Your new favorite Hamburger Recipe! There’s nothing like a juicy cheeseburger with fresh crisp toppings on a toasted bun smothered with an irresistible burger sauce. We are sharing our best tips for making the perfect restaurant-style burger with the juiciest patty you’ll sink your teeth into.
We love burger recipes from our Cheeseburger Sliders to Hamburger Soup, but we make these classic burgers most often. Watch the video tutorial and learn how to make the ultimate grilled burgers.
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Pair these juicy hamburgers with Grilled Corn and Air Fryer French Fries for the perfect cookout menu.
Hamburgers Video Tutorial
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The Best Cheeseburgers
Beef is delicious on its own – it is a high-quality protein that is tender, juicy, and full of natural flavor. The most important tip for making the perfect burgers is to keep it simple. You don’t need a bunch of mix-ins, or you’re just masking the flavor of the beef. Remember it’s not a meatloaf, but a burger.
We’ve ordered burgers from countless restaurants, from nicer steak houses to fast food and we always come back to these homemade cheeseburgers. Making your own patty from scratch will produce the best juicy burger and I can’t resist a generous amount of crisp and fresh toppings (no more soggy lettuce).
Follow our tips below and you will be known for making the best hamburgers!
Toppings
You want all of your toppings ready to go to assemble the hamburgers when the patties are hot and ready. Toast the buns and prepare toppings first, then cook burger patties. When building a perfect burger, pick toppings that will add appealing texture, color, and flavor.
- Sliced cheese (our favorite is thick-sliced, medium cheddar)
- Dill pickle slices
- Fresh red onions (or caramelized onions)
- Tomato,
- Green leaf or iceberg lettuce,
- Avocado
- Bacon + pineapple + the BBQ sauce below
- Jalapeños to add some heat
The Best Hamburger Buns
- Homemade Hamburger Buns – our top choice for flavor and texture
- Potato Buns – Our top choice because they are the softest with great flavor
- Pub-Style buns – soft, tall, restaurant-style
- Classic Sesame Seed Buns – inexpensive and classic
- Brioche Bun – has a sweeter flavor
- Pretzel Buns – denser but least likely to get mushy
How to Make Hamburger Patties
- Use Ground Chuck Beef (80/20) – grind your own or buy it ground, but 20% fat is ideal and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.
- Don’t overwork your meat – this will make it tough and dense.
- Shape the patties 1” wider than the bun since they shrink on the grill.
- Make an indentation in the center to prevent it from plumping up in the center.
- Don’t Season too early – Salt changes the structure of proteins and toughens burgers so don’t season your ground beef until you have formed your patties and are ready to grill.
- Get a good Sear – Once on the grill, let patties brown and sear well (3-5 min) before flipping, and do not press down on the burger save that for making Smash Burgers.
Pro Tip: If you prefer a thicker, beefier patty, try making 1/3 lb patties, but keep in mind, the grilling time will be longer with thicker patties.
How to Tell When Burgers are Done
Whether you are working with fresh ground beef or fully thawed, the recommendation is that cooked patties should feel firm to the touch and be cooked to 160˚F on an instant-read thermometer. Keep in mind that color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness so do not cut into it to check or the juices will drain out just like with a steak.
Can I Cook Hamburgers on the Stovetop?
Yes! Most restaurants cook on a cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet over medium/high heat and add a high heat oil (not butter), adding just enough to lightly coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add burger patty and sauté without moving it for 3 to 5 minutes per side the same way you would on a grill, cooking to a safe internal temperature of 160˚F on an instant-read thermometer.
How to Assemble Burgers
There are differing opinions on how to build a burger. My husband’s first job was at Chilis®️ where he learned how to put together a restaurant-style burger. Here is how the pros assemble their burgers:
- Sauce – Apply a generous amount of sauce to both buns (see below for our favorite burger sauces).
- Toppings – Place pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion onto the bottom bun
- Patty – Place cheesy burger patty over the veggies and cover with top bun
The Best Burger Sauce
We love a good aioli (flavored mayo) for burgers. These are super easy to whip up and have impressive flavor. The adult favorite around here is the BBQ aioli and the kids’ favorite is “Fry Sauce.” Experiment and make them all for a seriously impressive (but easy) burger sauce spread!
I hope this Burger Recipe becomes a new favorite for you. Over the years, we have tried all kinds of burger recipes – stuffed burgers, various beef mix-ins, and seasonings, but we keep coming back to this classic beef burger. It’s so simple but with hamburgers, the simplest recipe really is the best.
Serve Burgers with
These are our favorite BBQ Side dishes for a summer cookout and they pair perfectly with Burgers.
Perfect Hamburger Recipe
Ingredients
Burger Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground chuck beef, (80/20)
- fine sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Classic Cheeseburger Toppings:
- 4 burger buns
- 4 slices medium cheddar cheese, (thick sliced)
- 1 large tomato, sliced into 8 rings
- 8 leaves green leaf lettuce
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 1/2 cup dill pickle slices
Instructions
- Slice, and prepare all of your burger toppings and sauces.
- Spread the cut-side of the bun with softened or melted butter and toast the cut side on a skillet or on the grill until golden brown. You can toast the bun ahead or in the last couple of minutes with the burgers on the grill. Toasting the bun adds great flavor and prevents a soggy bun.
- Preheat grill to medium heat. Divide ground beef into 4 portions and form patties that are about 1/2" thick and 1" wider than the burger buns. Season patties generously with salt and pepper.
- Grill hamburger patties (indent-side-up) covered for 3-5 min each side on the grill. Flip burgers when juices are accumulating on top of the burger and you have a good sear. Apply cheese in the last 1-2 minutes of grilling then cover with the lid and cook until the internal temperature of beef reaches 160˚F.
Notes
- BBQ Aioli: 1/3 cup mayo + 1 tsp BBQ Sauce (we love sweet BBQ)
- Mustard Aioli: 1/3 cup mayo + 1 tsp yellow mustard
- Dijon Aioli: 1/3 cup mayo + 1 tsp dijon mustard
- Fry Sauce: 1/3 cup mayo + 1 Tbsp ketchup
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
BEST burger recipe!!! I don’t even like hamburgers–they’ve always tasted bland to me. But I decided to give this one a try with premade frozen burgers and some seasoning blend. I did all the toppings suggested and made the fry sauce for the buns…..honestly it’s making my mouth water just thinking about it! It reminded me of the double burgers with onion rings that we used to get when we were kids from Checkers. So delicious. Would be great served with fries. Thank you, Natasha, for helping me love a classic!
I would like to make mini burgers for a party 🙂 Can I use this recipe? What modifications would need to be made? 🙂
Hi Kinga, I imagine that will work! You can do something similar to my Cheeseburger Sliders if you prefer!
These were a massive hit! I have only started to cook properly recently and have tried about five of your recipes so far and honestly- they have all been absolutely delicious, and requested again! I’ve never had the confidence to cook before but with your recipes, I’m improving every week, my confidence is growing and I now have a new found love for cooking! Thank you so much Natasha! 😊
I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words. I am smiling big reading your comment & I’m so glad your confidence is growing. You got this, Erin!
My burgers have a tendency to fall apart on the grill. What prevents your hamburgers from falling apart when only salt and pepper are added? You have so many delicious meals I have to try.
Hi Jd! Thank you so much. See my note above in the post, “how to make hamburger Patties”. Those are all very important, the fat content, not over-mixing your meat, the indentation, etc. it’s also important to make sure you grill is fully preheated. Don’t flip them over too soon either. I hope that helps.
This is a major improvement on our old family recipe for burgers. I make these frequently. Thank you!
Oh Natasha…. haven’t tried these yet but I have one sentence to say to you: “When should I come over for dinner?” Haha! I’ll bring the potato salad….
Just love, love your recipes. Your awesome sauce. Teehee
Thank you, Suzanne! I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
A couple things
1: Mayonnaise it self is not Aioli, it needs Garlic
2: Is the last Sauce a mistake? It’s also called BBQ Aioli, but there ain’t much BBQ about just being Ketchup and Mayonnaise mixed…?
HI Ole, yes I need to update that. It’s supposed to be BBQ sauce with mayo.
The last one is supposed to be fry sauce.
Hi Nat, thank you for all wonderful food they are delicious, i want to cont. making delicious trying cut back food like the fat and sel. what is best vegan for my health.
Hi Lisa, Unfortunately I am not able to provide diet specific suggestions since I’m not a licensed nutritionist. I do recommend looking through the recipe comments for what other readers have tried to substitute. I wish I could be more helpful.