Thank you to YouTube subscriber Guille, who turned us on to this juicy skillet hamburger from a burger chain in Spain.–Sam Zien
Skillet Bacon Cheeseburger with Crispy Fried Onions FAQs
Absolutely. Just double/triple each of the ingredients and carry on as instructed below. You can also turn these into sliders if you’d like. Sliders are typically about 2 ounces each, adjust your cooking time accordingly.
Yes, but the longer your burgers sit, the less crispy your fried onions will be inside of them. If that’s not important to you, you can assemble your patties ahead of time and refrigerate them for 24 hours. If you’re meal prepping, you can freeze your patties and thaw them in the fridge the day you’re ready to cook.
This is a hearty, hefty burger, perfect for backyard gatherings or a Father’s Day feast. Serve something light such as a plate of raw veggies with onion dip or a side salad. These air fryer shoestring fries would also be fantastic.
First, choose beef that has some fat in it. We recommend 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef. When shaping your burger patties, don’t overwork them.
Second, start with a very hot pan so that the meat sears as soon as it touches the pan. A cast-iron skillet works best for this.
Third, make sure you don’t overcook your burgers. An instant-read thermometer can help you gauge the internal temperature, which should be 155°F (68°C) for a medium-well burger.
Skillet Bacon Cheeseburger with Crispy Fried Onions
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon mild vegetable oil, plus more for cooking the burger
- 1 teaspoon salted butter
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 6 strips uncooked bacon, chopped small
- 8 ounces ground beef, preferably 80/20
- 1/3 cup store-bought or homemade crispy fried onions
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices white Cheddar
- 2 hamburger buns
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, warm the oil and butter until the butter is melted. Add the onion, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate large skillet, preferably cast-iron, cook the bacon until about halfway done, 3 to 4 minutes. Use tongs to remove half from the skillet, set aside, and continue to cook the rest until almost crispy, then remove from the heat and drain on paper towels. Wipe out the skillet.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, softened onion, half-cooked bacon, and 1/4 cup of the crispy onions.
- Season with salt and pepper and mix together well, then gently shape into two patties.
- In the same large skillet you used for the bacon, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat, and when hot, add the patties.
- Cook to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-well, then flip over and add the cheese. After the cheese melts, transfer the cheeseburgers to a plate.
- Toast the burger buns in the skillet, then remove from the pan. Add mayo to both halves, the cooked cheeseburgers, the rest of the crispy bacon, and the remaining crispy onions. Devour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
My son was coming for a visit, and he loves bacon. Like really loves bacon. He’s also a bodybuilder and has an insatiable appetite, so a burger full of bacon seemed like a great choice. And it was!
I used dark ground turkey I had on hand with pork bacon. The burger stayed super moist from the chopped bacon in the meat mixture. The crunchy onions added interesting texture and flavor.
I made this recipe twice; once using Duke’s mayo and another time using Truff spicy mayo. You honestly can’t go wrong. While the burger didn’t need the truffle mayo, it was a tasty addition. My son loved the burger, and I did too!
My husband, who thinks all burgers need cheese and bacon, took one bite and said, “10! No changes!” I agree. This skillet bacon cheeseburger with crispy fried onions is one tasty burger; the bacon and onions shine through.
I put a dose of fermented hot sauce on mine and thought the sharp acid flavors added a nice contrast to the rich meat and cheese. I think pickle slices or pickled jalapeños would also be a nice addition.
I served it with a green salad, and that was plenty. This is a very hearty burger. I may make a smaller version next time; even though we finished every bite!
I love a good burger–like with all the stuff, the more stuff, the better. This burger actually doesn’t have that many ingredients but what it does have makes it outstanding. Eater beware, though…it’s got quite a bit of oniony goodness.
It is only 1/4 cup of sautéed onions and 1/4 cup of fried onions in the burgers, but the problem (if you can call it that) is only using the remaining dash of fried onions as a topping. I just put a bowl of those delicious golden babies right on the table and we added as much as we could contain with a bun. I used store-bought onions because developing the skill to make those beauties would mean that I’d never eat anything else.
I used thick-sliced bacon. THICK. So it did take a little longer to cook–about 8 minutes to get to half-cooked in my cast iron skillet. I used kitchen shears to cut it into nice slices that were still evident in the burgers. The fried onions also kept their crispiness, which surprised and thrilled me. The texture of these burgers is awesome–quite toothsome yet tender.
As I admitted previously, I love a lot of stuff on my burger. But this combo is incredibly satisfying, even without my beloved pickles.
This made two very large burgers. I served a small green salad with them, but neither of us finished either the burgers or the salad–but that could have come down to the handfuls of fried onions we added.
After days of plant-based dinners, we were ready for an indulgence, and this skillet bacon cheeseburger with crispy fried onions qualified.
I really, really tried to make this recipe as written, but the ratio of beef to filling ingredients (and bacon grease despite patting the bacon furiously) wasn’t well matched. Judging when the bacon was halfway to crispy wasn’t easy, and I probably took it closer to crisp than the author intended because I couldn’t imagine being happy with globules of undercooked fat in the middle of a bite.
Doubling the recipe for four, I added another pound of beef (two pounds total) before the still chunky patties came together. At this point, my expectations were kinda low, but I was completely and utterly wrong—these burgers were delicious and bacon-y, yes, but also super beefy tasting, and a welcome reward.
Although this recipe is meant for indoor cooking, I thought these burgers would taste terrific cooked on my new grill and couldn’t resist the chance to break it in. These burgers did not disappoint!
I’m unsure if it was the bacon, onions, or a combination of the two, but my burgers turned out moist. Although some of the said moisture was grease from the bacon. I happened to have cheap thick-cut bacon on hand, which I used; perhaps better-quality bacon would result in a less greasy burger if that is what you are looking for.
Please keep in mind that if grilling these burgers, the bacon will drip, causing more of a flame which will cook your burgers faster.
My family enjoyed the burgers with Paw Patrol mac and cheese (because, well, we have young children) and broccoli with peach iced tea to drink. Although this recipe accurately makes two burgers, I expanded the recipe to meet the needs of my family. With the leftovers I had, I refrigerated them in an air-tight container and enjoyed them the next day after a quick zap in the microwave.
David, I do NOT eat cheese of any kind. That being said, the hamburgers by themselves were yummy! Thank you! We loaded on the onions and ketchup!
Superb, Christine!
Mayo on a burger? No way.
Totally, Kev. But ketchup on a hot dog? Never!!!