A homemade Smash Burger is quick and easy to make. These fly off the grill in minutes so it’s a great way to feed a crowd.
Smash burgers have the iconic flavor profile of classic Burgers, but that double burger patty with cheese melted in between is irresistible and you’ll love the special sauce.

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Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is to make restaurant-style Smash Burgers for your next cookout.
Smash Burger Video
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What is a Smash Burger?
Smash burgers are formed into balls of ground beef then pressed or smashed with a burger press into a thin patty as soon as they hit the grill. This creates extra browning and flavor on the outside while maintaining the patty’s juiciness.
We love burgers, from classic Juicy Burgers to Cheeseburger Sliders. Making your own patty from ground beef tastes so much better than flash-frozen or fast-food patties. These go down easier and you feel better after eating a fresh homemade burger because you control the quality of ingredients.
If you are a fan of Smash Burgers this homemade version is a must-try!

Ingredients for Smash Burgers
- Ground Beef – We use 1.5 lbs of 80/20 beef to make 4 double-patty burgers, but you can easily scale the recipe up to feed a crowd (use 3 lbs for 8 double-patty burgers).
- Sauce – A simple combination of mayonnaise and yellow mustard is what we use to grill and assemble the burgers.
- Cheese – we love thick-sliced medium cheddar cheese for burgers, but you can use American-style cheese or your favorite sliced cheese.

Burger Toppings
- Buns – Homemade Buns are best. For storebought, brioche buns taste great and have that steakhouse burger look, but any burger bun will work
- Lettuce – thinly slice your iceberg lettuce for a restaurant-style smash burger
- Pickles – sliced dill pickle chips are the best
- Tomatoes – Select meaty and large-sized tomatoes for burgers and cut them into rings
- Red onion – thinly sliced into rings

How to Make Smash Burgers
- Prepare Patties – Divide 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef into 8 equal portions (3 oz each), cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Make Sauce – Stir together 1/3 cup mayo and 1 tsp mustard and set aside.
- Prep Toppings – fully prep your toppings ahead to assemble the burgers right away while the patties are hot and juicy off the grill.
- Toast buns – lightly butter the cut side of your buns and toast on a griddle or skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer to a rack.
- Cook patties – increase to medium-high heat. Depending on your surface area, place 2 to 4 cold pieces of meat onto the hot surface. Working quickly, cover each piece with a sheet of parchment paper and smash each into a thin patty. Remove parchment paper, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, add a dab of sauce, and flip. Sear for 2 minutes on the first side and about a minute on the second side.
- Add cheese – place a slice of cheese onto half of the patties and top with a second patty and remove from heat. Serve warm over toasted buns with toppings.

When to Flip the Burger: We cook the patty on the first side for about 2 minutes. Flip once the bottom is browned and caramelized.
Common Questions
For a tasty and juicy burger, use ground beef that is 80/20, or 80% lean and 20% fat.
You can skip the sauce step when grilling the patties if you prefer then add your favorite burger sauces when assembling the burger.
Smash burgers can be cooked in a very large cast-iron skillet, or on a griddle (indoor or outdoor). We love using our Camp Chef cooktop to cook several patties at once.
Unlike a good steak which we like to bring to room temperature first, burger patties should be well chilled before they go onto the grill. It helps the fat stay in the meat and will result in a juicier burger.
A flat press works best to get the patties very thin. This is our favorite Smash Burger Tool, but you can also push over the top of a spatula with a meat mallet to smash burgers. Also, pre-cut parchment paper makes the job easy, but you can cut your own pieces.

Make-Ahead
To Refrigerate: Since smash burgers are best using chilled ground beef, you can portion and refrigerate ahead. Roll the ground beef into balls then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.

How to Assemble a Smash Burger
According to my husband Vadim, who used to work at a restaurant, this is the proper way to assemble a burger.
- Spread sauce on the bottom bun.
- Add 3 slices of pickle
- Top with a mound of lettuce
- Add tomatoes and onions if using
- Top with meat patties and cover with the top bun.

How to Wrap a Burger
If you really want to replicate a restaurant copycat burger, try this easy burger wrapping technique. It’s easy and similar to wrapping a gift.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper into a 10-12″ square and fold in half into a triangle. Place parchment halfway over the burger.
- Flip burger upside and tuck in the sides.
- Tuck the bottom flap under the burger.

The wrappers are so fun and help contain drips and messes. The kids seem to appreciate the wrappers. Maybe it’s because it feels like eating out.

Serve With:
These are our favorite cookout recipes to make with burgers.
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Oven-Baked Potato Wedges
- Crispy French Fries
- Classic Lemonade (or Strawberry Lemonade)
- Potato Salad
Smash Burger Recipe with Easy Sauce

Ingredients
Smash Burger Patties:
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, 80/20, divided into 8 portions (3oz each)
- Salt, added to taste
- Black Pepper, added to taste
- garlic powder, optional, added to taste
- 4 slices medium cheddar cheese, we love thick-sliced
Burger Sauce:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
Toppings:
- 4 burger buns, we used brioche buns
- 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced into thin rings
- 2 Dill Pickles, cut into 12 slices
Instructions
Portion Beef Patties:
- Divide beef into 8 even portions, about 3 oz each. Loosely Roll them into balls then cover and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients. The meat must be cold when it hits the grill.
Prep Toppings and Buns:
- Remove wilted leaves from lettuce to keep it crunchy then finely shred lettuce. Slice tomatoes, onions, and pickles.
- Butter and toast buns over medium heat until golden on the buttered side.
Cook the Patties:
- Increase griddle to medium/high heat. Place 2-4 burger balls onto hot griddle. Working quickly, place parchment paper over the meat and firmly smash straight down into a thin patty.
- Once patties are smashed, peel back and discard parchment papers and season patties with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add 1/2 teaspoon of burger sauce. Cook 2 minutes on the first side or until seared and juices start to come to the surface.
- Scrape under the burger with spatula facing down at a 45˚ angle to get under the caramelized part and flip. Cook another 1 minute. Top half of the patties with sliced cheese and cover cheese with the second patty. Repeat with remaining burgers and transfer them to a platter as they finish cooking.
Assemble Burgers:
- Place sauce on bottom of bun. Top with 3 pickle slices, shredded lettuce, 2 tomato slices and thin sliced onion. Add double patty and top with bun.
I luv that u have so much fun with what u do. I just bought a food truck/catering business that specializes in smash burgers. It’s called Dave’s jukebox diner. It’s in Tampa and I plan on using more of your recipes.
Thank you so much, Joseph!
I’ve never made smash burgers before. But I love them so I wanted to try to make them myself to save money. This recipe is sooo good! I’m in love! I saved it to my personal collection. Highly recommend it!! Thank you for sharing, Natasha!
This is become our favorite burger recipe- it is absolutely amazing. My boyfriend is still talking about them two days later. I made exactly as written though I didn’t add the lettuce, tomato, onion , or pepper when building them. The burger stands on its own and the sauce enhances the flavor.
Made these tonight, as described, used our smoker and cooked on our griddle. So easy and flavorful! My family said this was the BEST burger they have ever eaten at our house. I modified the special sauce by adding a little bot of ketchup, but that was it! Everything else was just like Natasha makes them. Incredible!
I’m so glad they were a hit!
It’s the only way I make burgers anymore!!! It’s the BEST!!!!!! Making them for our Labor Day Picnic!
That’s wonderful! Happy Labor Day.
Thank you Natasha for this amazing recipe! It took the burger experience to a whole new level. The sauce, so simple, yet sooo tasty. Even the addition of parchment paper wrappers upped the feel of the meal. The
video was really helpful too. Thanks so much!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Anissa!
Can’t wait to make these – my husband has a meat allergy due to a tick bite – so I’m going to sub ground turkey- we used it with the sliders and it worked out perfectly
We tried these for the first time recently and they were a hit! My son turns 13 today and requested these for his birthday lunch (for last year’s birthday he asked for your crispy chicken sandwiches!). They come together quickly and taste like eating at a restaurant! I’m doubling the sauce because we all like a little extra on the finished burger. Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Awe, that’s so great, Chandra! Isn’t that the best when kids love what we make for them! Happy Birthday to your teenager!
DELICIOUS!!! I’m making them a second time this week. Yummy and simple
Twice in one week is saying a lot! I’m so happy you loved it, Shari!
Excellent recipe! A hit with the whole family! I’m not a mayo or mustard fan but your simple burger sauce added so much flavour cooked right into the meat. Amazing!
Will be a summer staple!
got it! by the way what buns do you suggest??? but besides that it’s a great burger!!!!:}
Hi Greg! See the section above under “burger toppings” for my note on burger bun suggestions.
Made these tonight and they were so so good and easy. Everyone in family loved!
dose it work with lamb???????????????????????????????????????????????????
Hi Greg! I have not tried lamb but I’m sure it could work. Just keep in mind that if the meat is leaner, the burger will be drier.
I love a good smash burger with a good bun love the recipes!!! five stars!!:)
We tried these smash burgers the other night, and they were delicious! They were served as double or single patty, depending on preference. These truly were better than a restaurant version. We formed the patties ahead of time, using the bottom of a round plate to thin them out. They were easy to transport from work surface to pan using parchment paper for easy handling and placing. Our grill is on the blink, so I used a high-sided large pan to contain the splattering grease. This was the first time in decades I have used 80/20 ground meat. I always used 90 to 96% lean meat, and eaters said my burgers were hockey pucks. The increased fat value really contributed to a much juicier and more flavorful burger. This is now our go-to burger recipe hands down from now on. For eating, I found it easy to smash the burger down after assembly for neater ingestion. Thank you, Natasha!!
You’re so welcome, Patti! These are fun to make and to eat! I’m so glad they were a hit! Thank you for your awesome review!
Nicely done with both your chicken and smash burgers. I alter the smashing to BEFORE it goes on the grill to help maintain as much moisture as possible.
That’s a great idea, Neal! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
It looks delicious😋 I can’t wait to try this awesome receipe!
These were a smash hit. Thanks Natasha !!! I will definitely be making again. Omitted the pickles as my family do not like them.
You’re welcome! Happy to hear that it was a huge hit!
We made these last nite for the first time, with sweet potato fries.
So good everyone cleaned their plate.
can’t wait to try these! quick question: should i grease my cooking surface before adding the meat? i have read different things about how to get the best “crisp”…
I do not, but you can if you’d like.