Get the scoop on Wendy’s Baconator sandwich in this Wendys Baconator review and copycat recipe. You’ll learn how much is a baconator, get baconator nutritional information, calories, and the Baconator ingredients. We’ll also cover the differences between baconator vs son of baconator, and make our own delicious Baconator burger recipe. Baconators are an American classic fast food, and they’re just so good!
The Baconator from Wendy’s was launched in 2007 to help Wendy’s compete with McDonald’s and Burger King. The sandwich was actually created after the death of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas in 2002. Regardless, the sandwich was targeted to appeal to young men, and it quickly became a hit.
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🍔 What does a Baconator have on it?
According to Wendy’s, here are the Baconator ingredients:
- A half pound of fresh beef (8 ounces or 227 grams), cooked into two hamburger patties
- 2 slices American cheese
- 6 pieces of applewood smoked bacon
- Ketchup
- Mayo
- Premium hamburger bun
This info is from the United States Wendy’s site, but the baconator has similar ingredients in the UK and other international locations. Please note though that there can be some variation in the nutrition info between countries for this menu item.
Baconator sauce
The condiments on a Baconator are literally just ketchup and mayonnaise. They aren’t even mixed together. It’s so easy to recreate this at home.
Is a Baconator a double?
Is a Baconator one patty or two patties? Wendy’s Baconator has two patties. However, it’s not the same as a Dave’s double burger, which is two cheeseburger patties, veggies, and no bacon. Dave’s double includes lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion, but there’s no vegetables on a baconator.
Wendy’s doesn’t have a double baconator on their site, because the classic baconator already has two burger patties on it. In other words, a double baconator would technically have four beef patties on it and be a quadruple. I've heard you can order a quadruple baconator from Wendy’s secret menu (source), but you might want to share with a friend.
What makes a baconator good?
Between the beef, slices of cheese, bacon, and fluffy bun, the baconator is an intense flavor explosion of carbs, fat, and umami. This one’s all about satisfying cravings and not so much about following heart healthy diet recommendations.
🤑 Wendys Baconator Price
How much does a baconator cost? The current price of a baconator is $8.90. This price was correct at the time of writing and may vary by location.
📋 Baconator Calories
How many calories in a Baconator? A Baconator has 960 calories, and the Baconator carbs are 36 grams, with 35g net carbohydrates. This is for a US Baconator; a UK Baconator has 1010 calories, 38g total carbohydrates, and 36g net carbs.
How fattening is a Baconator?
The Baconator is not a good choice for a weight loss diet. This fast food burger packs a lot of calories into a small volume of food because it’s so high fat. There are 66 grams of fat in a US Baconator; this means about 62% of the calories come from fat.
Though the Baconator has a hefty 57 grams of protein, only about 24% of the calories come from this filling macronutrient. If you order a Baconator meal with fries and soda, you could easily make a 1500 calorie meal. This is a maintenance level of daily calories for some petite and inactive adults.
➕ Baconator Nutrition
Here is the nutrition information for the Wendy’s baconator (source):
- Calories: 960
- Total fat: 66g
- Saturated fat: 27g
- Trans fat: 3g
- Cholesterol: 155mg
- Sodium: 1540mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 36g
- Dietary fiber: 1g
- Total sugar: 7g
- Protein: 57g
- Calcium: 15% DV
- Iron: 40% DV
- Potassium: 15% DV
Wendy’s baconators are not low carb, keto, gluten free, vegetarian, or vegan friendly. (No surprises there, I suppose. Lol)
👨👦 Baconator vs Son of Baconator
Is there a smaller Baconator? Yes! The Son of a Baconator burger uses two Jr. hamburger patties instead of the regular hamburger patties.
It’s a good option if you want all the flavor of the Baconator without going all in on an almost 1000 calorie burger. The calories in the Son of Baconator burger are 630.
How much is a son of baconator? The Son of Baconator currently costs $6.59 at my local Wendy’s. Prices may vary by location.
Baconator Fries
What are Baconator fries made of? For the insatiable Baconator fan, Wendy’s also carries Baconator fries. The Baconator fries ingredients are:
- Fries
- Applewood smoked bacon
- Cheddar cheese sauce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt
You can also request extra toppings like ketchup, mayo, and more bacon. Baconator fries cost $4.09 and have 460 calories. (There used to be Pringles Baconator crisps in stores too, but they were only available for a limited time.)
Baconator Triple
What is on a triple Baconator? A triple Baconator isn’t an official Wendy’s menu item at the moment. However, you may be able to request one with 3 cheeseburger patties. 9 pieces of bacon, ketchup, and mayo.
Good luck taking a neat bite of that huge sandwich!
Baconator Breakfast Sandwich
Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator has grilled sausage patties, American cheese, bacon, fried egg, and Swiss cheese sauce. It clocks in at 710 calories and costs $4.39.
What’s in a Baconator deluxe?
According to Wikipedia, Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic was renamed the Bacon Deluxe in 2009, discontinued in 2012, and now it appears to be back on the menu as the Big Bacon Classic. This burger has a quarter pound beef (one patty), bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion.
It’s basically like a Baconator at Wendy’s except with only one hamburger patty and added veggies. There’s no Baconator Deluxe on the Wendy’s menu, just the former Bacon Deluxe.
As a side note, it’s kind of interesting to see each country’s individual take on this American classic. For example, Wendy’s New Zealand has a baconator mushroom melt with cheesy mushroom sauce. Nice!
💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). Is Wendys Baconator healthy? In most circumstances, it’s safe to say the baconator isn’t the healthiest option. I’m pretty sure the spirit of the Baconator is more about tasty indulgence and less about heart health.
That said, making your own Baconator gives you more options if you want something healthier. For example, you could use 80/20 ground beef to get a Baconator that tastes more authentic. But if you use lean beef, it cooks down less and you’ll have a more beefy tasting burger that’s lower in saturated fat.
Another thing you could do is skip the processed cheese food and use real cheese. Cheddar, pepper jack, or provolone would be divine.
You could also add veggies to your burger like lettuce, tomato, and onion. Sauteed mushrooms and roasted pepper strips are other super options. Make this simple recipe your own and treat yourself!
FAQ
Yes, you can get a Bacon King at Burger King that appears to be a Baconator copycat. It has ½ lb of meat, crispy bacon, American cheese, catsup, and mayo, just like at Wendy’s.
A Big Bacon Classic has one burger patty, while the Baconator contains 2 patties. Also, the Big Bacon Classic includes veggies like tomato and lettuce, while the Baconator doesn’t.
There is currently no quadruple Baconator on the US Wendy’s menu. However, you may be able to request one at your local Wendy’s. Some say it’s part of their secret menu.
According to CNN, Wendy’s uses square burgers to stand out from their competitors. They want customers to be able to see the quality of the meat, because they don’t “cut corners.” (Haha)
There’s no vegan Baconator at Wendy’s. However, you can make your own with your favorite vegan burgers, vegan bacon, vegan cheese, vegan mayo, vegan burger buns, etc. (The Ibotta app usually has savings on the fake meat and cheese; you might want to check it out if you try this.)
The prices at a lot of fast food chains are high right now. This is due to a combination of rising food prices, the aim to use higher quality ingredients, increases in minimum wage, and more. Depending on where you shop, you may save money making the copycat Baconator recipe below.
👩🏻🍳 More Burger Recipes
Love burgers? Don’t miss these other recipes for burgers:
- Frozen Burgers in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Burgers Stuffed with Cheese
- Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
- Elk Burger
- Smoked Burgers
You may also want to check out How to Reheat McDonald’s Burgers. The directions work on Wendy’s burgers too!
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The Disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!
📖 Recipe
Baconator Burger (Wendy’s Baconator Review and Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 slices bacon
- 2 lbs ground beef (907 grams)
- 8 slices American cheese
- ketchup
- mayo
- 4 hamburger buns (I used brioche buns)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place the bacon on the foil in a single layer.
- Cook the bacon in the oven for 10-20 minutes. Watch it- it goes from perfectly crisp to burnt fast!
- While the bacon cooks, shape the ground beef into 8 thin burger patties. (If your patties aren't thin enough, the Baconator will be very tall and tough to take a bite out of.)
- Cook the burgers for 5-6 minutes per side on a heated stovetop griddle. Add a slice of cheese to each patty during the last minute of cooking and let it melt.
- Spread ketchup and mayo on the burger buns. I used about ½ tablespoon of each per burger, because I feel Wendy's goes a little light with these. Feel free to add more if you prefer.
- When the bacon is done cooking, cut each piece in half. The slices of bacon in the Baconator are small, about the size of a half piece.
- To assemble, top the bottom bun with a cheeseburger, 3 half pieces of bacon, a second cheeseburger, 3 more half slices of bacon, and then the top bun. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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