The Best Classic Burger

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The Best Classic Burger Recipe – Perfectly seasoned juicy homemade hamburgers.  This easy recipe only needs a few ingredients.

The Best Classic Burger with toppings and a bun

How do you make a great burger?

I’m a firm believer that a truly great hamburger doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.  You only need a handful of seasonings and some good ground beef.  The beef you use for burgers makes all the difference.

What type of beef is best for burgers?

A lot of my recipes call for lean ground beef.  Not this one!  The best beef for making hamburger patties is 80% lean and 20 % fat ground beef.  You really need the fat in the meat to make juicy flavorful burgers.

The Best Hamburger Recipe

*Note: The full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

  • Add 80% lean ground beef to a large bowl.
  • Add Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper.

A mixing bowl full of ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper for the best hamburger recipe

  • Mix with your hands until well combined.
  • Divide the beef into fourths.

Beef mixture that has been quartered to make into hamburger patties

  • Use your hands to form 4 hamburger patties ¾ inch thick.
  • Use your thumbs to make an indention in the middle of the patties.
  • Grill over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side.

Burger patty cooking on a grill plate

  • Serve on hamburger buns.
  • Top with your favorite traditional burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, etc.)

How to make a great Cheeseburger.

This burger recipe makes awesome cheeseburgers!  Just add a slice of cheese to the top of each burger patty about 1 minute before they are ready to come off the grill.  This will give the cheese enough time to melt.  I highly recommend sliced provolone cheese on these.

Homemade grilled burger on a bun with hamburger toppings

What should I serve with hamburgers?

Watch the step by step recipe video for The Best Classic Burger below.

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The best classic burger recipe on a bun with traditional hamburger toppings

The Best Classic Burger Recipe

4.99 from 76 votes
The Best Classic Burger Recipe - Perfectly seasoned juicy homemade hamburgers.  This easy recipe only needs a few ingredients.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes

Video

Servings 4 burgers
Calories 558 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds 80% lean 20% fat ground beef or ground chuck
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • Optional: 4 slices of cheese
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • Optional: hamburger toppings - lettuce tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.

Instructions

  • Preheat the grill to 375 degrees F (medium-high).
  • In a large bowl, add the beef. Sprinkle evenly with the Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until they are just combined.
  • Divide the meat mixture into fourths. Take ¼ of the meat mixture and use your hands to press it into the shape of a hamburger patty that is about ¾ inch thick. Make an indention in the middle of the patty to prevent bulging in the center of the hamburger as it cooks. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture, making 4 hamburgers.
  • Place the burgers on the grill. Cook 4-5 minutes on the first side. Flip the burgers over and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, until the burgers have reached the desired doneness.*
  • If adding cheese, lay a slice of cheese on each burger patty about 1 minute before taking the burgers off the grill, so the cheese has a chance to melt.
  • Serve the burgers on hamburger buns with optional hamburger toppings.

Notes

*I usually cook for 4 minutes on each side for medium-well burgers.

Nutrition

Serving: 1patty | Calories: 558kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 1533mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 1.1mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 5mg
Course Dinner, Entree
Keyword burger recipe, hamburger recipe, how to make a hamburger
Cuisine American
Author Amanda Finks

Check out all of my great ground beef recipes.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious! The flavor was spot on, will definitely be my go-to recipe for burgers now. Thank you!

    1. 5 stars
      My family (especially my son) loves these burgers, they have been our go to for a few years. Although my son likes restaurant burgers he will say nobody makes better burgers then his mom!

  2. Simple and easy. My type of recipe. I don’t know what seasoning salt is and we wouldn’t have your brand anyhow in Canada so I used Montreal Steak spice. thanks for the tip of indentation.

  3. 5 stars
    My daughter made hamburgers for dinner. We made a few adjustment to this classic burger. 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt instead of 1 1/2. Also, we used 85/15 meat and the flavor delivered the same results. We enjoyed the flavor. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. 5 stars
    These are amazing burgers. My son made them for us for supper and I have never enjoyed a burger as much as I did them.

  5. 5 stars
    Made these for an extended family dinner at my mother-in-law’s house. Everyone one enjoyed them so much. Both my husband and my mother-in-law have commented since that those burgers were some of the best ever! I wholeheartedly agree! I love the beefy taste that comes from no fillers, and seasonings that enhance the beef. Thanks for a terrific recipe. I wouldn’t change a thing!

  6. 4 stars
    Good burger but 1500MG of Sodium? Heck even the big mac with ‘cheese’ only clocks in at 1000.

    I cut the salt in half and it still tastes pretty good to me.

    1. 5 stars
      1 1/2 tsp of salt is about 3525mg. If the recipe makes 4 burgers, that’s about 880mg per burger. So, less than a Big Mac. However, the recipe calls for seasoning salt which is about 2100mg for 1 1/2 tsp, which makes it about 525mg per burger. Also less than a Big Mac by almost half!

  7. 5 stars
    Ok, I’m not one to comment on recipes but this honestly was better than a $15 restaurant burger. Flavorful, moist, and cooked perfectly. The 80/20 meat did the trick I think – I’ve always used leaner and they came out too dry. The bad news is I don’t think my husband will want to go out for a burger ever again 😂. I made it with some garlic Parmesan fries that made for a perfect meal.

    1. 5 stars
      Yes Tracie, hopefully you liked the burgers because you did not cook them medium well. Any burger cooked beyond medium rare to medium destroys the whole essence of a gourmet burger: that is a fact – not opinion. You may as well just go to McDonald’s or In & Out. As soon as Amanda mentioned cooking her burger medium well you have to drop her out of a contender for legitimacy.

    2. Hahaha@ I don’t think husband will ever want to go out for a burger again. That sounds like the perverbial good news/bad news!

About Amanda Finks

I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist living in Zionsville, IN. I’m an avid cook, travel nerd, & lover of good food! I’m trained in Food Science & recipe development. It’s my mission to bring you the BEST recipes your whole family will love!

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