Name: Smash Burger Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 lb 75/25 or 80/20 ground beef; Salt and pepper; 8 slices of cheddar cheese; 4 Brioche Buns; Slices of tomato; Slices of pickles; Lettuces; 3/4 cup mayonnaise; 1/3 cup ketchup; 1/4 tbsp mustard; 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 tbsp pickle juice; 1 tbsp finely chopped dill pickles (optional); 1/4 tsp smoked paprika; 1 small garlic clove (grated); 1/2 tsp onion powder; Salt and black pepper to taste

This Smash Burger Recipe turns one pound of ground beef into deeply crusted, lacy edged patties in under two minutes a side, right on the stove. Two thin patties are smashed hard into a screaming hot skillet, layered with melted cheddar, and stacked on a toasted brioche bun with a quick homemade burger sauce that beats anything from a bottle. No grill and no special equipment required, just a heavy skillet and a sturdy spatula, and the whole thing is on the table in about 25 minutes.

A close-up of a juicy cheeseburger with a golden bun, lettuce, tomato slices, melted cheese, two beef patties, and creamy sauce, served on parchment paper atop a wooden board.

Photo of Olivia in her kitchen, founder of Primavera Kitchen

What Changed My Mind About Smash Burgers

I’ll be honest, when smash burgers first got popular I was skeptical. In my Best Hamburger Recipe, I tell you never to press down on a patty while it cooks, because that is exactly how you push out all the juices and end up with a dry burger.

So smashing a burger flat the second it hits the pan seemed like it would do the one thing I always warn against. I tested this more times than I want to admit before I understood why it works here and not there.

You smash the meat while it is still cold and the fat has not rendered yet, so there is nothing to lose. By the time juice would normally escape, the patty is already seared into a crust. It is the opposite rule for a completely different style of burger, and once I got the timing right, I have not gone back to a thick patty for a fast weeknight burger since.

What makes this version mine is the sauce. It is built like a fry sauce, mayonnaise and ketchup as the base, but the Worcestershire and pickle juice give it a depth that plain burger sauce does not have, and the smoked paprika rounds it out without tasting like a spice rack.

I also double stack the patties with melted cheddar between them on purpose. One thin patty disappears into a bun. Two gives you that crispy edge to juicy center ratio in every single bite.

This is the burger Thomas asks for by name now, “the smashed ones” instead of regular hamburgers, and it has become our go to burger nights once the weather warms up. It is fast enough for a weeknight and it scales easily if friends show up without much notice, which happens a lot at our neiboorhood in the summer.

I almost always put out a side of my Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries since they cook in about the same amount of time as the burgers, so nothing sits around getting cold while you wait on the rest of dinner.

Key Ingredients:

All ingredients and their amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Fresh Ground Beef (75/25 or 80/20): I always reach for the fattiest ground beef I can find for this recipe. The fat is what creates those crispy, lacy edges that make a smash burger different from a regular one. I have tested this with 90/10 lean beef, and it just does not work the same way. The edges turn dry instead of lacy, and there is not enough fat rendering onto the pan to build that crust.

Pro Tip: Keep the beef cold and loosely shaped right up until it hits the pan. The more you handle it, the tighter and tougher the patties get, and warm fat will not sear the way cold fat does.

Cheddar Cheese: Medium cheddar is my go to here for a sharper flavor that cuts through two patties worth of richness. I have also made this with American cheese, and it melts a little smoother and faster, but I find the flavor gets lost once you stack two patties together. Either one works, so use whichever melts well in your fridge.

The Burger Sauce (mayo, ketchup, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, smoked paprika, garlic, onion powder): This sauce is built like a diner style fry sauce, with mayonnaise and ketchup forming the base. I only use a quarter tablespoon of mustard here, since the pickle juice and Worcestershire already bring plenty of tang. I tested it with more mustard once, and it took over every other flavor in the bowl. The smoked paprika and garlic are what set this apart from a basic burger sauce, giving it a little smokiness without making it spicy. You can make this a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, it actually tastes better once the flavors sit together for a few hours.

A flat lay of Smash Burger Recipe ingredients including brioche buns, cheddar cheese, tomato, ground beef, pickles, lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dill pickles, pickle juice, and seasonings.

How to Make Smash Burger Recipe:

A note before you start: there is no oven involved here. Heat your cast iron skillet or flat top griddle over high heat until it is smoking hot before any beef goes near it, and have your cheese unwrapped, your buns sliced, and your sauce out of the fridge before you turn on the burner. Each patty is only on the heat for about two minutes total, so there is no time to go searching for things mid cook.

Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, then cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. I make this first so the flavors have time to meld while everything else comes together.

A hand uses a whisk to mix ingredients including ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, and seasonings in a small beige bowl on a tan countertop.

A hand whisking a creamy, light brown sauce or dressing in a beige ceramic bowl on a light brown surface.

Portion the beef: Divide the ground beef into 8 equal, loosely shaped balls, about 2.5-3 ounces each. Season the tops generously with salt and pepper and keep them cold in the fridge until the pan is ready. I never mix the salt into the meat itself, since that toughens the texture before it even hits the heat.

Heat the pan: Heat a large cast iron skillet or flat griddle (a cast iron pan or flat griddle works far better than a nonstick pan) over high heat on the stovetop or outdoor grill until it is smoking hot. This step matters more than almost anything else in the recipe. A pan that isn’t hot enough will steam the beef instead of searing it, and you will end up with gray, flat tasting patties instead of a crispy edges, browned crust.

A white rectangular tray holds eight raw beef meatballs sprinkled with ground black pepper, set on a light brown surface.

A hand presses a black cast iron burger press onto a raw beef patty in a black cast iron skillet on a tan surface.

Smash and cook: Place 2 beef balls seasoned side down in the hot pan, spaced apart. Immediately press down firmly with a spatula or burger press for about 10 seconds, until the patty is thin and flat. If the meat sticks, place a small piece of parchment paper between the patty and the press. Season the top with a little more salt and pepper, then cook until the edges are deeply browned and crispy. I only press once per patty. Pressing a second time squeezes out the moisture you just worked to lock in.

Add cheese and flip: Flip each patty and immediately place a slice of cheese on top. Cook for another 30 to 45 seconds, until the cheese is melted and the second side has good color. Remove and repeat with the remaining beef balls. The second side cooks fast on purpose, since these patties are thin enough that they are nearly done the moment you flip them.

A hand uses a spatula to lift a cooked hamburger patty in a black skillet. Another patty with a slice of melted yellow cheese is also in the skillet on a beige countertop.

A cast iron skillet with two English muffins inside, one with a golden brown top and the other with a lighter, pale top, sitting on a beige surface.

Toast the buns: In the same pan, toast the cut sides of the hamburger buns with butter until golden. Cooking them in the same skillet you used for the beef means they pick up a little of that rendered beef flavor instead of tasting like plain toast.

Assemble your smash burger and serve: Spread the sauce generously on both cut sides of each bun. Layer on a lettuce leaf, pickle slices, and a slice of tomato on the bottom bun, then stack two cheesy patties on top. Close with the top bun and serve immediately. These do not hold well once assembled, so I only build them right before everyone sits down.

A close-up of a cheeseburger with two beef patties, melted cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato slices, pickles, and sauce in a shiny, toasted bun, placed on parchment paper on a wooden surface.

Olivia’s Recipe Tips

Weigh your beef if you want every patty identical. Eight balls that are all about 3 ounces cook at the same rate, so you are not left with one patty that is raw in the center while another is overcooked at the edges.

Set up your whole station before the first patty goes down. Because each batch only takes about two minutes, there is no time to dig through a drawer for a spatula or unwrap cheese once the beef is already smoking in the pan.

Cook only two patties at a time in a standard skillet. Crowding the pan drops the surface temperature fast, and you lose the crust you are working for. Work in batches and keep the first batch warm on a plate, loosely tented with foil, while you finish the rest.

Use a stiff metal spatula, not a flexible one. A bendy spatula will not transfer enough pressure into the smash, and you will end up with a thicker, less crispy patty than the recipe is meant to give you.