11 Carl's Jr. Menu Items, Ranked

Carl's Jr. is the kind of fast food restaurant you love to remember because, if you're anything like me, chances are that you constantly forget it exists. This doesn't necessarily say anything about the establishment itself. After all, they're only located in 16 states and are not as ubiquitous as other fast food joints. But then one day, you're driving in a neighborhood you don't frequent and, oh, would you look at that, there's a Carl's Jr. It's been too long since you've been, you think to yourself, and vow to eat there someday soon. Well, for me, that someday finally arrived, and it did not disappoint (for the most part).

This article is for the fast food fan who may not be as knowledgeable about Carl's Jr. If you're a Carl's fanatic, it's not for you. We're looking at the menu from a high level without getting in the weeds and ordering all the burgers that are four piled patties and pounds of fixings on top of each other. We're simply ordering the single patties (mostly) and comparing flavors, honestly, as people who don't usually eat burgers with onion rings piled in on a daily basis. (Plus, when you pile on those beef patties, these burgers are pricey with a capital P).

Personally, I've eaten at Carl's Jr. many times in my life and enjoyed it, but I am not a current frequent customer. However, after writing this article, I certainly could be if all goes well. This is a balanced list of Carl's Jr. menu items in that we sample a little bit of everything, including the big burgers it's known for, as well as the so-called regular items and fun sides that aren't other foods crammed into burgers (and could be viewed as slightly healthier options ... but only slightly).

The Chicken Stars are a classic Carl's Jr. treat, shaped like the restaurant's titular star. On first look alone, they differ from the other chicken piece menu items sold at the restaurant (the Hand-breaded Chicken Tenders) in that they just look like run-of-the-mill chicken nuggets, albeit shaped like cute stars.

As soon as I bit into one, I sadly knew it was going to be at the bottom of this list, as the Chicken Stars were nothing like I remembered. They weren't bad, but they definitely weren't anything special. Not only did they taste more like chicken nuggets from a grocery store freezer, they also sort of tasted like they were literally from the past. They had a very distinct, dry, barely-there chicken nugget taste that I, personally, have not tasted since I was a child at a birthday party. Everyone in my sampling group agreed that this item would be great for kids (which is probably who they're for anyway). Unfortunately, not even dipping them into buttermilk ranch or honey mustard could elevate the taste. These fellas are just what they are, which is kind of bland, but, at the end of the day, they are still edible chicken nuggets (although perhaps they should be on clearance). I would eat these again for free if I were extremely hungry, but I certainly wouldn't order them and pay money.

Now is when we begin venturing into the bonkers burger territory of the Carl's Jr. menu, where the ingredients pile on and don't stop. The El Diablo Burger is available as a single, double, triple, or Angus, and we're not sure how all of these ingredients stay under one bun — especially when there are three beef patties. We opted, of course, for the single. This mountain of a burger contains a beefy patty, bacon, jalapeño poppers (that's right), pepper jack cheese, more jalapeños, and a habanero ranch sauce. It was overwhelming to look at, but how did it taste?

It tasted exactly as it looked, it turns out. I would barely call it a burger. It certainly didn't taste like one, but more like every snack at a Super Bowl party crammed into one bulbous sandwich. That said, it's not bad. It's just dramatic. The El Diablo Burger is pure drama, and of all the burgers we tried, it was the one no one wanted to come back to. The jalapeño poppers were way too much and truly all you could taste at times. Plus, Carl's added an extra amount of breading that was just unnecessary. This is one of the burgers that would probably taste better as a double or a triple because when there's only one beef patty, you can't really taste it.

If you're looking for a simple burger without all the pesky veggies, try the Big Carl. The only vegetable here is floppy lettuce — otherwise, it's just melted American cheese and Carl's Classic Sauce on top of a beef patty (or three).

This burger is supposedly Carl's Jr.'s knockoff of the Big Mac, but without the middle bun, pickles, and onion. And, like so many other burgers on the Carl's Jr. menu, it did sort of taste like a Big Mac, but not as good. It was just sort of whatever — not bad, but very simple. Also, if you're going to do a straight-up copycat version of a Big Mac, why wouldn't you include all of the ingredients of a Big Mac? And also, why even do a dupe of a Big Mac when so many of the other burgers on the menu also taste vaguely like Big Macs, but none of them are as good? As you can see, this burger provided more questions than satisfaction. It was the most frustrating of the burgers, for sure. It would be my recommendation to skip this burger. You've got plenty of other delicious burgers to choose from (that we will get to soon).

The Redhook Beer-Battered Fish Sandwich is a classic fast food fish sandwich with lettuce and tartar sauce. It's on this list for one very specific reason: I personally love fast food fish sandwiches and have my whole life. For me, with fish sandwiches, it's hard to go wrong, and this was my first time trying one from Carl's Jr.

Overall, it was pretty good — not the best, but good. The fish patty was crispy and light, but there was so much tartar sauce that it made the bun extra squishy and almost too soft. It was also exponentially smaller than most of the other sandwiches we tried. Honestly, I probably would've been more into this had I eaten it on its own and not along with all of these other extremely large burgers. After eating those, this sandwich felt a little like a sad trombone solo. It's okay, but it's absolutely no Filet-O-Fish from ... well, we don't have to name names. 

The California Classic Double Cheeseburger is a special menu item in that it's one of the few burgers only available in one form, with two patties. It's also slathered with a hefty amount of Classic Sauce (which is just Thousand Island dressing).

This burger is smaller than the other burgers on the menu by a lot, but then again, it's less than four dollars, so this makes sense. When you first unwrap it, it sort of looks like it was kept in someone's pocket (what a mess). It also very much just tastes like a Big Mac without the extra bun in the middle. The California part of its name indicates that its existence is attempting to pay homage to In-N-Out's Double-Double burger, but it honestly comes nowhere close. The biggest difference between the two burgers is the onions, as In-N-Out grills its onions and Carl's Jr. does not. All I personally got from this burger was mini-Big Mac vibes, which is not a negative statement at all. Everyone else was generally just underwhelmed but agreed it tasted fine. It's just okay. If you're in the mood for a baby Big Mac, this (extremely cheap) burger is for you. 

This may be one of the simpler burgers on the Carl's Jr. menu, but it's also their signature one. The Famous Star is made up of an all-beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, Special Sauce, and mayonnaise. We tried the single Famous Star, but it is available as a double, triple, or Big Angus version.

The Famous Star is, overall, a solid burger. Of all of the burgers at Carl's Jr., it's the most straightforward, no-nonsense cheeseburger, which we appreciated. I kept getting this one confused with the Big Carl, and although only one of these was supposed to be Carl's Jr.'s version of the Big Mac, they are basically the same, despite the Famous Star coming with Special Sauce and the Big Carl being topped with Classic Sauce. Frankly, none of us could tell the difference between the two sauces, and everything sort of tasted like Big Macs. That said, we'd advise you to choose the Famous Star over the Big Carl any day because it has more of a personality (even if that personality is just burger) and isn't just trying to emulate something else.

You've got two choices of fries at Carl's Jr. — natural-cut fries or waffle fries. We opted to try the waffle fries as they are the most popular (and we've heard very good things from friends). Plus, natural-cut fries are pretty standard for fast food restaurants, and we wanted to change it up.

Overall, the consensus was that these were good waffle fries — like, really good waffle fries that rival a certain chicken chain restaurant's much-loved waffle fries. These were crispy and perfectly seasoned and tasted good with or without sauces (we opted for buttermilk ranch and honey mustard, and both were great). They were also huge — each fry was truly massive. We didn't wind up finishing them and put them in the fridge for later, and as gross it sounds, they were even good cold. Carl's Jr. would be a place to genuinely seek out if you're in the mood for some seriously good waffle fries. We just wish they came in more than one size so we could order a bucket of them.

Fried ucchini isn't typically an item you would find on a fast-food menu, which is exactly why we needed to try these crispy little bites. They normally come with House dressing (we didn't get any of this, though, for some reason) and are a fan favorite at Carl's Jr. Upon first bite, it's easy to see why — they're delicious and taste like something you might get at a sports bar or pub (and a good one).

The fried zucchini pieces are great on their own but much better with buttermilk ranch dressing. Overall, they're one of the more solid side dishes I've ever had from a fast food restaurant. My only gripe is that it would be nice if they were available in different sizes. For $3.99, you get a pretty good amount, though. We'd love to see more fast food restaurants incorporate a side like this one. They're delicious and healthy-adjacent as there's technically a vegetable underneath all that fried goodness, and from a fast food joint, that's sometimes the best you can do.

This is another one of those monstrously big burgers Carl's Jr. is known for. The Guacamole Bacon Burger is a tower of guacamole, bacon, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Santa Fe sauce, all atop a beef patty (or three).

I did not expect to like this. This burger honestly made me really nervous at first. First of all, it looks completely bonkers. The guacamole is sloppily bulging out of it in a way that does not look appetizing at all. It's just a complete mess. But when I bit into it, I had the surprise of my life because ... it was amazing. Honestly, we were all in shock about how good it was. Everything about it that made it frightening at first glance was what made it work, which proves that when it comes to a fast food burger, looks can be deceiving. There's a bit of a spicy kick to it, which was very pleasant and probably the result of the pico in the guacamole. I will say that I don't think this burger needed bacon added to it. Carl's Jr. loves to throw bacon on everything, and this burger had enough going on that it would've been fine without it.

The Hand-breaded Chicken Tenders at Carl's Jr. are well loved on the internet — in fact, many claim that they're the best tenders available at any fast food restaurant. And with reviews like that, we couldn't wait to check these bad boys out. But after the disappointment that was the Chicken Stars (and how much everyone online seemed to love those, too), we didn't want to hold our breath.

As it turns out, the chicken tenders at Carl's Jr. are seriously good. We were all really freaking out about these things. They taste like a meal you would get from a fancy pub or nice brewery more so than a fast food place. They are exactly — and we do mean exactly — what you'd hope and expect to taste when biting into a chicken tender. Also, as a bonus, the chicken tenders are actually one of the lighter options available at Carl's Jr., should you be in the mood for something a little less caloric that still packs the protein.

According to the internet, the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger is the crown jewel of Carl's Jr. — and for that reason, we opted for the double patty to make sure we saw exactly what all the hype was about. The burger is made up of two beef patties, bacon, two slices of cheese, BBQ sauce, and, of course, onion rings. You'll find no fresh vegetables on this burger, friends.

I can see why everyone loves this burger. It really is a star. Vegetables would just clutter it up, and its simplicity is what makes it so special. The BBQ sauce, combined with the onion rings, beef patties, and bacon, is classically good. And although everyone seems to go for the double version, I'm positive that the single version would be just as good because every item inside this burger is delicious. There are complementary sweet and salty notes from the bacon and BBQ sauce, and the onion rings add a lovely, crunchy texture. The ingredients that make up this burger were simply made for each other. While it wasn't my personal favorite, the consensus of the room was that this was, indeed, Carl's Jr.'s main event and hands down the best item on the menu. However, if you ask me, those chicken tenders sure did give it a run for its money.

I wanted to make sure we sampled a little bit of everything, as to include something for everyone. To save on money, we ordered the single version of all of the charbroiled burgers, since those can get up to around $12. Plus, that way, we could sample them all fairly with the same amount of beef. The only exception is the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger because the internet (TikTok and Reddit) swears by it as the number one menu item of all time, and we wanted to respect that.

We also wanted to throw in some more regular, less crazy options — you know, menu items that weren't a pile of things piled inside of a burger (like the fish sandwich and the chicken tenders, for example) and, perhaps, even resemble something healthy, if only just a little. These were the items that I was most excited about. For sides, we picked ones that were most raved about online and from friends (the waffle fries) as well as items that you don't normally see on fast food menus (the fried zucchini). We chose not to include dessert or fast food breakfast, as there were too many options already (and Carl's Jr. is pricey). I left out items that I, personally, considered too boring, like all of the grilled chicken options, for example. Frankly, you can get those other places.