12 Culver's Menu Items $5 And Under You Shouldn't Ignore

As a native of the Pacific West, I had never heard of Culver's until about 2010. I flew out to Wisconsin to visit my in-laws for the first time, and they introduced me to the culinary term "cheese curds," especially the deep-fried variety. I loved them; the idea that one could buy bits of cheese, breaded and cooked in oil, to consume was truly an epiphany. Culver's is also known mostly for its ButterBurgers and frozen custard, which, again, was beyond me as a native Californian; I had never come across such things at a drive-thru. 

In 2008, Culver's moved farther west, opening a restaurant near Phoenix, Arizona, coinciding with my move to the state at the same time. Now I could have cheese curds, ButterBurgers, and whatever else they featured on the menu any time I wanted. Culver's menu items are thankfully relatively inexpensive. For instance, a double-patty deluxe ButterBurger with cheese is only $5.59 at my location in Queen Creek, Arizona. 

If a burger is only that much, surely Culver's must have other good things on the menu below that cost? Thankfully, they do. Let's take a look at Culver's menu items $5 and under you shouldn't ignore.

I love french fries, and the Culver's variety didn't disappoint. They are crinkle-cut and thicker than most of the competitors, and coming in at a nice $3.39 for a medium, you get a pretty hefty portion. These were the most fragrant of everything I ordered for this review; they triggered a childhood memory of me sitting in the backseat of our old Country Squire station wagon at a drive-thru, inhaling the salty fumes of hot frying oil, grilled meat, and the hint of an overflowing grease trap.

I'm the type of person who judges a restaurant by its soda, cheeseburgers, and french fries. Not many fast food places have remarkable fries, although they are probably now considered a default item.

The flavor of the Culver's Crinkle cut fries was perfect for me. They weren't too salty and tasted like the kind I'd get as a kid at an old '70s casual dining restaurant decorated in Naugahyde bolstered booths, and high-traffic carpeting. Culver's fries were warm, soft, and crunchy. And there were enough in the medium-size bag to ease my craving for starch and nostalgia. Culver's hooked me with its fries. For fast food, they encouraged me to return, and I think that's the whole point.

My journey began with cheese curds in 2010 when I went to visit my in-laws in Wisconsin. My spouse kept saying he wanted me to try "cheese curds," a term I wasn't familiar with. We finally got some. They were in a shrink wrapped packaged all crammed together like a mosaic brick. I loved them. They squeaked against my teeth and had a satisfying resistance.

Culver's cheese curds aren't like that, but they are just as delicious. They are deep-fried, which means they don't have that fun elasticity, but to me, it's a nice twist on an old concept. I'm probably going to make some curd connoisseurs unhappy, but these fried nuggets are the best I've had since my visit to the Badger State.

A medium bag cost me $4.19 at my local Culver's, and true to form, the restaurant doesn't skimp on portions. The wax paper bag was filled to the top. I also got Culver's Signature Sauce to dip them in, but my recommendation is to skip the dip and enjoy them on their own.

Culver's surprises me with everything I taste. I can get three delicious shrimp for a decent price at a drive-thru that isn't Popeye's? The answer is yes, and this was one of the biggest surprises I took away from this story.

I prejudged these crunchy crustaceans before I actually tasted them. I thought for sure they wouldn't make it to this story simply because I didn't think they would be a menu item you shouldn't ignore. That would have been unwise.

This trio of jumbo shrimp is absolutely worth your $4.49. Granted, you only get three; still, there is enough here to appease a tiny seafood craving if you get one. Crunchy and savory, with a bit of natural sweetness, these shrimp might be a little hyperbolic in the title; they aren't that big, but it's enough. Be sure to dip them in the sweet Culver's cocktail sauce; it's a perfect pairing with the shellfish savory profile. And Culver's even goes the extra mile — you also get a fresh lemon wedge on the side. The devil's in the details.

I think that any good meal isn't complete without a beverage. I tend to order lemonade when the drive-thru has it, but even then it's not guaranteed to be good. Thankfully, Culver's has a Handcrafted Strawberry Lemonade on its menu. A medium at my location cost a mere $3.89, and it was a good size.

I noticed its pink color immediately and wondered if it was made with syrup mixed into lemonade concentrate. Truth be told, yes, the base is made with premium Minute Maid Lemonade from concentrate. But there are real strawberries in the mix, and it makes for a great accompaniment to a fast-food meal.

I really enjoyed how the strawberry cut through the acidity of the Minute Maid and made it sweet. It kept the tart lemon profile intact but, almost like a diluted jam, the strawberries added a comfy, fruity layer. This drink was quenching, refreshing, and paired well with the cheese curds.

I think pickles are a waning culinary fad. However, the fried variety has been a beloved Southern side for generations. I love them as a novelty, but the brine in some recipes makes them too rich as a side and too robust as an appetizer. Culver's surprised me with its fried pickles, now available (at the time of writing) for a limited time. I still wouldn't order these chain restaurant fried pickles in place of fries or onion rings, but on their own they made a satisfying snack.

I was expecting to bite into one and get that sour, tangy burst of dill pickle acidity. What I got was a mild flavor profile that still tasted like pickles without overpowering my olfactory pathways. I don't think these are going to satisfy connoisseurs of pickled cucumbers, but I loved the timidity of flavor. These are pretty crunchy, but the pickle slice inside hasn't gone limp from the heat of the fryer.

For a medium bag, it cost $4.19 at my local Culver's, and my portion was spilling out of the top. In my opinion, these are great and safe car snacks to eat right out of the bag as you leave the parking lot.

I feel like pretzel finger foods have been a trend for the past decade, not only in the culinary space but also in the commercial space. As well as fast food restaurants like Sonic and Dairy Queen, that popularity also transcended into mall food. I particularly think of Wetzel's Pretzels and Auntie Anne's soft pretzels. Culver's has its own pretzel bites, and at my location I got about a dozen bites for $4.19. They come in a tray with a side of cheese sauce. 

What first stuck me was how they looked. Have you ever seen Midwestern buckeye candies? They are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate just enough to expose a small portion of peanut butter that resembles an eye. That's what Culver's pretzel bites look like: brown with a light center.

I bit into one, and it was soft, mildly salty, and chewy. I would advise eating them warm since they get firmer as they cool down. I then dipped one into the Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce to get the full effect, and I wasn't disappointed. However, the tips of my index finger and thumb got coated in cheese because I ate them in two bites. These are a hardy little snack for under $5, and I will definitely get them again.

Onion rings have always been my favorite fast food side dish. The problem is that some fast food chains do too much to the onion ring recipe in order to be different. I feel like Culver's onion rings keep to tradition; it is a thick, battered ring where I bit through the soft, crunchy outer layer for one flavor profile before I got to the onion, which added another.

I enjoyed these sweet, hot circles that were just soft enough to bite through but still had some crunchy resistance. I loved that they were sweet enough but didn't eliminate the savory. These didn't have much salt, but I don't think they needed any. In fact, these had me thinking about an old restaurant named Ruby's that was at the end of the Huntington Beach Pier in Huntington Beach, California. They had such great diner food, and I would always get a basket of battered onion rings. 

Although smaller, Culver's rings reminded me of those. I paid $4.09 for a medium-size bag at my Culver's, which held a bigger portion than I expected. Overall, I think these onion rings are one of fast food's hidden gems. 

I'm a believer that a potato in any form is delicious. But I have to be very picky about mashed potatoes because they can be too mushy or taste too much like instant. Some instant mashed potato brands are better than others; however, I want my dine-out experience to be appetizing.

The first ingredient in Culver's mashed potatoes is actual potatoes, and I could taste it. They were firm and creamy and not too salty. Another thing I don't like is when other fast food potatoes cool down and become pasty and dense. I've had some that stuck to the roof of my mouth like peanut butter. These didn't; they remained smooth, non-watery, and creamy.

After just tasting the potatoes on their own, I added in the chicken gravy. It wasn't runny and had a great chicken flavor. It was a bit saltier than I expected, but overall it was comforting and made me happy. Happier still is the price, which for a medium size was only $3.39 at my friendly neighborhood Culver's.

You'll never convince me that the best coleslaw isn't at KFC. Not even my grandmother's homemade is that good. And Culver's version isn't going to sway me away from the Colonel's; however, it's good if you're in a drive-thru mood and the craving hits.

You might be surprised to know early coleslaw recipes go back thousands of years. In my opinion, KFC perfected the coleslaw recipe for modern times. Culver's had a lot to prove to me, and it ultimately did. I wanted that chilled, vinegary, slightly sweet taste that's always comforting at family picnics. An added layer of textural crunchiness is also a bonus.

I took a bite with my fork, and instantly I tasted those textures I love. What I liked is it wasn't too sweet, and the dressing was just enough to make everything wet but not soggy. There's nothing less appetizing to me than when the vegetables in coleslaw are drowning in a pool of sauce. This was $3.39 at my local Culver's, and it wasn't a huge portion. But it was still a nice, refreshing side that would pair well with a ButterBurger — maybe even in it.

One of the things that Culver's is known for is its frozen custard. I had never had it until I moved to Arizona, and since my local Culver's had a whole pint for only $4.99, I thought it would be a good time to try it again.

The thing I love about frozen custard is how dense it is. Unlike ice cream, which feels like it has more air, frozen custard seems to coat my tongue better, and it feels less cold for some reason. Culver's says it slow turns its custard in small batches throughout the day, which is apparently how you know it's fresh when you order it. I couldn't attest to that, but what I got was so creamy, smooth, and delicious, I might be a custard convert.

I ordered a pint of vanilla from my local restaurant. Since it's so dense, it felt heavy and seemed like it had more in it by volume than a regular pint of ice cream. I didn't get any toppings, which would have taken it over the $5 mark, but I don't feel like I needed anything else. This dessert wasn't too sweet and, surprisingly, not too cold, but was still firm and luxurious.

Why is Culver's chili named George, you might ask? It's the namesake of the chain's co-founder, who developed it over the years before serving it at Culver's flagship restaurant in 1984. I'm going to be honest, chili isn't one of my favorite things, but I can appreciate George's dedication and Culver's keeping his tradition alive. And for $3.79 for a medium at my local restaurant, I had to see if it holds up after all these years.

I'm happy to say that this is a good mild chili; it's not great in my opinion, but it has a nice peppery taste in a robust tomato sauce. I tasted chunky bits of ground beef and kidney beans.

I got the basic cup; there is also a "supreme" version on the menu that comes with cheese and sour cream. If you're a chili fan, this probably won't wow you, but it might be great on french fries or on a cheeseburger.

Many fast food places have done away with the value menu, but you can find your own hacks if you know where to look. Culver's gets high marks from me for offering several items for under a five-spot before tax.

When I was initially assigned this story, I would have sworn it would have been a short list. Keep in mind the title says food you shouldn't ignore. So there were two things in play: budget meals and making them good. Imagine my surprise when I found both, and it was a very extensive list. I found things that were not only delicious, but some were even under $4.

I went to my local Culver's located in Queen Creek, Arizona, and the prices I provided are from that specific location on the drive-thru menu. Prices may vary where you live. Also, remember there might be an upcharge if you use a delivery app. I took into account the price of the item, its taste, and the portion size. For instance, Culver's has a medium chicken noodle soup for $3.39, but I didn't include it here because it was terrible.