Between pumpkinundation and trick-or-treating, there’s a lot of sugar to consume at this time of year. So it’s refreshing when companies bring something spooky to savory foods for a change. Burger King gave us Halloween Whoppers in 2015, 2018, 2019, and this year it brought the concept back.

Burger King’s website describes the 2022 version, the Ghost Pepper Whopper, as “1/4 lb. flame-grilled beef patty, melty Ghost Pepper cheese, bacon, crispy jalapeños, and queso sauce all on a toasted orange and black sesame seed bun.” Apparently, spicy things are for Halloween now just because one pepper has “ghost” in its name.

When I unwrapped my sandwich, it struck me how beautiful the bun was! A perfectly festive orange with black sesame seeds. It’s stunning, and that alone is worth the purchase. Much better than the greenish bun of the 2018 sandwich. Visuals aside, it’s soft and slightly sweet. It’s just a bun, but it gets the job done!

Let’s go through the toppings from top to bottom:

The queso sauce has a standard nacho flavor but with a kick. I don’t always love queso, but I like this one.

The crispy jalapeños have the texture of potato chips, and I like them better than fresh or canned jalapeños. They provide a welcome textural contrast, and the crisps bring the heat without the hiccups. BK made a solid choice here.

The bacon is as good as any, and it’s neither too chewy nor too crispy.

The ghost pepper cheese is the only element that’s lacking for me. It just tastes like regular American cheese. If it has a pepper flavor, it’s drowned out by the queso and the jalapeños.

The beef patty was everything I hoped from a BK burger: substantive and with the perfect amount of chew.

Altogether, these elements made for a tasty sandwich. Sometimes I didn’t enjoy having both the cheese and the queso; I might have liked it better without the Ghost Pepper cheese. But that’s just me.

Now, as for the spiciness: I didn’t find the burger that spicy. My nose ran a little, but I ate the whole sandwich without needing to drink anything. People hoping it will be as spicy as an actual ghost pepper will be disappointed. But the mildness means that a larger segment of the population will get to enjoy this fantastically festive burger.

The previous iterations of spooky Whoppers didn’t rise from the dead on subsequent Halloweens. But I wouldn’t mind if this one did.

UPDATE: Thanks to our readers’ helpful comments, I realized that I originally got plain American cheese instead of the ghost pepper cheese it was supposed to be. So I went to a different location on a different day and got the real cheese.

It has a discernible kick, and it’s much better than the American cheese. This burger also came with a more generous helping of jalapeño crisps, so overall it was noticeably spicier. I definitely got the hiccups this time. But still, most people should be able to handle it.

Purchased Price: $6.99
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 750 calories, 44 grams of fat, 17 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 115 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,510 milligrams of sodium, 51.2 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 9.1 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.

Update 11/22/22: We also tried the Italian version! Click here to read our review.

If you’ve browsed Burger King’s menu recently, you may have noticed that the Ch’King is Mis’sing.

That’s right, it appears Burger King has deserted the paper-pouched Chicken Sandwich Wars with the discontinuation of the Ch’King.

Now I don’t know how you all felt about the Ch’King, but I’m not gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss saying it out loud and sounding like a confused rooster or an old-fashioned cash register, but I didn’t think it stood up against the Popeyes or KFCs of the world. It was ok, but it felt like BK was a little out of its element.

The higher-ups must have felt the same way because the new BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches are more in line with the traditional fast food chicken sandwiches that existed prior to Popeyes’ game changer. These are less substantial than their big-ticket predecessor but, in my opinion, taste better.

The Classic version consists of a “crispy” white meat chicken fillet topped with lettuce, tomato (not mine. Never mine), and a savory “royal sauce” nestled between a toasted potato bun.

While my chicken wasn’t as crispy as advertised, it was still good. I don’t think it’ll be as highly regarded as the big fat Ch’King patty, and it pales in size to all the other soldiers of the Chicken Sandwich War, but it still passes for a “premium” fast food chicken sandwich.

The big draw of the BK Royal Crispy Chicken was definitely the “royal sauce,” which I think is brand new. I couldn’t find confirmation, so for all I know, this could be a sauce BK has used in the past. Either way, it’s killer. It’s slightly peppery and tastes a bit like parmesan cheese. The flavor profile fits that of a fancy Caesar dressing, and it lives up to its regal name.

Potato buns are just flat out better than the standard sandwich bun, so using them is always a win. Its flavor and texture definitely kicked the sandwich up a notch.

The lettuce was just kinda slopped on my absolute mess of a sandwich, but it was a necessary ingredient. It made this seem like a chicken sandwich topped with a nice savory Caesar Salad.

I imagine the BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches may not be as popular as their predecessor, but at least they come in multiple flavors such as Spicy, Southern BBQ, and the Classic topped with Bacon and Swiss Cheese. I’m of the opinion that bacon and cheese do almost nothing to enhance a chicken sandwich, but even I think they all sound pretty damn good.

The original long boy Chicken Sandwich still stands as my BK gold standard, but this new sandwich is a strong showing. So, don’t feel so bad if you are bummed about the Ch’King. This BK Royal sandwich is not as big and flashy, but you can still get a classy chicken sandwich at Burger King. Also, let’s be real, in two years, the chain will probably just ax these and start a “Return of Ch’King” campaign anyway.

No matter what happens, I just hope Burger King lets the royal sauce stick around as an add-on or dipping sauce.

Purchased Price: $5.19
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 41 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 1080 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of protein.