Cartoon food has always been a fascination for food lovers. Many recreations and concepts have been made to try to replicate the tasty treats of fictional worlds. The crowned king of these foods is the Krabby patty from SpongeBob SquarePants, which is well known for its elusive recipe. To figure out the secret formula, we must channel our inner Plankton and analyze what we can from the show and in real life.
In the episode “Pickles”, we hear from SpongeBob himself what the Krabby patty is composed of and the order that they’re placed. According to the episode, the ingredients are bun, patty, lettuce, cheese, onion, tomato, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and top bun in that order. Many other episodes have depicted different ingredients and combinations, making it hard to believe which one is real. However, most depictions of the burger seem to contain those normal ingredients, which points to the idea that something special is added to the combination.
Some theorize that a special sauce is put in the burger, which is what Wendy’s did for their limited-time menu item of the Krabby patty. Other theories suggest that the patty is made with certain ingredients, but there is no telling what they might be. The show even hints that it’s SpongeBob himself that makes the burgers great and that the true secret ingredient is love. The details are not concrete, and the showrunners change it far too often for anyone to be sure, but my take on it is that there is no secret ingredient.
Going back to the pickle episode, SpongeBob is distressed about messing up Bubble Bass’s order and drives himself crazy over it. This dedication and passion he has for his job makes me think that he wasn’t lying about the secret formula. The formula might just be a ruse by Mr. Krabs to make people think it’s special, while also riling up his biggest rival to obsess over it. Perhaps the secret formula is love and nothing else. In the end, we will never know for sure.
