One Of The Best New Fast Food Cheeseburgers Of 2026 Is From Culver's

Given the popularity of Culver's burgers and cheese curds, it was only a matter of time before the chain put them together. The Wisconsin-born brand first introduced the CurderBurger in 2021 as an April Fool's joke. About six months later, the CurderBurger became a reality in honor of National Cheese Curd Day on October 15, and it's been a tradition for the company to bring it back around autumn. In September 2026 Culver's dropped a new rendition of the cult-favorite creation: the Smoked Cheddar CurderBurger. It turned out to be one of the best new fast food cheeseburgers of the year. 

It starts off as one of the chain's Deluxe ButterBurgers, featuring layers of lettuce, tomato, pickles, raw onions, mayonnaise, and, of course, a fresh beef patty. Things get extra-gooey with the addition of the golden fried cheese curd patty, here stuffed with hickory-smoked cheddar cheese for the first time. It's all piled high between a lightly toasted (and buttered, hence the name) kaiser bun. The result? As one of the hybrid item's fans described on Reddit, "It was really good ... Patty was thicker than last years and I enjoyed the smoked cheese."

This year's decision to upgrade the cheese curd patty to a smoked cheddar version may have seemed like a gamble to some customers. However, it paid off. "I was worried with the switch to smoked cheddar from just regular old cheddar. Turns out, it was a wise move [because] it was VERY good," raved a Redditor.

There have been a few criticisms of the burger's cheese-to-meat ratio, with some folks thinking that it would work better with double the beef patties to even out the flavor and texture. But it seems that the main complaint from customers is about how short the availability window for the CurderBurger is. The company originally stated that it would offer the smoked cheddar specialty from September 28 through October 11, or while supplies lasted. But to the dismay of some fans, it disappeared quite quickly.

"I'm so sad at how fast it sold at my location," said a customer online. "It was short-lived here. I loved it." A purported Culver's employee even complained, sharing that the burgers sold out in just two days at the location they worked at. While you might take that as your sign to try one ASAP the next time it comes around, you can make this copycat CurderBurger recipe from the comfort of your own kitchen, all year long. To emulate the smoky experience of this latest drop, simply swap the regular cheese curds for smoked ones.