Review: Carl's Jr. - Jalapeno Turkey Burger

Carl's Jr.'s Jalapeno Turkey Burger features sliced jalapenos, Pepper Jack cheese, creamy Santa Fe sauce, red onion, lettuce and tomato on a whole wheat bun. It's also on the menu at Hardee's.

My local Carl's Jr. had these at $3.99 a piece.

Popping open the top, I found a whole lot of sliced slightly-pickled jalapenos and just a smidge of Santa Fe sauce (I think your mileage may vary on the sauce). Each slice packed a fair amount of heat, making for a pretty spicy burger.

The Pepper Jack cheese was very nicely melted, but didn't seem to add much more than some gooey creaminess. I didn't notice much in the way of heat from the cheese, but it was hard to tell over the jalapenos.

I was hoping for a little more flavor from the Santa Fe sauce. Maybe because there wasn't much of it, but I was looking for some smoky tangy notes.

The lettuce, onions, and lone tomato slice were of good quality. The lettuce was crisp and not wilted. They were a bit stingy on the onions with only a few strands, but what little there was had a nice crunch. The tomato was firm and well-sized for the burger.

The wheat bun was most notable in that my mouth didn't notice that it was wheat.

The turkey patty was a really good size and a very nice thickness; much thicker than most fast food burger patties and just the right width for the burger. That being said, it didn't really taste much like turkey. It had a tasty bit of seasoning for flavor though. The texture is similar to a giant chicken nugget without the breading, which is to say it was ground very finely and smooth as a result. It wasn't juicy, but remained fairly moist.

With the lack of Santa Fe sauce and the missing flavor from the Pepper Jack, the Jalapeno Turkey Burger ends up tasting like a fairly good if almost run-of-the-mill burger. What keeps it from being too standard is the super thick patty and swift kick of heat in every bite.

Nutritional Info - Carl's Jr. Jalapeno Turkey Burger (278g)
Calories - 490 (from Fat - 200)
Fat - 22g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 1220mg
Carbs - 45g (Sugar - 8g)
Protein - 31g