This Is Burger King's Most Popular Menu Item

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Founded in 1954, Burger King has been one of world's most popular fast food restaurants since the 1970s. The Burger King boom that happened back then is largely credited to the "Have it your way" campaign that encouraged diners to customize their orders. (The chain has tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to change that slogan for years.) However, much of Burger Kings success is based on the popularity of one particularly beloved sandwich.

"The Whopper truly reigns King as our fan-favorite menu item, with its iconic flame-grilled flavor and customizable toppings making it a standout choice for decades," Burger King told Mashed. A timeless classic, the quarter-pound burger comes with lettuce tomato, mayo, ketchup, pickles, and onion — all at just the right proportions — on a sesame seed bun. Plus, the smokey flame-broiled element really enhances that homestyle vibe. But the true beauty of the Whopper (and BK's hard to shake motto), is that you can dress it up any way you like. "Since 1957, Guests have been 'having it their way' by ordering their favorite takes on the classic Whopper sandwich ... There are more than 200,000 ways to customize a Whopper," a BK rep told us.  

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Burger King has loads of yummy sandwiches, like the crowd-pleasing Bacon King and the Rodeo Burger, but when we ranked all of BK's burgers from worst to best, the Whopper came out on top. And many folks online agree. "[The] Whopper is the best fast food burger in the biz," one commenter writes on Reddit. "They're the closest fast food burger there is to a homemade burger," another chimes in.

It even holds it's own against McDonald's world-famous Big Mac. In a Mashed poll pitting the burgers against one another, the Whopper won by a landslide. While folks say the Big Mac's special sauce is a huge selling point, the Whopper is a more well-rounded choice. ( Life's too short for a mid burger. Go ahead and use this copycat Big Mac sauce recipe, and keep it moving.) What's more, 1.3 billion Whoppers are sold around the globe each year, compared to the Big Mac's 900 million. It's only right after all. The Whopper is the predecessor, invented more than a decade before the Big Mac. The sandwich was the result of BK's effort to push the envelope by introducing a bigger and better burger.