6 Whataburger Hacks To Try, According To Customers

For Whataburger fans, loyalty runs deep. The chain, founded in 1950 in Corpus Christi, Texas, has built its cult following on big, messy, juicy, delicious burgers that you can customize any way you want. The king of Fancy Ketchup (which can be purchased by the bottle) has since expanded beyond its Southern roots and strong Texan presence to 14 states and 373 cities.

Even if you're a loyal Whataburger lover — like celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez – or you've tried everything on the menu, there's still more to discover. Whataburger's devoted customer base has turned the chain's customization offerings into an art form, with a growing number of unofficial "hacks" digitally immortalized by loyal fans. The chain itself has leaned into that spirit of creativity, encouraging its customers to think outside the bun and make each meal their own. These tweaks don't necessarily make up an official "secret menu," but are rather imaginative. These small customizations come from Whataburger's roster of toppings, sauces, and sandwich components that easily turn classic menu items into something entirely your own.

From sandwiches dripping with honey butter to mashups that reimagine discontinued favorites, these are hacks that customers on the internet swear by — and a reflection of exactly why Whataburger is a standout among the best regional fast food chains in America. 

Sometimes you'll pull up to Whataburger with a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit on your mind, just to realize that the clock reads 11:01 a.m. — meaning the chain's daily breakfast hours of 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. have come to a close. But this cold hard truth doesn't mean crispy fried chicken covered with the chain's beloved honey butter is out of reach.

Luckily, there's a simple workaround. Even if it's too late to order Whataburger's perfect breakfast bowl, you can order the honey butter on any sandwich, or by itself as a side. Better yet, if you're at one of Whataburger's many 24-hour restaurants, you can order it at literally any hour of the day. One popular way to do so is to order the Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich, which comes between two slices of Texas toast with Monterey Jack cheese and chicken strips, and just swapping out the honey barbecue sauce for honey butter. 

You can also order honey butter as a side sauce for any menu item, no matter the time of day, but with just one catch — if you're ordering online, the app currently doesn't let you add it as a dipping sauce unless you're ordering chicken strips or wings, so it's something to ask for when you're ordering in person. And if you still can't get enough, there's good news — Whataburger's Honey Butter is sold in squeeze bottles at grocery stores including Walmart, so you never have to be too far from your next drizzle.

The Chop House burger was a limited-time offering first unveiled in 2009, and brought back for another run in 2010 after wide acclaim from customers. The burger featured a relatively simple ingredient lineup: two beef patties, grilled onions, shredded cheddar, bacon, and a creamy steak sauce, all on a 5-inch bun. It was last offered in 2016 at select locations and has yet to make a comeback. In the years between and ever since, fans have begged for its return, with multiple petitions pleading with the chain to make it a permanent menu item.

This legendary burger still remains absent from the official menu, but fans have found a way to recreate it that doesn't require thousands of signatures. Whataburger's encouraged customization approach allows frenzied Chop House burger fans to approximate this classic by modifying a current menu item. To recreate it, you can just order the Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger with modifications — substitute shredded cheddar for sliced cheese, then swap out the Sweet & Spicy sauce for creamy pepper. Since ordering through the app doesn't have the option to sub for shredded cheddar, you would have to order in person to see if your local Whataburger can fulfill this request. Additionally, since steak sauce is not consistently offered by the chain, customers suggest having a bottle of A1 sauce at home to add to the burger yourself. Until those many petitions make it to a board room at Whataburger headquarters, Chop House burger lovers will continue to scratch their itch by opting for this hack. 

The Monterey Melt was first introduced in 2013 and reached cult status before leaving the menu. It was brought back at the end of that year as a permanent item, but quietly disappeared in 2022, only to be briefly brought back in January 2025 when the chain celebrated its 75th anniversary.However, fans still mourn the loss of its menu permanence.

The burger featured two beef patties, melted American and Monterey Jack cheeses, grilled onions and peppers, and jalapeño ranch sauce. Fortunately, clever customers have figured out how to recreate it using the chain's current topping offerings. You can try ordering a Double Meat Whataburger, omitting the veggies and sauces, then adding one slice each of American and Monterey Jack, extra grilled jalapeños and grilled onions, and a side order of jalapeño ranch. It's not a replica, but it's close enough to hit the spot, and even better with bacon as an add-on. You can also take the Patty Melt — voted one of the best burgers in the U.S. by our staff — approach if you want Texas toast instead of a bun. 

Whether you opt for the bacon, or even replace the beef with chicken strips, Whataburger's customizing options and menu tweaks encourage keeping discontinued fan favorites alive — no official comeback required.

If your breakfast is calling for something bold, don't settle for the standard Whataburger biscuit — order the Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuit instead. It was first introduced in 2014 and blends a flaky buttermilk base with shredded cheddar and diced jalapeños for the perfect spicy-savory twist on fast-food breakfast. 

For no extra charge, you can switch out any breakfast sandwich biscuit for the Jalapeño Cheddar instead. Customers rave about elevated breakfast sandwich creations, including a Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuit with sausage, egg, cheese, and honey butter. Others take it a step farther with a spicy twist on a gravy biscuit: a Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuit sliced and smothered in gravy, then topped with shredded cheese, grilled onions, and jalapeños. For a Texas fast food chain that doesn't serve hot sauce, spicy options definitely aren't missing from its menu.

It's not on Whataburger's official menu, but as long as the kitchen is stocked with cheese and Texas Toast, you're good to go. In fact, the chain itself has spotlighted its grilled cheese as a "secret menu" favorite, encouraging customers to order their version of this beloved comfort food on its thick-cut toast. From there, the possibilities are endless.

You can go classic with American cheese, but some customers double down with Monterey Jack. Whata-fans have added tomato and grilled onions to their sandwiches, while others add one slice each of Monterey Jack and American, plus bacon and creamy pepper sauce. Even just adding grilled onions and grilled jalapeños is a hack that customers swear by, and not just for a grilled cheese, but any sandwich. Whatever way you do a grilled cheese, Whataburger's thick-cut Texas Toast, melty cheese and endless upgrades will have you thinking Whata-grilled cheese.

By now, you've probably figured out that if Whataburger lets you add or swap almost any sandwich topping, there's no reason not to find similar loopholes for elevating its french fries. After all, the chain has an entire lineup of sauces, cheese, and toppings just waiting to be ordered à la carte to make your own Whataburger version of loaded fries. You'll have to assemble them yourself since loaded fries aren't a menu item, as well as order at the restaurant since you can't order the extras by themselves through online ordering — but asking for an empty salad bowl and toppings on the side of your large fry can go a long way.

Customers have been doing just that, and documenting their hack for others to follow suit — ordering a medium or large fry, plus an empty salad bowl, sauces, and toppings to assemble your fries just the way you like them. Folks recommend the classic combination of cheese, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing, while others swap out the sauce for Whataburger's gravy. And that's just the starting point. Imagine all of the possibilities: grilled jalapeños for some heat, a generous drizzle of honey butter for a sweet-salty twist, or both if you're feeling bold. Add protein by ordering a beef patty to chop up, or some chicken tenders, and you've got your own Whata-twist on a fast food delicacy.