We Tried That: The Cheez-It Burger Has One Key Ingredient You Really Can't Forget

The Cheez-It BurgerChee might have just answered the question of what to do if you have a few handfuls of Cheez-Its left in the bottom of the bag and you don't know what to do with them. Because we tried the viral burger that first made its appearance at the May 2024 pop-up Cheez-It Diner, and even though the restaurant was short-lived (that was kind of the point), the burger lives on.

Or, rather, it can live on if you have the patience to recreate it yourself. Luckily, there's a recipe for the burger and the Cheez-It pimento dip that goes on top to take the entire thing up a few notches. But after all the work that goes into it, is the Cheez-It Burger really worth all the trouble? We tried it out, from gathering the ingredients to cooking and throwing it all together. And we have the answer for you.

Thanks to Chef Zac, who created the burger again for the Cheez Wheelz food truck, we have all the details on the ingredients and steps to making the burger at home. But first, let's get into how it actually tastes. And I'll be honest, because the idea of mixing mayo with drained pimentos and some other ingredients (which I promise to get to later) did not sound appealing to me.

But somehow, it works, and I'm not just saying that because I love Cheez-Its. And no, I wasn't paid to say that. The burger is placed on a toasted bun with pickles and a special Cheez-It pimento dip that includes crushed up Cheez-It crackers. And the blend of the creamy cheese mixture that has hints of sweetness because of those pimentos reacts well with a juicy burger patty.

My only gripe might be in putting it all together myself, because of the need to make the burger, toast the bun, and make the pimento dip as well. But the Cheez-It burger is nothing without the dip, and in the end, it's worth the hassle.

The ingredients for the burger and its dip topping are below, but Chef Zac also had some solid tips for making your Cheez-It burger just right. According to him, you should gently press your patty on the griddle so it doesn't get too hard while it's cooking. And in order to get the smash burger thin enough without having it fall apart, you can use two spatulas. Chef Zac advises to "use the second spatula to gently release the patty if it's sticking to the first."

The recipe below makes four Cheez-It Burgers:

• 4 oz 80/20 ground beef, rolled to a ball (make four)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 pickle chips (one on each burger)
• 4 buns (one for each burger)

Once the burgers are flipped, you add a scoop of the cheese dip on top. Then, you transfer them to the buns, along with pickles.

For the pimiento Cheese Cheez-It mix:

• 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp (optional, can use less) cayenne pepper
• 1 seeded & minced jalapeno peppers, fresh
• 1 (4 oz) jar diced pimiento, drained
• to taste kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups Original Cheez-It crackers, crushed

Mix all the ingredients together.

And if you're lucky, you'll have some of the dip leftover to dip your extra Cheez-It crackers in.