I tried the biggest burgers at 5 fast food chains and my favorite tasted fresh off the grill (2024)

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Shake Shack's double cheeseburger, which was my least favorite, was particularly large.

It cost me $10.89, not including tax. I could customize my toppings, but I went with pickles, onions, and Shack sauce.

The hamburger patties were perfectly crispy on the outside and covered in gooey melted cheese.

Pickles also looked large and homemade. It was even heavy to pick up. The toppings were generous and the chain's signature sauce added plenty of flavor. The cheese was also thick and perfectly melted.

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However, biting into the Shake Shack burger was a bit disappointing in my opinion.

I know I purposely ordered the biggest burger on the menu, but it was this burgerenormous, which was both an advantage and a hindrance. I had trouble getting through more than a few bites.

Despite the higher than average price, I thought it was definitely worth it. The burger patties were much thicker than quite a few other burgers I tried and the toppings were definitely overdone in terms of flavor.

Overall I was impressed...but full.

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My second least favorite burger was a classic: a Big Mac from McDonald's.

I was unsure whether the largest burger at McDonald's was the Big Mac – which is physically the largest thanks to the extra bun – or the Double Quarter-Pounder, the burger with the most meat. I decided to try both to avoid disagreements among McDonald's fans arguing over which one is better.

A Big Mac cost me $7.09 at my local McDonald's, before tax.

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There was a generous layer of pickles, lettuce and sauce on the sandwich.

The hamburger patties weren't overwhelming, and neither was the sandwich as a whole. I also loved the spicy, creamy Big Mac sauce. However, I found that the added bun made the sandwich taste too much like bread, and the other flavors were a bit lost in my opinion.

The sandwich was a good size and very filling, but I wasn't crazy about the flavor profile.

I just wanted more flavor to emerge. Between the extra bun and the generous portion of Big Mac sauce, this was all I could taste. Tomato, cheese or just other condiments could have taken the sandwich to the next level.

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The 4x4 is the largest burger at In-N-Out and is part of the chain's "not-so-secret" menu.

The mammoth burger, also called the "Quad Quad," comes with four beef patties, four slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, spread and the option to add onions. It cost $7.20 at the In-N-Out location I visited, making it the second cheapest burger I tried.

The enormous burger was difficult to hold in one hand, let alone bite into it.

If you look at it, it just wasSolots of meat. You'd have to have a very big appetite to get through it, I imagine.

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All elements of the burger were delicious, from the juicy beef patty to the layers of cheese and fresh lettuce and tomato.

However, I found that the extra steaks detracted from my dining experience rather than adding to it.

It was overly filling and the vegetables didn't do much to balance out how much meat and cheese was in the burger. The balls also started falling apart while I was eating. To be honest, I personally would never order this again. While it was delicious, it was just too much meat for my taste.

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I also tried the McDonald's Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese. I preferred it to the Big Mac.

When I looked at the burger in the box, I immediately noticed that it had more meat than the Big Mac. The meat was clearly the star of the show, while the other toppings were barely visible beneath the steaks and bun.

The burger cost me $9.29, not including tax.

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The Double Quarter-Pounder with Cheese comes with a whopping half pound of meat, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard.

I found this burger to be quite flavorful, especially thanks to the herbs and large slices of crunchy pickle. I wasn't too keen on the bun though - although I usually love a sesame seed bun, I found this to be quite bland, airy and artificial in taste.

I would order this burger again.

Despite having a lot of meat, the burger didn't feel too overwhelming to eat. I thought it was a realistic sandwich, especially compared to the gigantic burgers from Shake Shack and In-N-Out.

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The second best burger I tried was Wendy's Dave's Triple.

When I arrived at my local Wendy's drive-thru, this oversized burger wasn't even on the menu. But thanks to my online research, I knew it could be made and decided to order it anyway. I wondered how popular this sandwich was and whether many people opt for the triple-patty burger.

Dave's Triple burger cost $8.39, not including tax.

Wendy's Dave's Triple burger comes with almost a pound of beef, American cheese, crispy lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayonnaise and onion.

The sandwich was hard to come by, but all the ingredients seemed well balanced. There was a generous helping of tomatoes, pickles, and cheese, so it didn't seem like the beef patties would be overpowered.

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I thought this burger had a ton of flavor, the cheese was perfectly melted, and the patties were super juicy.

While I personally couldn't finish it all, I definitely thought the flavors were there and it was good value for the price.

If I had to change one thing it would be removing the mayonnaise. Eventually it mixed with the juice of the tomatoes in an unappetizing way, creating a tomato-mayo sauce that I thought brought down the other flavors.

My favorite burger that I tried was the Triple Whopper with cheese from Burger King.

Like Dave's Triple, the Triple Whopper also comes with three-quarters of a pound of beef, although at Burger King they are flame-grilled. The burger cost me $10.79 before tax, making it the second most expensive burger I tried.

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Unlike the other burgers, the Triple Whopper only comes with a slice of cheese.

However, I felt like this really allowed the other flavors of the burger to shine through, leading to a less stomach-filling, tastier eating experience.

The lettuce, tomatoes and onions all tasted very fresh and they added a lovely crunch to the burger that I found missing in some of the others.

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I also liked the beef patties on this burger the best of the ones I tried.

The hamburger patties had a ton of smoky, spicy flavor that made the sandwich taste like it was fresh off the grill. I also thought the shape of the patties, which were larger in circumference but flatter than some other patties, made the sandwich easier to eat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this burger and would definitely order it again - when I'm hungry. While I'm not sure it's worth more than $10, it was a very generous portion and the most flavorful of the bunch, without being overwhelmingly large.