Easy Smash Burgers

These burgers are pressed on the griddle (this is an awesome Blackstone recipe!) for a perfect thin, crispy burger bite, stacked double for the cheesiest burgers at home! If you love In n Out or Freddy’s, you’re going to love these easy burgers.

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Easy Thin Griddled Burgers

Smashburgers are an easy, fun take on the summer grilling classic. These are easy, and only take a few minutes to cook and will be a huge hit with your family and friends! We hope you love this delicious classic American recipe as much as we do!

Smashburger Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

• Ground beef – Use 80/20 ground beef. That number indicates the meat-to-fat ratio of that particular blend of ground beef. The first number is the percentage of beef, the second number is the percentage of fat included in the blend. 80/20 ground beef is the classic burger blend, because it includes enough fat to provide rich beef flavor and keep your burger moist.
• Cheese– Use Kraft Deluxe American Cheese. Don’t overthink it, literally nothing melts on a burger better than American cheese. Use it.
• Salt and pepper – Salt and pepper are indispensable
• Butter or Avocado oil – I use a combination of both. Butter provides flavor, and avocado provides a higher smoke point. Together they help keep the griddle non-stick and provide plenty of flavor
• Buns – Pick your favorite bun. Since these are diner classic hamburgers, I’d go for a classic white bun.
• Condiments – Condiments like mustard, relish, and ketchup are great ways to bring balance to the rich meat and cheese on your burger. Mayonnaise on the bun can actually help keep the bread from getting soggy, by creating a layer that keeps the melted cheese and fat from the burger from being absorbed into your bun.

Steps to Make Smash Burgers

One you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:

Prep.

Take your meat out of the fridge, using a food scale portion, and roll it into 2.5 oz balls and place it on parchment paper. I make double burgers, so each burger takes two 2.5 oz balls.

Griddle.

Place meat on the griddle. I try to keep each “pair” of patties close together on the grill for ease of cooking. Once your balls are on the griddle, use your spatula to smash them flat on the cooking surface. Press down hard with you spatula to flatten them. Once all the patties are smashed, season aggressively with salt and pepper.

Flip.

Flip your burgers when the edges of the patties begin to brown. Season again with salt and pepper.

Add Cheese.

When the patties are close to being cooked through, add a piece of cheese to the top of each patty.

Steam.

You can speed up the melting process by using a squeeze bottle to spray a small amount of water onto the grill and then cover with a metal bowl or cover to trap the steam.

Serve.

When the burgers are done and the cheese is melted remove from the griddle and place on a rack and sheet pan. Serve immediately while hot.

Tips and Tricks to Perfect Smashburgers

Toast your buns. After the grill has come to temperature, but before you cook your burgers, lightly butter the inside of your buns and toast them 35-45 seconds on your griddle, or until they reach your desired level of toast

Push down and away to avoid sticking. To avoid having the burger meat stick to your spatula when you smash them, push down and away on one half and the patty and pull toward the edge of the meat. This will keep the meat from sticking to your spatula.

Smashburgers can’t be too thin. You can’t press down too much! The lacier and thinner the edges of the meat are, the more they will brown and get crunchy. If the patties come apart a bit, don’t worry, the cheese will melt and hold them together.

Flip when burgers brown. You’ll know when to flip the smash burgers when the lacy edges of the meat start to brown and the center of the patties start to turn from red to brown and fat begins to form drops on the top of the patties.

Let cheese crisp.  For an extra blast of flavor, let the edges of the melted cheese start to brown and crisp on the griddle before you take off your smashburgers. This extra-bit of crunchy cheese will add an amazing textural and flavor element to the smash burgers.

Use parchment if needed.  Really worried about the patty sticking to your spatula when you smash it? Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the ball of meat and then smash with the spatula through the paper.

What to Serve with Smashburgers

Try my favorite Air Fryer french fries,homemade french fries, Best Easy Coleslaw, Potato Salad and other BBQ sides.

Try these favorite sides:

French Fries

Easy Garlic Bread

Strawberry Shortcake

Best Easy Pasta Salad

Check out my web story about these easy Smash burgers!

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Smash Burger FAQs

It will only take 3-5 minutes to cook the 2.5 oz, approximately 2-3 minutes per side, until the edges of the meat starts to brown. Actual cooking times will vary depending on the temperature of your grill.

No special tools are needed for these easy smash burgers. Use a spatula and a piece of parchment paper. If you really want extra leverage, use another spatula, wooden spoon, or a bench scraper to press down on the smashing spatula. 
We love using a steaming dome for our blackstone (you can use any lid or cover, or even an upside down pan if you don’t have one) orbuy one here.

You can cook these easy smash burgers on your stove top by using a large cast iron skillet to cook the patties.
Cook them in batches, depending on the size of your cast iron skillet. Remember not to crowd the pan. Leave enough room between the smashed patties to let the steam cook off. The patties won’t brown if you crowd the pan.

We prefer making smashburgers on a Blackstone outdoor griddle grill – but the burgers can also be made in a cast iron or heavy pan or using a griddle pan.

Smashburgers are very thin, so it is easy to tell when your ground beef is fully cooked, unlike regular thicker burgers. Burgers are fully cooked when they are browned well on both sides.
Since the burger is so thin, there isn’t enough space to get a reliable temperature – go off the look of your burger instead of the temperature (which will be above the FDA recommended temperature of 145 degrees) for these burgers.

Smashburgers cook incredibly fast since they are so thin – only about 3-4 minutes per side, and less than a minute to melt cheese – around 7-9 minutes total, depending on your griddle and how thin you press your burgers.

Technically you can skip weighing burgers – but we found it really helps to keep your burgers at an even cooking time, and gives the absolute best results for thin burgers at home without any burger press or special equipment.