7 Fast-Food Chains Serving Some of the Most Notable Smash-Style Burgers

Smash burgers have become one of the most recognizable burger styles in American fast food. Instead of relying on a thick beef patty, the style typically emphasizes thinner patties cooked against a very hot flat surface. The high heat creates deep browning around the exterior, while the thinner shape gives diners plenty of crisp, caramelized edges.

That combination of beef, melted cheese, toasted bread, pickles, onions, and sauce has helped the smash burger move well beyond independent burger counters. Several major chains now sell burgers that either follow the smash-burger method directly or use a closely related flat-top preparation.

Based on current menu information from the chains themselves, these seven restaurants are worth knowing if you’re after crispy-edged, griddle-cooked burgers.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Freddy’s is one of the clearest examples of a chain built around thin, crispy-edged beef patties. The company says its steakburgers are made from 100 percent lean ground beef, cooked to order, pressed thin, and seared on a flat-top grill to develop crispy edges.

Its signature option is Freddy’s Original Double. The burger comes with two steakburger patties, cheese, mustard, onion, and pickles on a toasted bun.

The double-patty construction suits Freddy’s style well because the thin patties provide more browned surface area while still creating a substantial burger. The toppings are straightforward rather than elaborate, allowing the seasoned beef, cheese, sharp mustard, onions, and pickles to provide most of the flavor.

For someone looking for a textbook example of the thin-patty, crispy-edge approach, Freddy’s is one of the strongest fits on this list.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack’s ShackBurger has become the chain’s signature burger. Current company information describes it as a made-to-order burger made with 100 percent Angus beef and topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce. It is served on a toasted potato bun.

A single patty is approximately a quarter pound before cooking, while the Double ShackBurger stacks two patties.

The ShackBurger stands out because it combines a relatively simple cheeseburger structure with fresh vegetables and the chain’s signature sauce. The soft potato bun also plays an important role, keeping the burger easy to eat without overwhelming the beef.

Shake Shack regularly experiments with variations, but the ShackBurger remains the most direct introduction to the chain’s burger style.

Culver’s

Culver’s calls its burgers ButterBurgers, but the name does not mean the beef is cooked in butter. Culver’s says its ButterBurgers are made with fresh, never-frozen beef, seared after the customer orders. The burger is finished with a lightly buttered, toasted bun.

One of the best-known versions is the Culver’s Deluxe, while customers can also build their own ButterBurger with a single or double serving of beef. Available cheeses include American, cheddar, and Swiss, and topping choices include ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles, onions, mushrooms, and bacon.

That flexibility is part of Culver’s appeal. Diners can keep the burger extremely simple or build a more heavily topped version without changing the basic fresh-beef and toasted-bun foundation.

Five Guys

Five Guys is better described as smash-burger-adjacent than as a traditional smash-burger specialist. The company says it makes its fresh burger patties to order on a flat-top grill and cooks them well done while keeping them juicy.

Its standard Hamburger and Cheeseburger use fresh, hand-formed patties served on a toasted sesame-seed bun. The Cheeseburger adds American-style cheese between the patties.

Customization is where Five Guys becomes particularly distinctive. Customers can choose combinations involving grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, jalapeños, relish, green peppers, and other toppings. The company also confirms that it wraps its burgers in foil because the foil helps retain heat.

It may not follow every convention associated with a classic smash burger, but its fresh beef and flat-top cooking method put it firmly in the same general conversation.

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Sonic Drive-In

Sonic has embraced the smash-burger terminology directly with the Original SONIC Smasher.

According to Sonic, the burger features two seasoned Angus beef patties, smashed and seared until crispy around the edges while staying juicy in the center. The patties are topped with two slices of American cheese, Smasher sauce, crinkle-cut pickles, diced onions, and a soft potato bun.

Sonic also offers variations on the concept. The All-American Bacon SONIC Smasher adds bacon, ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato while maintaining the smashed Angus patties and American cheese.

Among national drive-in chains, Sonic’s Smasher is one of the most explicit examples of the modern fast-food smash-burger trend.

7th Street Burger

For a more stripped-down interpretation, 7th Street Burger focuses heavily on the smash-burger format itself.

The company describes its product as a New York smashburger and says it makes its burgers to order. Its own imagery and menu descriptions identify a combination of American cheese, pickles, grilled onions, and house sauce.

The company opened its first restaurant in New York City’s East Village in May 2021 and has since expanded across New York and along the East Coast.

Rather than loading the burger with numerous ingredients, 7th Street keeps the formula intentionally focused. Beef, cheese, onions, pickles, and sauce provide the core experience, making it one of the more straightforward smash-burger concepts among growing chains.

Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box entered the category with its Smashed Jack lineup. The original Classic Smashed Jack features a quarter-pound smashed-style beef patty, grilled onions, thick pickles, Boss Sauce, and a buttery brioche bun.

The launch proved significant for the chain. Jack in the Box later reported that the Smashed Jack sold nearly 70,000 units on its first day and sold out in less than two weeks.

The lineup has continued to evolve. A Bacon Double Smashed Jack uses two quarter-pound smashed patties with hickory-smoked bacon, American cheese, pickles, grilled onions, Smashed Jack Sauce, and a brioche bun. However, availability and pricing can vary by location.

The Smash Burger Has Become a Fast-Food Fixture

These chains approach the category in different ways. Freddy’s and Sonic explicitly emphasize thin or smashed patties and crispy edges. 7th Street Burger has built its identity around the smashburger itself. Jack in the Box has incorporated smashed patties into a broader fast-food menu. At the same time, Shake Shack, Culver’s, and Five Guys use griddle-cooked or seared burger styles that share several characteristics with the broader smash-burger tradition.

What connects them is the focus on freshly cooked beef, strong browning, melted cheese, toasted or soft buns, and toppings designed to complement rather than bury the meat.

For burger fans, that variety means there is no single formula to try. Whether the preference is a minimalist combination of beef, cheese, onions, and pickles or a fully customized burger piled with toppings, the smash-style approach has become a substantial part of today’s fast-food burger landscape.

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