Elevate Your Culver's Burger With These 5 Ordering Tips

Fast-food franchise Culver's hasn't yet reached every U.S. state with its unique ButterBurgers and Fresh Frozen Custard — considered by Redditors to be the best fast-food frozen treat. But folks in the 26 states where the chain does have a presence, as of June 2026, have been treated to a host of tasty goodies that reflect the brand's Wisconsin roots.

Dairy-forward foods lead the Culver's menu, featuring the cheese and other farm goods Wisconsin is famous for, and enthusiasts can't get enough of signature items like the Wisconsin Cheese Curds and various desserts featuring that creamy custard. Some fans without a Culver's nearby even make special, long-distance trips just to get their fix, with one Reddit poster claiming they once flew 4,500 miles to eat at Culver's.

Whether your nearest Culver's is 10 minutes or 10 hours away, the brand's signature ButterBurgers are definitely a standout on the menu. Fans love the burgers as they are, with their buttery, toasted buns and fresh, never-frozen beef patties that are seared to order for a near-perfect crust. But even one of these famous burger creations can taste even better when you get experimental with some creative ordering tips. The following are some awesome (if we do say so ourselves) ways to turn up the tastiness on your Culver's sammie, and they're worth trying out the next time you hit up the drive-thru or dining room.

Down South, regional hamburger styles pile on flavors that are characteristic of a backyard barbecue. All the necessary elements to duplicate these burgers are available at Culver's, so, with a little DIY, you can create your own tasty version of a Southern barbecue burger.

While recipes vary, the fundamentals consistently found on these down-South hamburgers include coleslaw, onion rings, cheese, and, of course, barbecue sauce. Some versions also add cheese sauce and bacon, and a famous regional sammie called the Carolina burger throws chili into the mix — and who are we to quibble?

Start with your ButterBurger of choice — there are seven versions to choose from, along with occasional limited-time BBs. From there, simply order whichever prescribed add-ons you want — though we definitely recommend going big and piling them all on! Chili and coleslaw are available as side dishes at Culver's, as are the rings — Culver's offers some of the best fast-food onion rings in the business. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ and Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese sauces are available on the Sauces & Dressings menu, and bacon is available as a burger add-on.

Pro tip: Select "Plain (No Toppings)" from the Toppings dropdown when ordering online or in the app if you want to start off with a clean, sauceless, veggie-less ButterBurger upon which to build your barbecue flavors. You can separately select your cheese of choice from the Cheese dropdown; options are American, cheddar, and Swiss, though other choices may be available if a limited-time sandwich features something different. If you want to take the most authentic route, American and cheddar are the varieties typically included with these Southern barbecue-style sammies.

Other restaurants, like Red Robin and Whataburger, have bleu cheese and bacon burgers on their menus (commonly referred to as a "Bacon & Bleu"), and you can easily dupe the creation at Culver's, too. The bold bite of bleu cheese and the crispy, savory-sweetness of bacon are a popular combo for a reason. When added to a juicy, crusty (in a good way) Culver's ButterBurger, it's a match made in flavor Heaven.

To create this menu hack, simply add Thick Cut Bacon to your ButterBurger order. You will get an upcharge for the bacon, just a heads up, unless you opt for The Culver's Bacon Deluxe ButterBurger as your foundation, which already includes bacon among its toppings. You'll also need to order Ken's Blue Cheese dressing from the Sauces & Dressings menu. Be prepared to pay for this, too, as Culver's has a sneaky upcharge when it comes to sauces, and dressings and dips only come free when you order a salad, chicken tenders, or some of the chain's seafood menu items. But the sauce charge is generally minimal.

Only a tiny bit of DIY is needed for this burger hack, which involves lifting the top bun to pour on the bleu cheese dressing. From there, all that's left to do is enjoy the umami upgrade!

One of the various non-burger sandwich options at Culver's is the chain's Grilled Reuben Melt, which stacks slow-cooked corned beef, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, and Wisconsin Swiss cheese onto toasted rye bread. If you want to enjoy that Reuben zest with a ButterBurger, there are multiple ways to do it.

One option for getting your burger made Reuben-style is simply to request that some Reuben toppings, like sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, be added to a ButterBurger. You'll have to make this request in person, as it's not an option in the app. However, changing your cheese to Swiss can be done via the online ordering interface. You're also likely to get an upcharge for the add-ons.

Another way to Reuben up your burger is ordering the Grilled Reuben Melt along with a bun-less, naked ButterBurger. This approach can be done via the app or web ordering — no need to make a verbal request to your server. In addition to the Reuben sammie, order a basic ButterBurger and choose "No Bun" from the Bun dropdown menu if ordering online, as well as "Plain (No Toppings)" from the Toppings dropdown menu. This leaves you with two ButterBurger patties that you can add right onto your Reuben, DIY-style, for a meaty, melty, tangy concoction that will leave you wondering why you've never tried it before. Bonus: Culver's actually deducts money from your order total when you choose to omit the bun from your ButterBurger. You're welcome!

If you're a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich fan, it's easy to upgrade any Culver's burger to a BLT. Simply add Thick Cut Bacon, lettuce, and tomato to your burger order, which are options in the virtual ordering interfaces, so making an in-person request isn't necessary. Those toppings are available via online ordering for Culver's non-burger sandwiches, too, should you have a hankering for a BLT-style Spicy Crispy Chicken, Sourdough Melt, or even North Atlantic Cod Sandwich.

Just a forewarning: The lettuce is free to add to your sandwich, but as previously mentioned, there is an upcharge for bacon and tomatoes, too. So, be prepared to pay a little extra to enjoy that BLT goodness. Totally worth it, though.

Many fans already consider Culver's ButterBurger to be absolute fire. If you want to make the sentiment literal, though, the chain offers some spicy upgrades to turn up the heat. One hot topping option is sliced jalapeños, available as an add-on for an upcharge. Take note, though, that not all Culver's locations offer jalapenos.

Some sauce options bring the heat, too, like Ken's Boom Boom Sauce, which kicks things up with various hot chili peppers, and the Buffalo Sauce, which uses aged red cayenne peppers to throw some fire on your food. Culver's also offers packets of Cholula Hot Sauce and Horseradish, either of which will have you feeling the burn when you bite into your burger. Unlike most sauces on the menu at Culver's, these two are offered for free — no upcharge for the extra heat.

Limited-time menu items sometimes offer additional spice options, too. For instance, for summer 2026, Culver's released the limited-time Jalapeño Jack Pub Burger and Jalapeño Jack Chicken Sandwich, both featuring pepperjack cheese and Creamy Jalapeño Sauce. As long as such specialty sammiches remain on the menu, their accompanying ingredients are in stock at Culver's restaurants, too — which means you can have their spicy goodness added to ButterBurgers and other items.