Pizza Hut adds a cheeseburger to the menu: A patty melt with pizza crust and mozzarella

Pizza Hut wants to out-burger the kings of burgers.

The pizza chain is now offering a new limited-time cheeseburger melt, made with all the fixings of a bacon cheeseburger – beef, bacon, onions, cheddar cheese and a pizza touch — mozzarella cheese folded between two Parmesan-crusted thin pizza crusts. It comes with a dipping sauce, too.

"Unlike a traditional cheeseburger, the cheeseburger melt dips perfectly into what we would argue is the world's best burger dipping sauce," said Pizza Hut's chief innovation officer Rachel Antalek in a news release. "We challenge you to find a better burger and sauce experience."

Red Lobster: Restaurant chain's website lists 87 locations 'temporarily closed' in 27 states: See full list

The pizza maker is tweaking its fast-food competition by deploying delivery drivers in red SUVs in Miami and Chicago sporting pictures of the new cheeseburger melt, the slogan "Want a Better Burger?" and a scannable QR code for a chance to win a free one. Chicago is where McDonald's is headquartered, and Miami, home of Burger King (the chain has been owned by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International since 2014).

"As a brand known for exceptional pizzas, venturing into the burger business is an exciting first for us," said Lindsay Morgan, Chief Marketing Officer at Pizza Hut. "We thought we'd kick off our burger journey with something bold. That's why we're making waves in burger chain drive-thrus, serving up our delicious new cheeseburger melt for all you burger lovers out there."

How to get Pizza Hut's Cheeseburger Melt

The cheeseburger melt is available for a limited time only at participating locations as part of its My Hut Box offer, starting at $6.99.

The My Hut Box comes with either melts – other flavors include pepperoni lover's, buffalo chicken, chicken bacon Parmesan and meat lover's – or a two-topping personal pan pizza, a side of fries or four boneless wings and a 20-ounce drink. Melts dipping sauce included. To see a list of participating Pizza Hut locations, click here.

How many Pizza Hut restaurants are in Ohio?

Pizza Hut has 287 restaurants across Ohio, according to its website. These include six in Akron, three in Canton, 10 in Cincinnati and 14 in Columbus.

Other eateries try to enter the burger market

This isn't the first time restaurants not known for being burger joints have tried to enter that market.

In 2018, IHOP changed its name (temporarily) to IHOb -- International House of Burgers -- to promote its new line of burgers. IHOP released seven ultimate steakburgers as part of a rebranding effort, USA TODAY reported in 2018, while retaining its breakfast menu.

The restaurant has had burgers on the menu since its creation in 1958. However, Chief Marketing Officer Brad Haley told USA TODAY the revamped menu at the time was to attract a wide audience.

“The big opportunity for the IHOb brand is to develop our lunch and dinner business,” Haley said in the 2018 article. “Burgers are the most consumed entrée item for men, women and children in America. [I]t made sense to start with burgers.”

IHOP returned to its classic moniker about a month later, in July 2018.

In something of a reversal, Donatos Pizza and Red Robin entered a partnership in 2019 to bring pizza to the burger chain's menu, according to a Columbus Monthly article from 2021 that was reprinted by USA TODAY.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pizza Hut cheeseburger melt joins the menu for a limited time