Food
You Won’t Believe the Calories in Your Favorite Fast Food Cheeseburgers
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Fast-food is known for its convenience and addicting taste; it is certainly not known for its nutritional content. However, NBA star Ray Allen is seeking to change that. Alongside his wife, the athlete started an organic fast-food chain called Grown. Though originally launched in Miami, the restaurant is now expanding throughout the United States. The chain offers the same casual, drive-thru format Americans rely on for convenience, while offering healthier menu options. Grown’s website states, “we believe food should be delicious, organic and inspiring. It’s not made, it’s not manufactured, it’s grown.”
Excluding Allen’s newly introduced organic chain, fast-food is almost always packed with fat and excess calories. If you’re craving a cheeseburger, you are probably focused on taste over healthy caloric intake. Cheeseburgers are unhealthy almost by default; you won’t see a committed dieter ordering something called a Baconzilla! But just as with most popular fast foods, there can be a considerable gap between the highest-calorie and lowest-calorie examples.
To identify the cheeseburgers with the most and fewest calories at 19 of the biggest fast-food chains in the U.S., 24/7 Wall St. reviewed nutritional information – including calories, fats, and sodium – on each chain’s official website. We selected the cheeseburgers with the highest and lowest number of calories offered by each chain. Only food items intended for consumption by one person were included, and computations cover only the burger and its garnishes, not a complete meal (with fries and a drink). Cheeseburgers on kids’ menus were excluded.
Before we go any further, it’s worth mentioning that when it comes to nutrition, calorie count isn’t the be-all-end-all. One slice of Kraft American cheese, for example, contains about 60 calories, while a cup of chopped spinach contains about 90. Spinach is obviously a healthier product than pasteurized process cheese food, though. So even if a plain Burger King cheeseburger has fewer calories than a Triple Whopper with Cheese, that doesn’t mean that it’s healthy. (Considering burgers and other menu items, these popular fast foods are the biggest calorie bombs.)
The cheeseburger is one of the most delicious foods on earth, and one bite seems to trigger all of the brain’s pleasure sensors. You might be surprised to learn that a straightforward fast-food cheeseburger isn’t actually all that caloric; a basic McDonald’s cheeseburger only contains 300 calories (about the same amount as a small, sweetened yogurt with granola). But once you start adding on extra patties, more cheese, bacon, and other toppings, the calorie count can go through the roof. Some burgers on this list pack more than half of the 2,000 daily calories recommended by the FDA.
This post was updated on June 25, 2025 to include news of Grown expanding throughout the U.S.
A&W Restaurants: Most Caloric
Original Bacon Cheeseburger – Double
- Calories: 650
- Total fat: 36 g
- Saturated fat: 13 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,160 mg
A&W Restaurants: Least Caloric (tie)
Cheeseburger
- Calories: 400
- Total fat: 16 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 890 mg
A&W Restaurants: Least Caloric (tie)
Mushroom Onion Melt – Single
- Calories: 400
- Total fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 960 mg
Burger King: Most Caloric
Triple Whopper with Cheese
- Calories: 1,299
- Total fat: 88 g
- Saturated fat: 35 g
- Trans fat: 0.8 g
- Sodium: 1,829 mg
Burger King: Least Caloric
Cheeseburger
- Calories: 295
- Total fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 5.9 g
- Trans fat: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 770 mg
Carl Jr.’s: Most Caloric
The Really Big Carl
- Calories: 1,180
- Total fat: N/A
- Saturated fat: N/A
- Trans fat: N/A
- Sodium: N/A
Carl Jr.’s: Least Caloric
Famous Star with Cheese
- Calories: 670
- Total fat: 37 g
- Saturated fat: 13 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,270 mg
Checkers & Rally’s: Most Caloric
Baconzilla!
- Calories: 910
- Total fat: 62 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
- Trans fat: 3 g
- Sodium: 1,670 mg
Checkers & Rally’s: Least Caloric
Cheese Champ
- Calories: 430
- Total fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,430 mg
Culver’s: Most Caloric
The Culver’s Bacon Deluxe – Triple
- Calories: 1,090
- Total fat: 76 g
- Saturated fat: 31 g
- Trans fat: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 1,430 mg
Culver’s: Least Caloric
ButterBurger the Original – Single
- Calories: 390
- Total fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Trans fat: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
Dairy Queen: Most Caloric
Loaded A1 Steakhouse Burger – Double
- Calories: 850
- Total fat: 52 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 1,750 mg
Dairy Queen: Least Caloric
Cheese Grill Burger
- Calories: 540
- Total fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 960 mg
Del Taco: Most Caloric
Bacon Double Dell Cheeseburger
- Calories: 760
- Total fat: 51 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Trans fat: 2 g
- Sodium: 1,840 mg
Del Taco: Least Caloric
Del Cheeseburger
- Calories: 470
- Total fat: 28 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,000 mg
Five Guys: Most Caloric
Bacon Cheeseburger
- Calories: 1,060
- Total fat: 62 g
- Saturated fat: N/A
- Trans fat: N/A
- Sodium: 1,310 mg
Five Guys: Least Caloric
Little Cheeseburger
- Calories: 610
- Total fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: N/A
- Trans fat: N/A
- Sodium: 690 mg
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: Most Caloric
Triple Jalapeno Pepper Jack Steakburger
- Calories: 1,070
- Total fat: 70 g
- Saturated fat: 31 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 1,660 mg
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: Least Caloric
California Style Steak Burger (without cheese or sauce)
- Calories: 410
- Total fat: 19 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Trans fat: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 430 mg
Hardee’s: Most Caloric
The Real Big Hardee
- Calories: 1,170
- Total fat: N/A
- Saturated fat: N/A
- Trans fat: N/A
- Sodium: N/A
Hardee’s: Least Caloric
Small Cheeseburger
- Calories: 300
- Total fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 790 mg
In-N-Out Burger: Most Caloric
Double-Double with Onion
- Calories: 670
- Total fat: 41 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,440 mg
In-N-Out Burger: Least Caloric
Cheeseburger with Onion Protein Style (bun replaced with lettuce)
- Calories: 330
- Total fat: 25 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 720 mg
Jack in the Box: Most Caloric
Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger
- Calories: 930
- Total fat: 65 g
- Saturated fat: 25 g
- Trans fat: 3 g
- Sodium: 1,590 mg
Jack in the Box: Least Caloric
Cheeseburger
- Calories: 380
- Total fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
McDonalds: Most Caloric
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese
- Calories: 740
- Total fat: 42 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Trans fat: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 1,360 mg
McDonalds: Least Caloric
Cheeseburger
- Calories: 300
- Total fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Trans fat: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 720 mg
Shake Shack: Most Caloric
Shack Stack
- Calories: 770
- Total fat: 45 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 1,700 mg
Shake Shack: Least Caloric
Cheeseburger
- Calories: 440
- Total fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,200 mg
Sonic Drive-In: Most Caloric
SuperSONIC Bacon Double Cheeseburger
- Calories: 1,030
- Total fat: 65 g
- Saturated fat: 23 g
- Trans fat: 2 g
- Sodium: 1,880 mg
Sonic Drive-In: Least Caloric
Quarter Pound Double Cheeseburger
- Calories: 560
- Total fat: 35 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 1,290 mg
Steak ‘n Shake: Most Caloric
7 X 7
- Calories: 1,660
- Total fat: 128 g
- Saturated fat: 62 g
- Trans fat: 6 g
- Sodium: 3,800 mg
Steak ‘n Shake: Least Caloric
Bacon N’ Cheese Single
- Calories: 460
- Total fat: 26 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,060 mg
Wendy’s: Most Caloric
Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger Triple
- Calories: 1,420
- Total fat: 102 g
- Saturated fat: 42 g
- Trans fat: 5 g
- Sodium: 2,110 mg
Wendy’s: Least Caloric
Bacon Double Stack
- Calories: 440
- Total fat: 26 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 820 mg
Whataburger: Most Caloric
Mushroom Swiss Burger
- Calories: 1,110
- Total fat: 70 g
- Saturated fat: 23 g
- Trans fat: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 1,890 mg
Whataburger: Least Caloric
Whataburger
- Calories: 590
- Total fat: 25 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,220 mg
White Castle: Most Caloric
Panko Surf and Turf with Jalapeno Cheese
- Calories: 560
- Total fat: 37 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Trans fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 1,110 mg
White Castle: Least Caloric
The Original Slider
- Calories: 140
- Total fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 3.5 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 380 mg
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