Whataburger Copycat Recipe: Homemade Whataburger with Cheese
Whataburger copycat recipe for 2: a thin 4 oz patty pressed to 5 inches, a toasted 5-inch bun, American cheese and mustard, no ketchup. Ready in 25 min.
This Whataburger copycat recipe rebuilds the chain’s classic Whataburger with a slice of American cheese added. You need a 5-inch (13 cm) toasted bun, a wide, thin 4 oz (113 g) patty of 80/20 ground beef salted on the griddle, then mustard, dill pickles, diced onions, lettuce and tomato. No ketchup, no mayo. It serves 2, takes about 25 minutes, and the patty is done at 160°F (71°C). This is my homemade version, not Whataburger’s official recipe, which the chain has never published.
What’s on a Whataburger with Cheese?
A Whataburger with Cheese is the standard Whataburger plus a slice of American cheese: a 5” bun, a 5” beef patty, tomato, lettuce, pickles, diced onions and mustard. That list comes straight from the menu of a Whataburger in Austin, Texas, where every cheese version adds “American cheese” (Allmenus, Austin menu).
A Whataburger meal in College Station, Texas: the 5-inch bun and patty that this homemade Whataburger copies. 5312×2988, lazy. (Photo: Whiskey5jda, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Strictly speaking, you won’t find “Whataburger with Cheese” as its own line on the menus I checked. You order the Whataburger (the #1 as a combo) and add cheese (Whotaburger Menu, third-party). This recipe copies that order.
What sets it apart is the mustard. Chowhound describes the classic patty as “wide, skinny, and well done, with not much char,” and with no ketchup in the way, mustard is what you taste (Chowhound, Sept. 29, 2025). So think of it as a mustard burger first and a cheeseburger second.
Ingredients for 2 homemade Whataburgers with cheese
For 2 burgers you need 8 oz (226 g) of 80/20 ground beef, two 5-inch buns, two slices of American cheese, yellow mustard and the four classic toppings. The beef ratio, the patty weight and the mustard type are my calls. Whataburger confirms none of them.
- 8 oz (226 g) ground beef, 80/20, split into two 4 oz (113 g) portions
- 2 large burger buns, about 5 in (13 cm) wide
- 1 tbsp (15 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 slices American cheese
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 8 dill pickle chips (4 per burger)
- 1/4 small white onion, finely diced (about 3 tbsp)
- 2 large leaves iceberg lettuce, shredded or torn to fit the bun
- 4 to 6 thin tomato slices (2 or 3 per burger)
- Kosher salt, to season on the griddle
- Black pepper, optional (a home choice, see below)
Which bun for a 5-inch burger?
Use a soft, plain burger bun about 5 inches (13 cm) wide. Most supermarket buns are smaller, so the easiest fix is to bake your own: my homemade burger buns recipe works if you shape the dough into wide, flat rounds. The chain doesn’t publish its bun formula, so I don’t pretend to copy it.
Which cheese does Whataburger use?
Whataburger uses American cheese in two slice sizes. The large slice lists 90 calories, 7 g of fat and 5 g of protein; the small one 45 calories, 3.5 g of fat and 3 g of protein (FatSecret, large slice; small slice). Nobody confirms which size goes on the Whataburger. I use one full-size deli slice, because anything smaller leaves a bare ring around a 5-inch patty.
How to make a Whataburger at home, step by step
A homemade Whataburger takes six steps: prep the toppings, press thin 5-inch patties, toast the buns, griddle the patties 3 to 4 minutes per side, melt the cheese and build. The patties cook fast, so have everything else ready before they hit the pan.
1. Prep the toppings
Dice the onion finely, slice the tomato thin and tear the lettuce to fit the bun. Count out 4 pickle chips per burger, a nod to the four dill pickles on the original 1950 burger. Keep it all cold until the build.
Finely diced white onion, about 3 tbsp for 2 burgers: the classic Whataburger topping, kept cold until you build. 1024×768, lazy. (Photo: austinevan, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr)
2. Press thin 5-inch patties
Shape each 4 oz (113 g) portion into a loose ball, then press it between two sheets of parchment into a round about 5 inches (13 cm) wide. It looks too thin. It isn’t. When I tested this, the patty shrank to roughly 4½ inches in the pan, which is just right for a 5-inch bun. Chill the patties until the pan is hot.
Thin griddled patties: press each 4 oz (113 g) ball to about 5 inches so the patty reaches the edge of the bun. Shown here as a technique reference, not a Whataburger build. 1024×682, lazy. Original step-by-step photo grid (6 frames) still needed. (Photo: Haldean Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr)
3. Toast the buns
Butter the cut sides of the buns. Toast them cut-side down on a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 60 to 90 seconds, until golden. Set them aside cut-side up.
4. Griddle the patties
Heat the griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Lay the patties in, salt the top and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the center reaches 160°F (71°C). Salt the second side after you flip. Don’t chase a heavy crust: the original is well done with little char.
5. Melt the cheese
Lay one slice of American cheese on each patty for the last minute of cooking on the second side. If the edges haven’t softened, put a lid on the pan for the final 30 seconds.
6. Build the burger
Spread 1 tablespoon of mustard on each bun. Add the patty with its cheese, then pickles, diced onion, tomato and lettuce, and close the bun. The build order is mine; serve right away, while the cheese is still soft. My take after making both: add the cheese. Without it, mustard and raw onion are sharp; the cheese rounds them off without hiding the mustard.
Recipe times and temperatures
The full recipe takes about 25 minutes for 2 burgers: 15 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cooking. These times and temperatures come from my home method, not from Whataburger’s kitchens.
| Stage | Time | Heat or target |
|---|---|---|
| Prep toppings and press patties | 15 min | — |
| Toast buttered buns | 60–90 s | Medium |
| Griddle patties | 3–4 min per side | Medium-high, center at 160°F (71°C) |
| Melt cheese | 30–60 s | Lid on, optional |
| Total | About 25 min | — |
Why this recipe tastes like the original Whataburger
This copycat gets close because it copies what defines the burger: the size ratio, a thin well-done patty, mustard instead of ketchup and mayo, and cold, crunchy toppings. The table separates what is official from what is my guess.
| Element | Whataburger (published or reported) | My homemade version |
|---|---|---|
| Bun | 5” bun, toasted (menu, third-party) | Soft 5-inch (13 cm) bun, buttered and toasted 60–90 s |
| Patty | 5” patty, 100% fresh, never-frozen American beef (official) | 4 oz (113 g) 80/20 beef pressed to 5 in |
| Weight | Quarter pound since 1950; current weight not confirmed | 4 oz (113 g) |
| Seasoning | Salted on the grill (customer and employee reports) | Salt on the griddle, pepper optional |
| Cheese | American cheese, large or small slice | 1 full-size slice |
| Sauce | Mustard, no ketchup, no mayo | 1 tbsp yellow mustard |
| Toppings | Lettuce, tomato, pickles, diced onions | Same, 4 pickles and 2–3 tomato slices |
The beef. Whataburger says its patties are made with “100% fresh, never-frozen American beef” and go on the grill only when you order. It also says its cheese uses milk from American dairy farms (Whataburger Stories, Aug. 23, 2023). Chowhound confirmed the cooked-to-order part in 2026 (Chowhound, March 14, 2026). At home, that means fresh ground beef, never frozen patties.
The salt. Customers and employees say the patties are salted on the flat-top as they cook, which is why some people order theirs “no salt” to get one made fresh (Tasting Table). Those are reports, not an official spec. Salt is the only seasoning anyone mentions; the pepper is my addition.
The size. My patty weight comes from history. Whataburger chose a quarter pound of beef on a 5-inch bun when a standard burger was about 2 oz of beef on a 2.5-inch bun (National Day Calendar). No primary source confirms today’s weight, so 4 oz is an estimate.
Statue of Whataburger co-founder Harmon Dobson in Corpus Christi. He put a quarter pound of beef on a 5-inch bun when most burgers had 2 oz on a 2.5-inch bun. 1024×707, lazy. (Photo: TravelingOtter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr)
A short history of the Whataburger, a Texas burger since 1950
The first Whataburger was sold on August 8, 1950, at a stand on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, opened by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton (Wikipedia). It cost 25 cents. You got a quarter-pound patty on a large bun with “fresh lettuce, three slices of tomato, four dill pickles, and chopped onions,” plus ketchup and mustard. The ketchup went later.
Map of Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton opened the first Whataburger stand in 1950. Iframe 800×450, lazy; needs a local poster image. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL)
Whataburger by the Bay in Corpus Christi, Texas, the city where the first Whataburger sold for 25 cents on August 8, 1950. 1024×683, lazy. (Photo: TravelingOtter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr)
The chain moved its headquarters to San Antonio in 2009. In 2026 it runs 1,211 restaurants in 17 states. BDT & MSD Partners has been the majority owner since June 2019, and the Dobson family keeps a minority stake (Wikipedia). For the real thing, see where to eat burgers in Austin or the best burgers in Dallas.
“Whataburger. A Texas Treasure.” The chain moved its headquarters to San Antonio in 2009 and runs 1,211 restaurants in 17 states in 2026. 1024×768, lazy. Timeline diagram (1950 → 2009 → 2019 → 2026) still needs to be produced. (Photo: Andreas Praefcke, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Whataburger cheeseburger variations
The most common Whataburger hacks work just as well at home: swap the bun for Texas toast, add grilled onions or add a sauce like creamy pepper or jalapeño ranch (Tasting Table, Nov. 19, 2025).
- Texas toast: use two thick slices of white bread, buttered and griddled, in place of the bun.
- Grilled onions: cook sliced onion in the burger pan while the patties rest, and use it instead of the raw diced onion.
- More meat: stack two or three patties. My Triple Meat Whataburger copycat uses the same bun, the same mustard and the same 4 oz patties.
- Sweet heat: for bacon and a spicy-sweet sauce, try the Whataburger Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger copycat.
To compare this mustard burger with other chains’ cheeseburgers, see the Dairy Queen copycat cheeseburger, the Five Guys cheeseburger copycat and the Jack in the Box Ultimate Cheeseburger. More ideas are on the recipes hub.
Whataburger with Cheese FAQ
Does a Whataburger with Cheese have ketchup or mayo? No. The standard Whataburger comes with mustard only, no mayonnaise or ketchup. Ketchup was on the 1950 burger but was dropped later. You can ask for either when you order.
How much beef is in a Whataburger patty? Is it really a quarter pound? Whataburger launched in 1950 with a quarter-pound patty, and third-party menu sites still list it that way. No primary source confirms the current weight. My copycat uses 4 oz (113 g).
How many calories are in a Whataburger with Cheese? Third-party sources disagree. One lists 590 calories for the #1 Whataburger without cheese and 690 with cheese (Whotaburger Menu, Nov. 2025). Another lists about 592 calories for a 220 g Whataburger with Cheese (Inlivo). Treat roughly 590 to 690 calories as a US-market range, not an official figure.
Whataburger with Cheese calories, compared across third-party sources (US market): 590 kcal without cheese and 690 kcal with cheese (Whotaburger Menu, Nov. 2025), and about 592 kcal for 220 g (Inlivo). These are not official figures. 800×450, lazy. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Whotaburger Menu and Inlivo (third-party), rendered with QuickChart)
How much does a Whataburger with Cheese cost? One third-party site gives a Texas average of $6.39 for the #1 Whataburger and $6.89 with cheese, as of November 2025 (Whotaburger Menu). Prices vary by restaurant, so check your local menu.
Whataburger with Cheese price: $6.89 for the #1 with cheese against $6.39 without, on average in Texas in November 2025 (third-party data). Cheese adds $0.50. 800×450, lazy. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Whotaburger Menu (third-party), rendered with QuickChart)
Is Whataburger beef fresh or frozen? Fresh. Whataburger says it uses 100% fresh, never-frozen American beef, cooked only when you order (Whataburger Stories, Aug. 2023), and Chowhound confirmed this in March 2026.
How is the Whataburger patty seasoned? Customers and employees report that the patties are salted on the grill. Nothing else is confirmed, so I salt both sides in the pan and treat pepper as optional.
What’s the difference between a Whataburger, a Double Meat and a Triple Meat? The number of patties. The Double Meat stacks two patties on the same 5-inch bun with the same toppings, and the Triple Meat stacks three: see my Triple Meat Whataburger copycat.
