The Best Burger Recipe

This is the best burger recipe! It’s super easy to make, frugal, and crazy delicious. Plus, expert tips on how to make your beef patties taste “THE BEST.” Your family will ask for more! Try my crispy baked potato wedges and pan-roasted broccoli as side dishes.

I’ve mentioned before that my husband isn’t a big fan of ground beef and because of this, I didn’t cook it for YEARS.

But then we had kids.

They’ve DEVOURED everything I’ve ever made with ground meat – homemade Italian meatballs and homemade breakfast sausage and egg roll in a bowl and the best ground beef taco meat don’t stand a chance in our house.

I’ve recently added a classic recipe to the list too: the best burger recipe. And wouldn’t you know it, the kids can’t keep their hands off of them!

I’m calling this “the best burger recipe” and you should know that I don’t take that title lightly.

Only a few recipes are worthy to be called “the best” in my book and they all have to meet the following requirements:

• Easy to Make. If it’s too complicated, I know I won’t do it again (which negates “the best” title, don’t you think?)
• Dependable. I want to make this recipe over and over again and it must work every single time.
• Simple Ingredients. If I don’t already have what I need FOR A BURGER RECIPE, then it’s too complicated.
• Worthy of Feeding Company. I almost always make a new recipe (or two) when we’re having company over, and every “the best” recipe goes through third-party testing.

I have TONS of recipes that are amazing… cast iron skillet cornbread and Thai peanut sauce and bacon chicken Caesar salad wraps and homemade chicken nuggets are on my meal plans constantly because they’re all delicious.

But they haven’t earned the title of “the best.” This burger recipe though? I assure you – it’s the best burger recipe you’ll have!

Here’s What You Need

• Ground beef, room temperature
• Homemade dry onion soup mix
• Olive oil, liquid smoke, or Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• Butter (optional)

Notes on Ingredients

I don’t know what tricks restaurants use to make their burgers moist and juicy and to be honest with you, I don’t think I want to know.

Cooking the best homemade burgers at home is a different ballgame, and I have a few tricks to share to ensure you’re consistently making the very best burgers you can!

Beef

• I’ve tested this recipe using 80/20, 85/15, and 90/10 ground beef and they all have pros and cons to them.
• Our most amazing, juiciest burgers came from the fat in the 80/20 ground beef. The 85/15 came in second place and the 90/10 came in a distant third. In fact, the 90/10 was so distant that no one asked for seconds…

In my opinion, go with the 80/20 or 85/15 if at all possible. Save the 90/10 for other ground beef recipes.

And in case you’re wondering, no, you can’t just simply add butter or oil or bacon grease or lard or any other fat to a pound of 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef and say it will make up the difference. It didn’t work.

Note: If you don’t have access to these stores OR your local stores don’t carry grass-fed ground beef, I recommend Butcher Box. You can read my honest review of their products here, and that’s the beef I used to test half the batches of these burgers.

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Spices

I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with a variety of spices to add to this burger recipe. I tried…

• Homemade Poultry Seasoning
• Taco Seasoning
• Homemade Ranch Seasoning
• … and of course, I tried “a little of this and a little of that” of what I had in my spice cabinet.

What came out the best though? The spice that makes these burgers worthy of “the best burger recipe” title? Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix.

I keep a big batch of this in my pantry for my homestyle classic pot roast, and on a whim, I grabbed it one day to make burgers.

OH MY GOODNESS. They were SO DELICIOUS, I didn’t want to finish my burger. My kids asked for seconds!!

Moisture

• If you’re starting with 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef like I’m telling you to, then you don’t necessarily need to add moisture to your burger. The meat and my homemade dry onion soup mix will do the trick.
• However, sometimes it’s fun to make a burger so moist that juices are literally dripping all over your face.
  • On those occasions, consider adding a splash or two of liquid smoke or Worcestershire sauce, or olive oil to the meat before you make the patties. You can also add ¼ Tbsp of butter to the center of each patty as well.

Beef Burger Recipe – Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and dry seasoning. Add optional ingredients, if using, and mix together with your hands until well combined.

Note: You can use a stand mixer to mix the ingredients, but take care to not over mix. This will result in a tough and chewy burger.

Step 2. Divide the ground beef into either 3 or 4 equal pieces and form each piece into a patty

Step 3. Preheat your grill or cast-iron skillet to medium heat.

Step 4. Place each patty on the grill or skillet and let it cook undisturbed for 4 minutes.

Step 5. Carefully flip once and let the burger cook on the other side for another 3-5 minutes, or until the burger has reached the desired doneness.

Step 6. Remove to a plate and allow to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. This lets the juices redistribute among the burger.

Tips for the Best Hamburger Recipe

Turkey Burgers

I haven’t tried this recipe using ground turkey, but I’m sure you could and it would turn out okay.

Ground turkey is usually much leaner than ground beef, so you’ll definitely want to add some fat to your mix. They won’t be “the best,” but they’ll be pretty stinkin’ good.

Burger Buns

The sizes of hamburger buns seem to be all over the place lately. I took these pictures with Simple Truth whole wheat buns from Kroger.

They are just over 3″ in diameter and fit a 1/4 lb burger perfectly. I’ve seen much bigger buns before, so make sure you gauge the size of your bun before shaping your patties.

• 3″ bun = 1/4 lb burger (photo above, on the right)
• 4″ bun = 1/3 lb burger (photo above, on the left)
• 5″ bun = 1/2 lb burger

Stretching the Meat

I typically suggest stretching your meat at home by adding fillers like rolled oats, shredded vegetables, lentils, or legumes.

I don’t recommend that for this particular recipe because these changes will significantly affect the texture of the beef.

Batch Cooking

Make a double or triple batch whenever you can, since these burgers tend to go quickly. Plus it means you won’t have to cook again on another night!

Best Hamburger FAQs

Bonus Tips for Best Homemade Hamburger Recipe

• As tempting as it may be to buy a packet of dry onion soup mix, homemade is your best option. It avoids unnecessary ingredients, is super cheap, and really easy to make.
• You can cook these burgers in a cast-iron skillet (I have this one), or on the grill (here are some grilling hacks!).

Make This Best Burger Recipe into a Meal

Make your whole meal from scratch with these recipes:

• Homemade Hamburger Buns
• 2 Minute Fail-proof Mayo
• Root Vegetable Chips
• Crispy Potato Wedges

Here are a few topping suggestions:

• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Onion or caramelized onions
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• Pickles
• BBQ sauce (try my homemade recipe)

More Beef Recipes

• Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
• Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
• Instant Pot Beef Stew
• Ground Beef Taco Meat