Cast Iron Skillet Burgers are a quick and easy recipe for tender, flavorful patties on the stovetop. It takes just 8 minutes to cook a juicy medium-rare burger you can customize with your preferred toppings. This will be your favorite way to prepare burgers from now on!
Burgers are a rich, flavor-packed bite that's perfect for lunch, dinner, and entertaining. The cast iron skillet cooks the meat evenly and creates a charred outside and tender, juicy inside.
This mouthwatering recipe pairs perfectly with our Parmesan Truffle Fries with Truffle Aioli, Spicy Cajun Fries, and Animal Style Fries (In-N-Out Copycat). Use regular ketchup or try our phenomenal How to Make In-N-Out Spread (Copycat Sauce), Wasabi Mayo Aioli Sauce, or Spicy Sriracha Aioli for a delicious meal!
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About Cast Iron Burgers
- Taste - This cast iron burger is packed with flavor. The combination of the rich burger patty, decadent cheese, and brioche is mouthwatering.
- Texture - The burger patty is very juicy on the inside and charred on the outside. The other ingredients add firmness and crunch.
- Effort - This stovetop burger is simple! All you need to do is make the patty, cook it in your skillet, then assemble the burger.
- Time - It only takes about 7 minutes of prep and 8 minutes to cook the perfect burger.
Ingredients
- Neutral cooking oil - We recommend a neutral cooking oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or vegetable oil for this stovetop recipe. All of these oils have a high smoke point so they won't burn the burger patties. They also have minimal flavor so they won't change the taste of the burger.
- Lean Ground beef - Lean ground chuck, sirloin, brisket, or wagyu (top sirloin) are all tasty patties.
- Brioche bun - Brioche is a fluffy and buttery bun. Its rich and lightly sweet flavor balances the other ingredients.
- Sliced cheese - Use your favorite sliced cheese. Some great options include sharp cheddar, white cheddar, gruyere, and bleu cheese.
- Onions - Caramelized onions add a rich and unique flavor to the burgers, and raw thinly sliced onions offer a bright and pungent flavor. We recommend our Caramelize Onions for Burgers.
- Lettuce - Romaine, butter lettuce, and arugula add a light crispness.
- Tomato - Beefsteak tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes are juicy and add a sweet tanginess. We recommend a tomato that's large so it matches the width of the burger.
- Ketchup - Ketchup is a classic burger sauce. The sauce is sweet, vinegary, and slightly tomatoey.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Wagyu - Wagyu is a rich and marbled beef. It is also much more expensive than standard ground beef. Try our Wagyu Beef Cheeseburger for a delicious variation of this recipe.
- Cheese - Gruyere is one of our favorite cheeses for burger, but pick your favorite! This burger will also be delicious with a sharp cheddar, white cheddar, gouda, or muenster.
- Regular onions - Instead of caramelized onions, use regular onions if you want the onions to have a sharper bite.
- Arugula - Use arugula instead of lettuce to add a sharp peppery flavor.
- Bun - Instead of brioche, use a classic white bun, sesame seed bun, potato bun, or pretzel bun.
- Gluten free - In order to make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free hamburger buns.
- Fattier meat - You can use a ground beef patty with 80% lean/20% fat if you want a slightly richer tasting patty.
Variations
- Hamburger - Omit cheese to make this a hamburger.
- Fried Egg Burger - Add a sunny side up or an over easy or for extra protein and a delicious runny yolk.
- Jalapeño - Add sliced jalapeño to the burger to make spicy. You can use pickled jalapeño for a milder spice or fresh jalapeño if you want it extra spicy.
- Pesto - Spread basil or kale pesto on the burger for a nutty zest.
- Truffle salt - Sprinkle truffle salt on the burger to add a hint of umami flavor.
- Pickles - Add sliced pickles for a briny accent.
- Bacon - Add crispy bacon to make it a bacon cheeseburger.
How to Cook a Burger in a Cast Iron Skillet
- Mix meat and form patties - In a large bowl, combine beef, garlic powder, sea or kosher salt, and pepper. Mix gently until combined, careful to not over mix. Form the meat into 4 equal-sized patties and use your thumb to make an indentation in the middle of each patty. This prevents the meat from puffing up in the center when cooked. (Photos 1, 2, and 3)
- Cook patties - Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add oil. Once the skillet heats for about 2 minutes, add the patties to the pan. For medium rare, cook burgers for 4 minutes on each side; for medium, cook 5 minutes on each side. If the pan is small, cook 2 patties at a time. (Photo 4 and 5)
- Add cheese - In the last minute of cooking, add cheese on top of each patty if desired and place a lid on the skillet to allow the cheese to melt. Remove the lid from the skillet and remove the skillet from the heat. (Photo 6)
- Toast buns - While the patties cook, toast the hamburger buns until just golden brown and still soft. (Photo 7)
- Assemble burgers - Assemble on toasted buns with ketchup or your favorite spread, lettuce, tomato, raw sliced or grilled onions, or with your preferred toppings. (Photo 8)
Pro tip: Let the ground beef patties temper for 10 to 15 minutes before you cook them so the meat cooks more evenly.
How Can I Tell When the Burgers are Done Cooking?
For medium rare, cook the burgers for 4 minutes on each side over medium heat. For medium, cook 5 minutes on each side. Use a meat thermometer to confirm that the patties are done cooking. For medium rare, the internal temperature will be 130°-140°F and for medium the internal temperature will be 140°-150°F.
What to Serve with This Burger
This skillet burger recipe is a rich and flavorful dinner that goes great with healthy sides. Typically, we serve it with Parmesan Truffle Fries, Spicy Cajun Fries, or Classic Seasoned Fries. We also love to make veggies on the side like Elotes Style Corn with Furikake or Furikake and Lemon Shishito Peppers for a complete and filling meal.
Burger spreads
While we love a simple burger, we also love to dress our burgers with a delicious sauce. We often add our In N Out sauce or Wasabi Aioli for extra flare. If we want to really spice things up, we add our Spicy Sriracha Aioli.
Recipe FAQs
Skillet burgers tend to be more flavorful because they are juicier. Grilled burgers allow the burger juices to drop into the grill while skillet burgers trap the juices in the pan keeping the patties moist.
Pick a meat with a with at least 20% fat content or higher like ground beef or chuck. The fat helps prevent the burgers from drying out during cooking.
First, you need to clean the skillet by wiping the interior with a paper towels to remove any excess food or oil. Then use a very small amount of dish soap and a nonmetal scrubber to get any leftover food. Next, apply a thin layer of cooking oil to the skillet and cook oil for 5-10 minutes over medium heat or bake in the oven for 1 hour. Once the skillet cools, you can cook the burgers.
The oil prevents the patties from sticking to the pan. Also, the patties should not stick to the pan if they are cooked through completely.
Cast iron heats evenly and retains its heat well which results in an evenly cooked burger. Also, every time you cook in your cast iron pan, you make them a little better by adding more seasoning.
Equipment
These cast iron skillet cheeseburgers call for a few kitchen essentials that can be used for countless other recipes. For this recipe, you will need a mixing bowl, knife, cutting board, spatula, and cast iron skillet. You can also use a non-stick pan, standard skillet, or griddle if you don't have a cast iron skillet.
Storage
Store leftover cast iron burgers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Store the wet ingredients (burger, lettuce, tomato, onion) and dry ingredients (buns) in separate air-tight containers and recombine when ready. In order to reheat the patty and grilled onions, let them temper to room temperature for 15 minutes then reheat them in a skillet over low heat until hot.
Top tips
- Be careful to not over mix patties or the burgers will be tough.
- Keep a close eye on your burger patties to ensure they cook to the desired level (we love ours medium rare).
- Drizzle any leftover juice in the pan onto the meat when you make the burger.
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Did You Like This Recipe?
Love this cast iron burger? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below & consider leaving a comment below. Thanks in advance!
Cast Iron Skillet Burger
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil vegetable, avocado, or grapeseed oil
- 1 lb ground beef 85% lean / 15%fat
- 4 burger buns
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cheese slices optional
- 4 tomato slices optional
- lettuce optional
- grilled or sliced raw onions optional
- ketchup optional
Instructions
- Mix meat and form patties - In a mixing bowl, combine beef, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix gently until combined, careful to not over mix. Form the meat into 4 equal-sized patties and use your thumb to make an indentation in the middle of each patty. This prevents the meat from puffing up in the center when cooked.1 lb ground beef, 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Cook patties - Heat a skillet or griddle on medium heat and add oil. Once the skillet heats for about 2 minutes, add the patties to the pan. For medium rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side; for medium, cook 5 minutes on each side. If the pan is small, cook 2 patties at a time.1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
- Add cheese - In the last minute of cooking, add cheese on top of each patty if desired and place a lid on the skillet to allow the cheese to melt. Remove the lid from the skillet and remove the skillet from the heat.4 cheese slices
- Toast buns - While the patties cook, toast the hamburger buns until just golden brown and still soft.4 burger buns
- Assemble burgers - Assemble on toasted buns with ketchup or your favorite spread, lettuce, tomato, raw sliced or grilled onions, or with your preferred toppings.4 tomato slices, lettuce, grilled or sliced raw onions, ketchup
Notes
- Store wet ingredients (burger, lettuce, tomato, onion) and dry ingredients (buns) in separate air-tight containers in the refrigerator and recombine when ready. In order to reheat the patty and grilled onions, let them temper to room temperature for 15 minutes then reheat them in a skillet over low heat until hot.
- Be careful to not over mix patties or the burgers will be tough.
- Keep a close eye on your burger patty to ensure it cooks to the desired level (we love ours medium rare).
- Drizzle any leftover juice in the pan onto the meat when you make the burger.
Tina Middleton
A little too much salt for me. 1tsp if any would be plenty. But otherwise really good.
Kathleen Higashiyama
Hi Tina,
Thank you for trying our recipe and for the feedback.
Paula A Nakayama
This looks yummy. Where can I find brioche buns?
Kathleen Higashiyama
Hi,
You can find brioche buns at Safeway and most other grocery stores.