Applebee's Best Burgers, Explained: What Each Handcrafted Burger Is Actually Like and Which One to Order
Choose in 30 Seconds
Most people do not need a ranking. They need the right burger for their situation, so start here:
| Your situation | Order this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want the best burger, full stop | Whisky Bacon Burger, $15.99 | Sweet-savoury whisky glaze, crispy onions, bacon and Pepper Jack — the most layered flavour on the menu, and 63 grams of protein. |
| You want the signature experience | Quesadilla Burger, $15.99 | The patty served inside a grilled quesadilla instead of a bun. Messy, rich, and the heaviest burger here at 1,620 calories. |
| You want the cheapest burger | Classic Bacon Cheeseburger, $14.49 | The lowest price on the burger menu, and the classic combination that needs no explanation: bacon, American cheese, brioche bun, fries. |
| You want the fun one | Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger, $14.99 | Four slices of American cheese on toasted potato bread, with tomato basil soup for dipping. The only burger that comes with a dip. |
| You want maximum cheese | O-M-Cheese Burger, $15.49 | A beef patty loaded with melted American and Cheddar. If cheese is the point of the order, this is the order. |
| Nobody at the table eats meat | Impossible Cheeseburger, $15.49 | The only vegetarian burger on the menu, and the lightest at 1,090 calories, with 12 grams of fibre. |
Every Burger, With the Numbers That Actually Matter
The figures below are the listed figures from our handcrafted burgers menu. Protein and fibre are quoted only where our nutrition chart publishes them for that exact burger; for the other three, only calories are published there, so only calories are quoted here.
| Burger | Price | Calories | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Bacon Cheeseburger | $14.49 | 1,220 | Cheapest burger; the crowd favourite |
| Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger | $14.99 | 1,420 | Four slices of American; soup for dipping |
| O-M-Cheese Burger | $15.49 | 1,340 | American and Cheddar, cheese-first |
| Impossible Cheeseburger | $15.49 | 1,090 | Lightest; vegetarian; 12g fibre, 39g protein |
| Quesadilla Burger | $15.99 | 1,620 | Heaviest; signature quesadilla build |
| Whisky Bacon Burger | $15.99 | 1,590 | Most protein at 63g; whisky glaze |
Two things jump out. First, the whole burger menu sits in a narrow $1.50 price band ($14.49 to $15.99), so price should almost never decide your order — flavour and appetite should. Second, every burger here is a full meal on its own: even the lightest, the Impossible at 1,090 calories, plus fries, is more than half a day's calories for most people. Do not order a heavy starter first unless you are genuinely skipping a second course — our best appetizers guide shows which starters leave room for a burger and which do not.
1. Whisky Bacon Burger: The Best Burger on the Menu
What you get: an all-beef patty with Pepper Jack cheese, crispy onions, Applewood-smoked bacon and a sweet-savoury whisky-infused steak sauce glaze, $15.99, with fries.
How it eats: this is the burger with the most going on, and it holds together. The glaze is sweet first and savoury second, the crispy onions add crunch that the other burgers lack, and the Pepper Jack brings a mild warmth without taking over. At 1,590 calories and 63 grams of protein — the most protein of any burger here — it is also the most filling single burger on the menu, so it suits a proper appetite, not a light lunch.
Order it smarter: this burger also appears on the 2 for $25 entrée list with a typical upcharge of about $2.50, per our upcharge guide — if two of you are ordering entrées anyway, that route can still beat paying full price for two burgers. Check the deal page before you order, because upcharges vary by restaurant.
Skip it if: you dislike sweet glazes on savoury food, or you want something light — this is the second-heaviest burger here.
2. Quesadilla Burger: The Signature, and the Messiest
What you get: an all-beef patty with Pepper Jack cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, pico de gallo, shredded lettuce and Mexi-ranch, served in two warm grilled flour tortillas instead of a bun, $15.99, with fries.
How it eats: this is the burger people talk about, and for good reason — the crisped tortilla exterior, the gooey Pepper Jack, the bright pico and the cool Mexi-ranch make every bite taste different from a normal burger. It is also the messiest burger on the menu and the heaviest, at 1,620 calories, so grab extra napkins and do not plan a heavy starter beforehand. Independent tasters keep putting it at or near the top: it won a recent Daily Meal ranking of popular Applebee's entrées, and a Shopfood ranking of the chain's burgers puts it in the top half for the same Tex-Mex reason.
One figure to know: calorie figures for this burger move between sources. Our menu table lists 1,620 calories, Applebee's own item page currently shows 1,590, and some older trackers show 1,330. Treat it as roughly 1,600 calories — either way, it is the heaviest burger here.
Skip it if: you want a tidy burger, you dislike pico de gallo or Mexi-ranch, or you are ordering takeout with a long drive — a tortilla build steams soft in a box faster than a brioche bun does.
3. Classic Bacon Cheeseburger: The Cheapest, and the Crowd Favourite
What you get: an all-beef patty with two slices of American cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on a toasted brioche bun, $14.49, with fries.
How it eats: exactly like the burger you picture when someone says burger — salty bacon, melted American, fresh vegetables for crunch, a soft brioche bun that holds up. At 1,220 calories it is the second-lightest burger here, and at $14.49 it is the cheapest, which makes it the default order for a table that cannot agree and for anyone who does not want a novelty build. A 2021 Mashed poll of more than 600 people put this burger first, with about 35 percent of the vote and the Whisky Bacon Burger second at about 27 percent — an old poll, but it matches how this burger still behaves: the safe pick that most people actually want.
Skip it if: you came for something you cannot get at any burger joint. This is the classic done well, not a new idea.
4. Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger: The Fun One
What you get: a beef patty stacked with four slices of American cheese and sweet and savoury jam on toasted potato bread, with tomato basil soup for dipping, $14.99, with fries.
How it eats: this is the burger that turns into an activity — a grilled-cheese sandwich and a cheeseburger at once, with a warm soup cup for dipping the edges. The jam keeps it from tasting like a plain cheese overload, and the potato bread toasts richer than a standard bun. At 1,420 calories it sits in the middle of the menu, and it is the only burger here that gives you a second flavour (the soup) to break up the richness.
Order it smarter: this burger has also appeared as an entrée choice on the 2 for $25 deal, so if you are ordering for two, check our 2 for $25 guide before paying full price — the deal route can make this burger plus an appetizer and a second entrée cheaper than two full-price burgers.
Skip it if: you dislike sweet jam on a burger, or you want a conventional bun — the potato-bread build eats softer and richer than brioche.
5. O-M-Cheese Burger: Cheese, First and Last
What you get: a beef patty loaded with melted American and Cheddar, $15.49, with fries.
How it eats: this is the simplest idea on the menu executed at full volume — if you order it, you are ordering cheese, and the patty is almost the delivery system. At 1,340 calories it is lighter than the Quesadilla and Whisky burgers despite the cheese load, because there are no bacon, glazes or extra builds adding weight. Do not confuse it with the O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger, the newer quesadilla-style item that joined the 2 for $25 lineup in August 2026 and is dine-in only — this is the earlier, bun-built cheese burger, and it is a different item.
Skip it if: you want vegetables, sauce or crunch to break up the richness. There is very little here that is not cheese or beef.
6. Impossible Cheeseburger: The Only Burger for Non-Meat Eaters
What you get: a plant-based Impossible patty with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on a brioche bun, $15.49, with fries.
How it eats: like a classic cheeseburger with a plant-based patty — familiar build, no novelty sauces, and the lightest plate on the burger menu at 1,090 calories, with 39 grams of protein and 12 grams of fibre, the most fibre of any burger here. It is ranked last here only because the ranking is for a meat-eating table; for a vegetarian table, this is the only burger on the menu, and it is a good one rather than a token option.
Skip it if: you need a vegan burger — the American cheese and the brioche bun mean this one is vegetarian, not vegan. And as with everything at Applebee's, shared cooking areas apply, so a strict dietary need should be raised with the restaurant before ordering; our allergen guide carries the full picture.
How to Pay Less for the Same Burger
Three routes, in order of how reliably they work. First, the 2 for $25: some burgers appear as entrées on the deal — the Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger joined the entrée list, and the Whisky Bacon Burger typically carries about a $2.50 upcharge on it — so two people ordering entrées should check the deal before paying two full burger prices. Second, watch the specials page: burger promotions come and go (past limited-time burger prices are not current prices, and none is quoted here as one), so the current offers on our specials and deals page are the only ones worth counting on. Third, skip the delivery markup: delivery menus for these same burgers routinely list higher prices than the dine-in figures above, so Carside To Go or dine-in is usually cheaper for the same burger — check our takeout guide for how that works.
One honest note on prices: the prices above are this guide's listed menu prices. Applebee's is franchised and individual restaurants set their own, so check your local menu before you order — the burgers, the portions and the ordering advice in this article hold either way.
Burgers You May See Elsewhere, but Not on Our Burger Page
Our handcrafted burgers page lists the six burgers above. Some locations also list extra burgers — a plain Classic Burger, a Bourbon Street Mushroom Swiss Burger and a Neighborhood Burger all appear on location and delivery menus — and those are real items at those restaurants, not errors on your menu. If your restaurant lists one of them, order by the same rules in this guide: the plain Classic is the lightest, simplest build, and the mushroom Swiss is the savoury, mushroom-led alternative to the Whisky glaze. Their prices are not quoted here because they are not on our category page and they vary even more by location than the six above.
