13 Jack In The Box Burgers, Ranked Worst To Best

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the "Big 3" of the fast food industry: McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. They're familiar, reliable eateries you can find on any road trip. Sadly, they often overshadow more regional counterparts, like Jack in the Box. The chain may be unlikely to see a comeback in 2026, but I'll argue it deserves a fighting chance against the already-established industry behemoths. 

Not too long before today's taste test, I tried every chicken item from Wendy's, and I must admit to being (slightly) more impressed by Jack in the Box's burgers than Wendy's chicken offerings, which took me totally by surprise. Now, not every Jack in the Box burger is worthy of praise, but my top several contenders were hearty and very tasty. I ranked the chain's burgers by taking into consideration the balance of their ingredients and the overall flavor profile of each. Considering a stop by the drive-thru for your next road trip meal? Here's what you should (and shouldn't) order. 

Jack in the Box's collaboration with "Hot Ones" should have been a surefire success. After all, I fell in love with the latter brand after doing the "Hot Ones" challenge myself. Unfortunately, the Hot Ones Sriracha Jr. Jumbo Jack Cheeseburger fell far below my expectations, enough so to earn a last-place spot on this list.

If all you're after is heat, you may not be as disappointed with this burger as I was. As for me, I'd like to be able to taste the other components of the burger and that just wasn't possible here. As for the actual sauce, it wasn't the worst sauce at Jack in the Box, but it really only tasted like sriracha and lacked any of the complexity of some of the other fast food collabs "Hot Ones" has participated in over the years. For example, I was way more impressed by Popeyes' "Hot Ones" menu offerings. Because I know the caliber of the collabs that have been done with the brand in the past, this burger was an easy choice for last place. 

This isn't the first time fast food empires have injected some Philly inspo into their menus, but unfortunately I can't advocate for Jack in the Box's Philly-Style Bonus Jack. The burger comes loaded with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, grilled peppers, and mayo; which sounds like a winner on paper, but was way too disappointing to earn a higher spot on this list. 

Firstly, my burger hardly had any grilled peppers on it and the grilled peppers I did taste were bitter. Secondly, the sandwich had way too much mayonnaise for my palate (and, I'd imagine, for most palates). I did like the grilled onions, which allowed me to keep this burger out of the last-place spot. On the whole, though, I don't think it'll satisfy Philly sandwich lovers and it's hardly hearty enough to act as a full meal anyway. 

Another should-be winner is a burger with curly fries. I mean, how could one go wrong, especially when such a burger exists as part of a "Hot Ones" collab? I wasn't quite as disappointed by this burger as I was by the previous "Hot Ones" burger, but it still left much to be desired and was such an unbalanced, overwhelming option that I wouldn't order it again.

I thought there was simply far too much going on in this burger. The "Hot Ones" sriracha sauce, fries, and jalapeños all competed for attention and didn't blend in with each other very harmoniously. On the plus side, the burger wasn't too spicy, yet I think fans of spice would still be satisfied — as long as you don't mind an onslaught of tasting notes.

Now we're entering the section of burgers that I'd call "totally fine," even if not very impressive. The first entry here is Jack in the Box's Jumbo Jack. I'm not sure how it earned that name given that it's really not very large, but oh well. It had enough going for it to secure a solid 10th-place spot on this list. 

Just want a classic burger sans cheese? You wouldn't go wrong by ordering the Jumbo Jack as long as you don't expect it to be particularly "jumbo." I'd still call this offering a bit boring in the grand scheme of things, but its no-frills nature will definitely suit some consumers. The biggest reason this ranked below the following is because it lacks cheese — while I'm sure that'll be preferable to some, it's a detriment for me and ultimately earned this burger its ranking here. 

I have a qualm with Jack in the Box's "smashed" burgers — none of the patties actually appear to be smashed. If I ordered this expecting an actual smash burger, I'd definitely be disappointed. That's one of the reasons I had to rank this as low as I did. However, it wasn't a bad burger, so I was able to rank it higher than the previous offerings. 

My Classic Smashed Jack was missing the grilled onions that are supposed to accompany it, which certainly didn't help matters any. All I got was a non-smashed cheeseburger with an indiscernible Smashed Jack Sauce. Moreover, the burger was pretty small and I wouldn't be satisfied if I was eating this as my whole meal. Flavor-wise, it's good enough not to garner too many complaints but I'd still choose any of the following over this one any day. 

Yet another not-so-big Jumbo entry is Jack in the Box's Jumbo Jack Cheeseburger, which is nothing noteworthy in terms of its size. At least it included the cheese I so longed for in its previous iteration; moreover, I think this burger would be pretty satisfying to most consumers. 

Mine had way too much mayonnaise for my liking (that seemed to be an ongoing theme for many of the burgers I got at this particular location so I chose not to fault any single item too much for that). Otherwise, this offers everything you'd expect from a classic burger. I was even mildly impressed by the quality of the veggies. The tomatoes weren't mealy in the slightest and the lettuce had a nice crisp to it. If you need to wet your whistle with a classic cheeseburger, this certainly wouldn't be a bad option, though it pales in comparison to some higher-ranked contenders. 

I clearly wasn't super impressed with the Jumbo moniker slapped onto some of the previous burgers, but as for Jack in the Box's Ultimate Cheeseburger, I thought it was quite deserving of its name. As you can tell from the picture, this burger was quite literally loaded with cheese, and it definitely earned its "ultimate" status. 

The biggest downside to this burger is that it was a little dry, so if this is your order of choice I'd recommend getting an extra sauce packet or two to accompany it. Other than that, my cheese-loving soul really enjoyed everything going on here as the combo of American and Swiss cheese was pretty darn mouthwatering. It's not a burger for the lactose intolerant, but if you (like me) simply can't get enough of the dairy world's greatest invention, this would be a good buy. 

For some reason, my Double Jack was missing its veggies. Granted, I never expect large fast food orders to be perfect, but it was still pretty disappointing. This burger may have ranked a spot or two higher if it had come with all of its veggies, but imagining lettuce and tomato on it could only boost it up to sixth place. 

That said, the burger is pretty massive even without lettuce and tomato. Again, I loved the medley of cheeses on it; it's a pretty classic loaded burger that's sure to satisfy if that's what you're after. It earned one spot above the last because, if it had its veggies, it would probably be a more well-balanced offering than the previous option. The double patty made it heartier than most. If I was eating this as my meal, I'm not sure I could have justifiably finished the whole thing. 

I'll preface this by saying that my love for bacon knows no bounds. It's a near guarantee that any sandwich with bacon on it will stand at least a little bit above the competition, and I found that to be the case with Jack in the Box's burgers; all of its bacon-topped entries made it in the top five on my list. The Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger had a little bit too much going on, but I'd get it again.

This double patty sandwich loaded with cheese and bacon would have been a dream if only it had some veggies on it to balance out all the meat and cheese. As it was, I'd be wholly overwhelmed by this burger after just a couple of bites, though I'm sure those few bites would be delicious. Even though it was tasty, its lack of balance made it my least favorite of all the bacon burgers you'll find here. Still, it was good enough to earn fifth place. 

What's better than the word "bacon" attached to any sandwich? The phrase "bacon and Swiss." I mean, come on — how could anyone resist this classic combo? I did have the same issue with this burger as I did with the previous smashed burgers — namely, it didn't seem to be at all smashed — but that wasn't enough to keep the Bacon and Swiss Buttery Smashed Jack out of my top five. 

The last burger also contained Swiss cheese and bacon, but I thought this one was a little more balanced and the lack of veggies is better suited to a smaller burger. In other words, I didn't feel at all overwhelmed by this one. It would have satisfied me without leaving me feeling like I'd burst at the seams after eating it. I didn't taste the Swiss as much as I'd have liked, but Swiss can be fairly nondescript; you may want to ask for an extra slice if that's something that would bother you. 

Yes, I was as surprised as you are to find that I liked Jack in the Box's Buttery Smashed Jack better than either of the previous bacon-loaded offerings. My reasoning was simple: This burger boasted more flavor without being at all overwhelming. Had the previous burgers had the veggies and the abundance of sauce this one had, I imagine they would have ranked higher. 

The veggies added a lot here — they made the burger feel substantial and well-rounded but weren't as filling as meat or cheese. Plus, I could taste the garlic herb butter here and it added a whole new dimension to the sandwich that I didn't find on the previous burgers. It doesn't boast anything super noteworthy, but it deserves some attention in this lineup — even if it couldn't beat my top two contenders. 

Listen, I promise my automatic bias toward sourdough isn't what boosted Jack in the Box's Sourdough Jack up to second place. After all, since I am biased toward the bread, I'm very picky about it. This sandwich truly earned its high spot here. The chain's choice of bun made this a unique, flavorful offering that made a name for itself when pitted against the rest. I found it quite good. 

This bad boy had bacon on it (an obvious advantage) and it also had some veggies, which gave it the balance previous bacon burgers lacked. I really liked what the sourdough bread brought to the equation. It wasn't necessarily crispy, but it did provide a buttery, slightly sour flavor that was very becoming when paired with the burger. I appreciated that the bun felt like part of the show rather than just a vehicle for the burger and its toppings. This almost got first place, but I couldn't rank it above the following. 

If this burger was on some of that sourdough bread, it would be an absolute masterpiece. Even still, Jack in the Box's Bacon Double Smashed Jack was my favorite of all the burgers I tried. While each burger in the top five on this list had components I enjoyed, this burger had all of the pieces that made the previous ones earn such high spots together in one place. Putting it in first was a no-brainer.

Obviously, it boasts some crispy bacon and is loaded with cheese, which made me immediately endeared to it. And because this burger had lettuce, tomato, and tangible garlic sauce, its delivery felt well-balanced. I didn't get too much or too little of any one component in a bite, and the double patty didn't feel like too much at all. If you want a classic loaded burger that's sure to satisfy, this is the one you should buy on your next Jack in the Box run. 

This ranking started by ordering one of each of the main burger types that were available on Jack in the Box's menu at the time of writing. I tried them in sequence as soon as I got home. My ranking evaluated the balance of the components on every burger as well as the overall flavor profile. 

That's why even complex burgers, like the Hot Ones Curly Fry Burger, could earn lower spots on this list — they weren't balanced enough to get a higher spot. On the other hand, some burgers (like my top choice, the Bacon Double Smashed Jack) presented every ingredient in good proportion to the next, leading to satisfying bites that would satisfy as a whole meal.