Discontinued Fast Food Burgers We'll Probably Never Eat Again

An occupational hazard of being a fast food fanatic is knowing that some things are just too good (or unappreciated) to last. From Wendy's to Taco Bell, pretty much every chain has rejigged its menu at some point. While some items disappear without much fanfare, the loss of others has sparked so much backlash that customers have even banded together to kickstart movements to have them reinstated ASAP.

Burgers are no exception. Over the years, there's been borderline hysteria when chains have axed burgers with cult followings. Some of the responses have even been loud enough to make restaurants buckle and reverse their discontinuation (case in point: the second coming of the McDonald's Philly Cheese Stack). But not every burger is lucky enough to get a second stab at fast food fame. Plenty of discontinued burgers remain MIA, with the odds of their return seeming increasingly slim by the day. We hate to rub salt into the wound, but here are some of the fast food burgers we think are most likely gone for good.

While staples like the Big Mac or the McChicken are pretty much invincible, McDonald's has cycled through plenty of less successful burgers in its time. Back in the 1980s, the McD.L.T. sadly joined the ranks of short-lived menu items when it was launched to rival Burger King's Whopper but failed to gain anywhere near as much traction.

Topping a standard McDonald's beef patty with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mayonnaise, the burger itself wasn't anything wild. What gave it its edge was its packaging. Unlike most McDonald's burgers, it came in a dual-compartment styrofoam box that separated the meat from the veggies and sauce to "keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool," plus preventing the burger getting soggy in transit, (via Retrontario). Smart, but not exactly environmentally friendly. Ultimately, it was this that led to the burger's downfall. After previously slimming down the size of the McD.L.T's packaging, McDonald's axed the burger for good in 1990, buckling to growing pressures from environmentalists over its heavy, restaurant-wide use of polystyrene.

Wendy's Bacon and Blue Burger was proof that the best things don't always come in the prettiest packages. Encasing crumbled Wisconsin blue cheese, blue cheese herb aioli, lettuce, tomato, applewood-smoked bacon, and a beef patty in a toasted brioche bun, there was a lot going on in this burger, which meant that it wasn't always the tidiest or most elegant thing to eat — especially if you were trying to chow down on-the-go. It was, however, delicious beyond belief, so we're willing to overlook this one major flaw.

Plenty of people felt the same way, which is why so many were outraged when Wendy's gave the burger the boot. First launched in 2010, it's come and gone from the menu multiple times over the years. Its last appearance came in 2015, at a time when blue cheese seemed to be having a moment. The likes of Hardee's and Red Robin both launched blue cheese creations around the same time. Sadly, that blue cheese renaissance seems to be behind us (for now, at least), but customers still miss this gloriously messy entrée.

The Bell Beefer was no flash in the pan for Taco Bell. This unorthodox burger was basically a hybrid of a sloppy Joe, using the same ground beef found in its other dishes and slapped it between two slices of bread with some lettuce and diced onions (plus tomatoes, if you went for the deluxe version), and was a mainstay on the chain's menu for decades before being phased out in the 1990s.

It was originally added to Taco Bell's menu in the '60s because its founder, Glen Bell, thought American consumers needed something more immediately recognizable to lure them into its restaurants. Enter The Bell Beefer. While sales weren't strong enough to keep it around indefinitely, the Beefer (which originally had the much less fun name of "Chili Burger") still has a pretty passionate fanbase. You can find several petitions floating around the internet calling for Taco Bell to reinstate The Bell Beefer back to the menu. Some customers even staged sit-ins to push for their return at San Francisco Taco Bell locations, with the movement given the rather unfortunate nickname of Stank Festivals.

Despite what the name would have you think, no, these were not shots made of ground beef. Instead, Burger King's BK Burger Shots were snack-size burgers that were introduced in 2009 and sold in either pairs or packs of six. In other words, they were Burger King-ified sliders. Each contained a mini flame-broiled burger that was topped with mustard, ketchup, and two pickle slices. They also had a breakfast counterpart that used your choice of ham, bacon, or sausage with egg, cheese sauce, and American cheese.

BK Burger Shots weren't actually Burger King's first attempt at sliders. In the 1980s, it tried something similar with the launch of its Burger Bundles. It followed these up with Burger Buddies, which came in pairs. Sadly, BK Burger Shots failed to buck Burger King's slider fortunes as they failed to become a permanent fixture on the menu. Maybe it was White Castle's monopoly on the tiny burgers niche. Maybe it was the offbeat advertisements in which anyone who whipped out a BK Burger Shot became the object of uncontrollable lust. Whatever the reason, the downfall of the BK Burger Shots was swift, with the burgers leaving the menu almost as quickly as they arrived.

Burger King wasn't the only chain to try and slide into the mini burgers market in the late noughties (pun intended). In 2009, Jack in the Box also threw its hat into the slider ring with the launch of its Mini Sirloin Burgers. Sold as a trio for $3.89, these used smaller versions of its sirloin burger patties combined with American cheese, grilled onions, ketchup, and a bun similar to Hawaiian sweet rolls.

There was nothing inherently wrong with Jack in the Box's Mini Sirloin Burgers. At the same time, they weren't particularly memorable. In fact, more people probably remember the marketing campaign — which saw cowboys herding miniature cows to the high-pitched tune of "yippee-ai-oh, Mini Sirloin Burgers" — than the burgers themselves. With that being said, it should come as no surprise that the Mini Sirloin Burgers were dropped by Jack in the Box alongside the Pita Snacks and the Chorizo Sausage Burrito during a mass menu revamp in 2011.

Does anything scream "welcome to the '90s" more than a burger named after Michael Jordan? McDonald's came up with its first celebrity-inspired burger in 1991, slapping the legendary NBA player's name onto what was essentially just a Quarter Pounder with bacon, cheese, barbecue sauce, onions, mustard, and pickles. "It's what he likes on a burger," Tori Moore, a regional marketing manager for McDonald's at the time, told the Greensboro News & Record.

The burger was limited to just 350 restaurants in the Chicago area, where it proved so popular that McDonald's extended its run and added it to menus in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. Of course, there's every chance that this had more to do with Jordan's star power than the actual burger. Some McDonald's even came up with fun tie-ins to promote the burger, such as reducing its price by one cent for every point Jordan scored during a game.

While the burger was brought back for two more seasons, this was the extent of its run. McDonald's has been McJordan-free since '93, but it's clearly still remembered fondly by super fans judging by the fact that someone paid $10,000 for a jug of the "probably edible" sauce used in the burger back in 2012, (via Bismarck Tribune). On the bright side, it's pretty easy to recreate the McJordan for yourself — and you don't need to use 30-year-old sauce to make it happen.

Fast food is notoriously tough to navigate for non-carnivores. The good news is that the list of plant-based options has grown longer in recent years, with everyone from McDonald's to Hardee's experimenting with meat-free burgers. The not-so-good news is that a significant number of veggie options fail to stick around long-term, including Hardee's Beyond Thickburger.

Offered at both Hardee's and Carl's Jr., as the chain is known in some locations, this burger first popped up in 2019. Made with Beyond Meat — which itself is made of various plant proteins — it was just as juicy as the regular Thickburger (a rarity in the world of plant-based burgers) and came with all the typical garnishes that accompanied its beef counterpart.

While it drummed up its own loyal following, it seems like this following wasn't loyal enough to convince Hardee's that the Beyond Thickburger was worthy of a permanent slot on the menu. Not long after it was introduced, customers started reporting that their local stores had quietly discontinued the burger. The chain never directly addressed the decision to drop the Beyond Thickburger, but we can only assume that poor sales contributed to its untimely demise.

When the first person claimed that everything is bigger in Texas, they may have been talking about Whataburger. The chain is known for its hefty menu items, with the standard burger using a sizable 4-ounce patty. Once upon a time, you could get an even heftier burger in the form of the Chop House Cheddar Burger, which took two grilled beef patties and combined it with onions, cheddar, two slices of bacon, and steak sauce to create one heck of an indulgent — albeit greasy — meal.

As Todd Coerver, Whataburger's then-Vice President for Marketing and Innovation, said at the time, "Our customers expect this kind of hearty burger from Whataburger. Americans want premium ingredients and steakhouse-inspired meals that fit their budgets," (via Nation's Restaurant News). This may have been too optimistic. Clearly, not enough Americans wanted this combo, as the Chop House Cheddar Burger was cut down in its prime. It returned for a brief encore in 2010and randomly materialized in some restaurants in 2016 but is yet to return to the menu on a permanent basis. While fans previously thought (or hoped) that Whataburger was teasing its return in 2022, the Chop House Cheddar Burger seems to be permanently delegated to the graveyard of burgers gone too soon.

Wendy's has a habit of getting customers hooked on a new burger only to pull it for good. That was the case for its Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger, which had a short but sweet stint on the chain's menu from August 2023 to early 2024.

The burger — which piled a beef patty, melted cheese, spicy chipotle sauce, tortilla strips, and corn in between a jalapeño cheddar bun — was definitely one of Wendy's more creative efforts, but it worked. Not all customers were sold on its unique blend of textures, and as one Reddit user so eloquently pointed out, it did bear an eerie resemblance to the burger that killed the health inspector in "SpongeBob Squarepants." For those who liked the burger, however, it was a refreshingly unique addition to the menu.

Unfortunately for Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger fans, the list of haters was probably longer than the list of lovers. Rumors first started spreading that Wendy's was giving up on the burger in March 2024, with the burger disappearing from the menu not long after. It may have come as a shock to some customers but, as per employees, the writing had long been on the wall for this burger, considering the fact that its sales were consistently low.

The early noughties were a tough time for Burger King. Having changed hands multiple times in the late 20th century, the chain suffered the fast food equivalent of an identity crisis, experimenting with table service and more upscale menu items. By the time TPG Capital led a private equity buyout of the company in 2002, Burger King was seriously struggling — despite desperate attempts to get the chain back on track, like the Back Porch Griller.

Burger King's then-owner, Diageo, poured $80 million into the launch of its new burger, tying it into its promotion for "Men in Black II" for extra exposure. Each burger used flame-broiled patties "inspired by the taste of homemade seasoned burgers cooked to perfection on backyard grills," (via QSR), with the Homestyle Griller adding in lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, pickles, and ketchup, while the Smokehouse Cheddar Griller tossed in smoked cheddar, bacon, lettuce, and smokehouse sauce.

Just four months later, however, Burger King admitted that the rollout hadn't gone as well as it hoped. Despite positive reviews, sales were low nationwide. The burger's failure was later attributed to the fact that only some stores were equipped to grill the thicker patty, with others forced to use two thinner patties — which customers frequently described as dry — in its place. Unsurprisingly, Burger King soon bid adieu to its Back Porch Grillers, and hasn't brought them back since.

The Colby Jack Pub Burger has come and gone from the Culver's menu multiple times over the years but hasn't popped up since 2020. We say that with a heavy heart because this is truly one of the tastiest options on this list. A glorious fusion of two beef patties, Wisconsin Colby Jack cheese, crispy onions, and four-pepper mayo, this burger generated a cult following that lives on to this day.

Why exactly the Colby Jack Pub Burger remains MIA is a mystery. Another variation of Culver's Pub Burgers line, the Pretzel Haus Pub Burger, still routinely returns as a seasonal offering. While we'd say it's unlikely that it'll return to the menu, Culver's does have a track record for randomly bringing back burgers that are long believed to be extinct. Back in 2023, for example, it restored the Back Pepper Grinder Pub Burger as a limited-time offering after an eight-year absence. Fingers crossed that we can one day say the same about the Colby Jack Pub Burger.

When a burger is known as "one of the most infamous product failures in history," you know its odds of returning are next to zero, (via NPR). McDonald's Deluxe range debuted in the 1990s as part of the chain's attempt to cater to guests with a taste for "gourmet" food — or, in other words, to remedy its reputation as being a restaurant primarily for children. While the line also encompassed chicken and fish offerings, its flagship burger was the Arch Deluxe. This used a beef patty with peppered bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, ketchup, and McDonald's secret Arch Sauce (which was basically just mustard and mayo), and retailed for a significantly higher price than other burgers on the menu at $2.09 to $2.49.

That price tag played a big part in the Arch Deluxe bombing. Not only did franchisees push back against the new burger (which required a lot of new ingredients), but reviews were mediocre, and it failed to catch on with customers. After spending between $150 million and $200 million on its marketing campaign — a record for fast food restaurants at the time — and projecting that it would make $1 billion in sales in its first year, the Arch Deluxe was limited to certain restaurants in 1998 before being discontinued for good in 2000. Arch Deluxe, we hardly knew ye.

Theoretically, turkey burgers are much healthier than beef. Emphasis on "theoretically." While ground turkey has a reputation for being lower in saturated fat and calories, processed burgers often end up with values not totally dissimilar to beef — as was the case with Burger King's short-lived Turkey Burger.

Added to the chain's menu in 2013 as a part of its Festival of Burgers, the Turkey Burger was criticized for its nutritional value (or, to be more accurate, lack of nutritional value). Each burger contained more fat and calories than Burger King's Double Bacon Cheeseburger and Whopper Jr. with Cheese, not to mention more than half of the daily recommended sodium intake.

Customers seemed relatively impressed with the burger on the flavor front, but that wasn't enough to take the Turkey Burger from a limited-time offering to a regular fixture. Despite previously teasing that it could make the jump to a permanent menu item if sales impressed, Burger King said goodbye to its brief foray into turkey at the end of Festival of Burgers and hasn't made another attempt since.

McDonald's has taken multiple stabs at the gourmet burger market in its time, but none of them have ended well. Years after the failure of the Arch Deluxe, it launched its Signature Crafted Recipes menu in 2017 — a line of artisanal burgers that were seemingly created to compete with the growing niche of fast casual burger restaurants, like Shake Shack and BurgerFi.

This contained multiple burgers and sandwiches, including the Pico Guacamole Burger. This was available with your choice of beef, grilled chicken, or buttermilk crispy chicken, plus McDonald's mix of guacamole and pico de gallo, ranch dressing, white cheddar, and lettuce. During its run, some customers were left pleasantly surprised by the freshness of its ingredients, while others were not keen on the guacamole or the messiness of the burger.

McDonald's was well aware of the split responses to its Signature Crafted Recipes. Just two years after it launched, the chain announced that "based on [customer] feedback, we'll move away from the Signature Crafted Recipes line on our national menu," noted Nation's Restaurant News. No number of petitions have managed to bring the Pico Guacamole Burger back to the Golden Arches since.