Like your burgers smashed with lots of nooks and crannies for cheese? Here’s your recipe for amazingly juicy diner burgers! Maybe with some cheese fries on the side?
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Why we love this recipe
Burgers come in all shapes and sizes and while I am in for all of them (hi there, steamed cheeseburgers) my ultimate favorite is the Diner Burger.
A Diner Burger is a moist, flavorful, smashed down burger with tons of nooks and crannies to hold melty cheese. If you smoosh it down enough you can double up and have two of them in one delectable burger. That’s right. TWO.
This is a burger you want to make in a skillet or on your electric griddle, as it needs a nice hot, solid surface to cook on and room for the smooshing, which is central to making this burger all it can be.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20 blend for the very juiciest burgers!
- Cheese: We always go for American cheese (or Velveeta!) but your favorite melty cheese will also work just fine.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Take your ground beef and season it up with a little salt and pepper. Divide it into four piles, and oh so gently push the piles together into loose balls. They should not look anything like a patty – they should look like a just-barely-holding-together ball of ground beef.
STEP 2: Fire up your skillet or griddle to high heat and melt a little butter on it.
Pro Tip: While thicker burgers are fine for the grill, you definitely want the smooth surface of a griddle or a big skillet for these so you can smash them down without losing any of the meat.
STEP 3: Now transfer the piles onto the griddle or skillet, leaving some room in between. Grab your favorite spatula and smoosh them down until they are ragged patties that are about 1/2 inch thick and sizzling away.
STEP 4: Leave them to cook for two minutes, and then carefully flip them over, scooting them a little closer (this is going to help us keep the maximum amount of cheese on your burger!).
STEP 5: Right after you flip them, pop a slice of cheese on top. (I won’t tell if you decide to go for two pieces of cheese per burger!)
STEP 6: Cover them with a big pot lid and cook for one more minute until the cheese is nice and melty (covering them helps the cheese melt faster).
Pro Tip: Two minutes on the first side and one minute on the second side will give you medium rare burgers. If you want your burger more well done, cook it for a minute on the second side, then add the cheese and cover them, then cook for an additional minute.
STEP 7: Pop each burger onto a hamburger roll and load them up with your favorite toppings (which by the way stay in place so obediently with smashed diner burgers) and dig in!
Recipe FAQ
If you are extra hungry, simply double the meat (and the number of patties) so you have two. If you want to be a little more conservative, you can another half pound of ground beef – or simply use the original amount – and make smaller, more smooshed burgers.
Nope! Save the grill for when you are making thick, pressed together burgers. These guys need to be smooshed to make the nooks and crannies, and you would lose too much of the meat in between the grill openings.
Pop your question in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto – we also like suggestions!
Want to round out your meal?
Well, OBVIOUSLY we want some fries with our burger, and I usually alternate between cheese fries and spiral fries.
And if you are more of an onion ring person, our fave is this pancake batter onion rings recipe!
Other burger recipes we love
Could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Diner Burgers
Like your burgers smashed with lots of nooks and crannies for cheese? Here’s your recipe for amazingly juicy diner burgers!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1.5 pounds ground beef chuck steak
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 4 slices American cheese
- 4 hamburger rolls
- Your choice of toppings: lettuce, ketchup, mayo, mustard, relish, sliced pickle, etc!
Instructions
- Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Gently form them into 4 piles that are held together ever so loosely. Not patties, just round piles.
- Heat a cast iron pan or a griddle to medium high, and add butter. When the butter is melted, increase the heat to high and add the piles. Using a spatula, press down on them until they are spread about 1/2 inch thick. Cook them for two minutes on the first side WITHOUT moving them.
- Flip them over carefully and lay a piece of cheese on top and cover the skillet (if you are using a griddle, a large pot cover will work for this). Cook one more minute until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the burgers to a plate and let them rest for a minute or so. Place them on rolls with your choice of toppings. With this smashed type of burger, when you are feeling adventurous and especially hungry it’s totally fine to use two patties per burger – yet another reason to love diner burgers best!
Notes
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- Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20 blend for the very juiciest burgers!
-
- Cheese: We always go for American cheese (or Velveeta!) but your favorite melty cheese will also work just fine.
Cameron says
I’ve been looking for an excuse to get my griddle back out and this recipe was perfect! The tip about melting cheese by covering it is amazing! Thank you!
jaybirdinohio says
THIS one. This is the way my kid (44!) has been making burgers lately, and it’s exactly how I like them: crispy edges, melty cheese and delicious all the way. The kid has been using a parchment square and a smoosher (cast iron or steel plate with a handle) to flatten the ball of meat, and the result is just perfect. I’ve completely abandoned the fat grilled burgers for these thin beauties, and I’m not going back!
Well, this one is my fave too, and the parchment method sounds brilliant! Definitely trying that next time. :)
Mart says
Am already salivating just looking at that burger, truly a burger season.
Yes, this is definitely my favorite burger!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
OMG! You’re killing me with these burgers Kate. This one looks amazing too. I haven’t had a beef burger in quite a while. I need to get one on the menu asap!
It’s burger season – we GOTTA! :)
ruthie says
Hi, Kate! Long time!
I’m with you on the thinner burgers, doubled up — can never be too much cheese in a cheeseburger. Lately, I’ve been doing them in my mini round waffle iron. Crispy all over and talk about your nooks and crannies.
I don’t know about comparative beef prices East Coast to West, but where I live in the CA wine country, the chuck steak is often less per pound that the ground beef, even the fatty ones (70%). I like to grind my own, too, but I put the meat directly into the KA, along with it’s seasonings, and use the trident-looking thingie on low to mix it and avoid compacting the meat. Then I use my biggest scoop to gently gather a ball and let the waffle iron do the rest. /;)
It’s a bit of work and a dirtied appliance, but even if I’m not making burgers for a crowd, I make a biggish batch to portion out and freeze in the loose balls, so I only have to do it once in a while. I do my meatloaf that way, too — I mostly don’t like my leftover meatloaf sandwiches (and they are the whole point of meatloaf, aren’t they???) to be solid slabs, which a more compacted meatloaf is going to be once it’s been refrigerated. So, fluffy it is.
My, how I do go on…;) Take care!
Ruthie!!! I missed you! And you have opened whole new vistas for me with the waffle iron concept – Oh My Goodness! :)
Theresa M says
I’ve always been more of a tavern burger gal myself but your rendition of the diner version may just tempt me to the other side! And, yes to wine adding to a day’s perfection!
Come on over to the diner burger side! :)