TikTok Is All Over The Whataburger Half-Price Patty Melt Hack

There are a few iconic foods in Texas, like barbeque and Tex-Mex. But a surprising member of this list may be the fast food chain Whataburger, which was declared a "Texas Treasure" by the state government in 2001 (via QSR). The chain prides itself on providing a customizable experience with all of its burgers (via Insider), which conveniently dovetails with the internet's love of fast food hacks.

Fast food hacks are easy to find and incredibly prolific across TikTok. They seemingly give foodies the tools to do practically anything whether it involves upgrading a burger or tricks for shaving a few dollars off an order's price. TikTok hacks for Whataburger alone have over 540 million views. They include ways to upgrade fries In-and-Out style or ways to get the iconic Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit after the 11 am breakfast cut-off. A recent hack, in particular, involves another fan favorite: a trick for getting a cheaper version of the Whataburger Patty Melt.

In case you haven't heard, quite a few people seem to think Whataburger's Patty Melt is pretty delicious. Made with two beef patties, Creamy Pepper Sauce, grilled onions, and Monterey Jack Cheese, it greeted the world as a limited-time item and now occupies a spot on the chain's All-Time Favorites menu, per a company press release (via PR Newswire). However, depending on whom you ask, the sandwich can be recreated in a cheaper form by customizing another burger.

A hack for a half-priced version was posted by the TikTok account Hellthyjunkfood. It entails ordering a grilled cheese, substituting cheddar for Swiss, and adding a patty for an additional charge. The creator claims this will get you a patty melt for half price. In the video, it cost $3.39, compared to the roughly $6 the TikToker would have paid. But it left the comments section divided over if this hack was genius or a cheap imitation of a beloved menu item.

Some users appreciated the hack. User gq_bro simply called it "creative." But some commenters weren't too pleased. More than a couple pointed out that a Whataburger Patty Melt is supposed to come with sauce and grilled onions, neither of which are in the budget version. User lalyon63 goes so far as to say "it's not a patty melt without onions." So it's debatable whether hack delivers a Whataburger Patty Melt.