If you love a meaty, juicy burger patty with loads of crispy edges and tons of smoky crooks and crannies for your favorite sauce or cheese to sink into, this Smash Burger recipe is for you! Will you be left with a greasy stovetop? Undoubtedly. Will your smoke alarm holler? Probably. Will it be worth it? A million times YES. Plus, you get four burgers for what you’d pay for just one at a restaurant. Oh haiiiii, Budget-Friendly Smash Burger! Let’s be best friends.
What is a Smash Burger?
Unlike traditional burger patties that are thick and round, a Smash Burger has a thin patty with crispy, charred edges packed with smoky flavor. You make a smash burger by smashing a ball of ground beef onto an ungreased, hot, flat surface.
Ingredients for The Best Smash Burger
Smash Burgers are easy (though a bit messy) to make, ridiculously delicious, and perfect for a weekend get-together. Here’s what you’ll need to make a Smash Burger:
- Ground Beef- Don’t use lean ground beef. You need fat for a smashed patty to be flavorful and juicy. Instead, use 80/20 ground beef, which means the beef is 80% meat and 20% fat. If you want to make your burger patties with ground turkey or ground chicken the same rule applies.
- Butter- Adding frozen butter to the beef mix helps give you juicy results with deep, meaty flavors while also delivering smoky, crispy edges. To add even more depth to your burger, you should butter your buns before toasting them.
- Seasoning – We use our Homemade Burger Seasoning, but you can also season this burger with a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. For a little more kick, try using a teaspoon of your favorite spicy blend, like our Homemade Cajun Seasoning.
- Buns- What’s a burger without a fabulous bun? I prefer potato buns, but classic white, pretzel, brioche, or sesame buns are great choices too. You can also wrap your patty in a big, juicy lettuce leaf!
- Toppings – If you want to make a cheeseburger, I recommend American cheese, which melts beautifully. We went super-classic with lettuce, red onion, and slices of tomato for our toppings, and skipped sauces that would overpower the flavor of our patty. But you do you. Other toppings that work fabulously are slices of avocado and crispy bacon topped with a fried egg. Or smother your patty with sautéed mushrooms and onions and smoky chipotle peppers.
Tips For A Great Smash Burger
- Chill your beef. Cold burgers have solidified fat. That means more fat stays in the patty as it cooks, producing a crispy brown exterior with a juicy interior.
- Salt your burgers when you’re ready to cook them. Salt denatures the proteins in ground beef very quickly, and it only takes minutes to transform the patty into a dry, rubbery, meatloaf-like texture.
- Use a cast iron or heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan which holds heat when a cold patty hits it. Do not use a non-stick pan; you should never heat non-stick to high temperatures.
- Use the biggest, heaviest spatula you have to smash your burger. If you need more leverage, place a tall, thick, heavy glass lip-side down on the spatula and place your palm on its bottom to smash down even more.
- To ensure your burgers are cooked evenly, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. The internal temperature of a cooked burger should be 160°F.
What To Serve With Smash Burgers
We paired our Smash Burgers with our Oven Baked Steak Fries and they were absolutely AMAZING. You can also try our super crispy Garlic Parmesan Oven Fries. Other great options are our Easy Creamy Coleslaw or our Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad.
How To Store Smash Burgers
You can store cooked patties in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Then, reheat the patties in a preheated pan until steaming hot. Avoid using a microwave, which will leave you with rubbery results. If you’d rather freeze the burgers, don’t cook the patties. Instead, freeze the buttered, unseasoned ball-shaped portions wrapped in plastic or wax paper in an airtight container. Take them out of the freezer the day before you want to prepare them and thaw them overnight in your fridge.
Smash Burgers
Servings 4 burgersIngredients
- 1 lb ground beef ($6.99)
- 4 Tbsp frozen salted butter, divided ($0.56)
- 3 tsp Homemade Burger Seasoning ($0.33)
- 4 burger buns ($2.99)
- 4 leaves iceberg lettuce ($0.37)
- 1 tomato, sliced into thin rounds ($0.45)
- 1/4 small red onion, sliced into thin rounds ($0.16)
Instructions
- Separate the ground beef into four equal portions.
- Grate 1/2 tablespoon of frozen butter onto each portion. Wrap the meat around the butter and shape it into a ball. Chill the beef until you are ready to cook. Place an ungreased cast iron skillet over high heat. Turn on your exhaust fan. Open a window.
- When the skillet is smoking hot, sprinkle a 3/4 teaspoon of burger seasoning all over the beef ball, then place it in the pan.
- Smash down with a spatula and keep the spatula on the burger as it cooks. When you see the top of the patty change color (about 2 minutes), carefully work the spatula under the patty. Take your time with this step, as the patty will be stuck to the pan.*
- When you have loosened the patty, flip it and smash it again. Cook for 2 minutes more, remove the patty from the pan, and rest it on a cooling rack. Wipe the pan down with a paper towel and cook the remaining patties.
- While the patties rest, place a rack in the top third of your oven and put it on broil. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and brush it onto the inside of the buns. Place them buttered side up on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for a few minutes until golden.
- Assemble the burgers. Place the burger on the bottom bun and top with onion rounds, tomato slices, and lettuce. Add the top bun and enjoy the crispiest, smokiest, burger ever!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Smash Burgers – Step by Step Photos
Separate 1 pound of ground beef into four equal portions.
Grate 1/2 tablespoon of frozen butter onto each portion. Wrap the meat around the butter and shape it into a ball. Chill the balls of beef until you are ready to cook. When it’s go time, place an ungreased cast iron skillet over high heat. Turn on your exhaust fan. Open a window.
When the skillet is smoking hot, sprinkle a 3/4 teaspoon of our Homemade Burger Seasoning all over the beef ball, then place it in the pan.
Smash down with a spatula to create an even patty about 1/4 to a 1/2 inch thick. Keep the spatula on the burger as it cooks. When you see the top of the patty change color (about 2 minutes), gently slide the spatula back and forth to take it off the top of the patty. If you try to just push it up, the movement could break the patty. Then, carefully work the spatula under the patty. Take your time with this step, as the patty will be stuck to the pan.
When you have loosened the patty, flip it and smash it again. If you want to make a cheeseburger, top the patty with a slice of cheese. Cook for 2 minutes more, remove the patty from the pan, and rest it on a cooling rack. Wipe the pan down with a paper towel and cook the remaining patties.
While the patties rest, place a rack in the top third of your oven and put it on broil. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and brush it onto the inside of the buns.
Toast the buns buttered side up in the oven for a few minutes until golden. Assemble your burgers with red onion rounds, slices of tomato, and lettuce. Top the burger with the remaining bun and chow down, my friend!! Don’t forget to say “I cook. You clean.” as you get showered with compliments! #Trust
Really surprised by how much I liked this recipe!
I thought that the lack of being able to serve medium rare would remove the flavor but to my surprise it tasted great. Love how it makes the burger so well charred on the outside, that has always been my struggle with burgers, getting a good mallard reaction on the surface.
Also loved that burger seasoning, was always taught that salt and pepper is all you need with a burger but loved the kick this provided.
Loved this recipe, my husband kept Ravi g about it
Thanks Rae!
I enjoyed this take on the smash burger but give it 3 stars for the sloppy recipe writing; by the time a recipe goes up on the site, it should have been thoroughly tested with all content closely reviewed. Readers should not have to point out gaps or miscalculations in the recipe. Such occurrences used to be rare on this website due to Beth’s conscientious recipe testing and proofreading. In this way I have to agree with many of the other commenters that the blog has strayed from its core mission – for me, largely in terms of reliability and trustworthiness. A little more attention to detail could go a long way with the other BB contributors.
tl;dr
The only thing that has changed about Budget Bytes is that the cost of groceries has gone up and the prices listed on the recipes reflect that. These aren’t bougie ingredients like artisan buns and angus beef. These are regular ingredients for regular people.
You’re out of touch if you think you can get a pound of ordinary ground beef for less than 7 dollars or a decent quality pack of buns for less than 3.
Hmm, I literally just went to our local coop which isn’t exactly an value saver and bought a pound of ground beef for…6.99.
Didn’t buy buns there that is very easy to find for under 3 bucks.
I buy organic grass fed beef at Aldi for $5.50/lb … I bet you can get it even cheaper on sale.
+1, I used to recommend this website to everyone :(
I agree
I can appreciate your perspective because I also felt the same at first. Adapting to the new website format/concept was a gradual process for me, but I’ve grown to appreciate it. The introduction of diverse and intriguing new recipes have had a positive impact on my motivation to cook and overall enjoyment of the culinary experience. I know Beth and her team are committed to continually offering fresh and exciting recipe options to inspire us. Sometimes change is needed to stretch and grow.
Thank you , Sally!
Thank you so much, Tina! We work hard to keep our recipes approachable here. It’s one of the things I love about working for Beth. PS I LOVE that your 13-year-old is in the kitchen learning. I have a 13-year-old and have to applaud anyone that can get their kiddo away from a screen long enough to put a meal together. Your #mompower is strong!
I couldn’t agree more! I love Monti’s contributions and always look forward to her recipes.
Sally, thank you once again for being so kind. It means a lot to me.
When I was a kid, my dad made us a similar burger, and I’ve been chasing that burger all my adult life. It only took one look at this photo to know this was it!! I immediately sent it to my boyfriend (he knows my story), and he made it for us last night. Oily, crunchy, and absolutely delicious. Thank you for posting this recipe. It really made my day!
Thanks for being here, Sally! You’ve made my day. xoxo -Monti
That’s so amazing!! We’re so glad these burgers hit the spot. :)
Excellent recipe! I wish I had 1/2 the knife skills you seem to posess;)
Thank you Sars78!
If you don’t like smash burgers, then why are you here? Go make burgers you like and mind your own business.
Thanks, Celeste!
Oh buddy,
Big feelings
Thanks, Big Feelings!
You sound absolutely insufferable. Jesus if you don’t like it don’t make it. You act like it’s not normal to take a presentable photo for a food blog.
Thank you, Soja!