The Store-Bought Cheddar Bacon Burgers To Avoid Buying This BBQ Season

Let's be honest: America is fueled by burgers. So much so that, according to NPR, the average American eats approximately 150 burgers a year. A good chunk of those are gleefully devoured during the summer months. After all, nothing screams summer like the sizzling of fresh burger patties on the grill at a backyard barbecue. However, it can be quite time-consuming to individually season and shape those patties, especially if you're making a cheddar bacon burger. Hence, people prefer to keep boxes of frozen patties in their freezers. Not only are they convenient when you're pressed for time, but it's easy to make frozen burger patties taste insanely good. But not all frozen cheddar bacon burgers are worth buying. While some beloved store-bought burger brands offer delicious cheddar and bacon-infused patties, others are so lackluster that they'll leave you unimpressed. One brand that's guilty of the latter is Bowl & Basket.

Bowl & Basket's bacon cheddar ground beef cheeseburgers are such a massive disappointment that our team ranked them the worst store-bought cheddar bacon burger. They had one job, which was to be delectably cheesy and offer smoky bacon bits, and they completely failed. There was barely any evidence of cheddar. Unfortunately, the bacon is no better. The bacon flavor is so subtle that it will take you a few bites to find it. And once you notice it, its smokiness will linger on your tongue for a mere second or two before disappearing, never to be seen again.

From the moment you open the box, these patties are a massive letdown. Compared to other frozen burgers, these are thicker and require more cooking time on the grill. Plus, they look nothing like the picture on the box. They're relatively small and have a strange grey hue to them that instantly triggers feelings of regret, confusion, and disgust. After all, no burger patty should ever resemble the color of expired beef. Even after they're cooked and garnished with the most popular burger toppings, that odd grey hue doesn't go away.

Despite being made with real cheddar cheese, bacon, and natural smoke flavoring, these burgers have a mediocre flavor profile. Since they barely develop a good char, there's nothing boosting their overall taste. They completely lack the signature umami bite that a burger stacked with layers of ooey-gooey melted cheese and salty, crispy bacon would have. Instead, you'll only notice its high salt content. One patty has 850 milligrams of sodium, which is 37% of your daily value of salt. Salt appears multiple times in the ingredient list and is present in both the barely existent cheese and bacon. The richness of the cheese would have helped balance the saltiness. Luckily, there are always slices of cheese at a barbecue, so you can add them to this burger.

For $10.99 at Shoprite, you'll get six ⅓-pound patties. That means each patty is roughly $1.83, which isn't a bad price. However, considering you'll need to spend extra money to make them appetizing, you're better off spending that money on patties that are scrumptious on their own.