Are Whataburger milkshakes better than Cook Out? We did a taste test.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cook Out’s banana pudding shake is studded with banana and Nilla wafer crumbs.
- Whataburger’s banana pudding shake is silky, smooth and still slurpable through a straw.
- Cook Out’s shake tastes truer to the dessert and is preferred for authenticity.
Much has been made of Whataburger’s arrival in the Triangle, part of a statewide blitz that’s seen more than a dozen restaurants open in North Carolina in less than a year.
So far Whataburger has been a hit, with packed locations in Wake Forest and Raleigh.
Sure the burgers are good, the onion rings are not to be slept on and (for some reason) the sauces are famous.
But we wanted to know how Whataburger stacks up against a North Carolina institution at what it does best.
Can Whataburger out-milkshake Cook Out?
This week, we did a taste test of milkshakes between Whataburger and Cook Out, inspired by Whataburger’s limited-time Banana Pudding milkshake.
Last December, we ate our way through the Whataburger menu at the new Mebane location, finding the Blackberry Dr Pepper milkshake a surprising delight.
The milkshakes at Cook Out are iconic, both for their deliciousness and vast array of flavors.
So this seemed like a strength versus strength kind of showdown, milkshake style. Here’s how it went.
Cook Out
I suppose now is a good time to admit that bananas are actually the only food I don’t like. But inexplicably, improbably, I do love banana pudding.
Cook Out’s banana pudding shake is bright white, studded with chunks of ripe banana and crumbs of Nilla wafers, all blended with vanilla soft serve. As everyone knows, you can’t actually drink a Cook Out shake thought a straw — it’s far too thick. This is a good thing with the banana pudding shake, because with a straw you’d lose out on the wondrous nuggets of cookies and fruit.
This milkshake has more in common with Nana’s banana pudding than she would care to admit. The beautiful truth is it tastes like a potluck banana pudding that has been whipped up into a fluffy froth with ice cream.
Whataburger
Immediately, it’s clear this is a different kind of milkshake. The Whataburger banana pudding shake is a vibrant orangey yellow, a color a little softer than its famous orange logo. This shake is silky smooth and quite thick, no nuggets of banana or wafers here, but still slurpable through a straw.
The Whataburger shake tastes tropical and bright, a bit more like artificial banana with notes of coconut. Its flavors might be more at home on a sandy beach than a potluck dessert table, but it is still sweetly refreshing.
Reality check
Hey y’all — service journalist Renee Umsted chiming in here with the rebuttal.
Unlike my colleague, I actually do like bananas. I do have to disclose, though, that as a native San Antonian, I am biased toward Whataburger, my hometown hero.
If you asked me which restaurant’s milkshake is more reminiscent of the good old-fashioned banana pudding dessert, I’d say Cook Out’s.
But does Whataburger’s banana pudding milkshake taste like coconut? No. And who are you going to trust? The person who doesn’t eat bananas? Or the person who eats a banana every morning as part of a balanced breakfast?
Whataburger’s banana pudding milkshake tastes, to me, like banana-flavored pudding. No spoon required.
The winner: Cook Out
If you have any affection at all for banana pudding, this showdown was not close. Cook Out’s banana pudding shake tastes true to its inspiration and is one of the very best offerings from the fast food burger spot.
Whataburger makes an excellent milkshake, but this one has very little to do with banana pudding. Maybe rebrand it as “Beachside Banana” and you’ll find it in my cabana.
This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 2:13 PM.
