweet and spicy sauce in a bottle?

Yes. Since September 10, 2024, Whataburger has sold a 16 oz bottle at H-E-B in Texas, priced at $4.93 at launch, with prices varying by market (Whataburger Stories). Kroger also lists it (Kroger).

Is the Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger available at every Whataburger?

Not necessarily. In July 2019, Whataburger listed it as a regional All-Time Favorite in its Central and Southeast regions, while the Southwest got the Green Chile Double instead. It also said regional items sometimes change based on customer feedback (Whataburger Stories, July 1, 2019). I couldn’t confirm its 2026 availability, so check your local menu.

Whataburger restaurant with its orange-and-white A-frame roof and W pole sign in Las Cruces, New Mexico A Whataburger restaurant with its orange-and-white A-frame roof and “W” pole sign, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Southwest region served the Green Chile Double instead of the Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger in 2019. 1024×768. (Photo: Ross Griff (Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/29453188@N00/5522082282), CC BY 2.0)

Should I use a brioche bun or a plain white bun?

Use a plain soft white bun. Whataburger’s bun is enriched white bread, not brioche, and a sweeter brioche competes with the sauce.

What can I use instead of American cheese or Monterey Jack?

Mild cheddar or Colby Jack can replace the Monterey Jack, but keep the American cheese. Its fast, creamy melt is part of the texture of the original.

More fast-food copycat recipes

If you like this Texas double, try my Triple Meat Whataburger copycat, made with the same griddle method and the same 5-inch bun. For another sweet-hot stack, see my Sonic jalapeño double cheeseburger copycat. For classic chain cheeseburgers, there are my Dairy Queen Original Cheeseburger copycat and my Five Guys cheeseburger copycat. Heading to Texas? Start from our Austin burger restaurants page, and browse every recipe on the Burger Breton recipes hub.

Sources

All sources checked on October 7, 2026.