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Double smash burger with melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and sauce on a toasted bun.

Best Smashburger Recipe for Juicy Homemade Burgers

A good smash burger feels like the best parts of burger night turned up a notch: more crust, more cheese, more sauce, and less waiting around for thick patties to cook. This version keeps the ingredient list simple and the method fast, which is exactly why it works so well for cookouts, family dinners, and casual gatherings
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 14 minutes
Servings: 4 burgers
Course: Main dish
Cuisine: American burger recipe
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • For the burgers
  • 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper plus more to taste
  • 8 slices American cheese
  • For assembly
  • 4 hamburger buns toasted with butter
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Sliced tomatoes
  • Pickles
  • Onion
  • Smash burger sauce

Method
 

  1. Season the beef.
  2. Add the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder to a bowl and mix just until the seasoning is distributed through the meat.
  3. Portion the meat.
  4. Divide the beef into 8 balls, about 2 ounces each. This small size is part of what helps the burgers cook so quickly and stack neatly into doubles.
  5. Heat your cooking surface hard.
  6. Place a cast iron skillet or flat top grill over high heat and let it get very hot before adding the beef. The recipe emphasizes that high heat is essential for proper smash burgers.
  7. Smash the patties thin.
  8. Add 1 to 2 beef balls to a skillet at a time, or cook more at once on a flat top. Immediately press each one very thin with a burger press or two spatulas. The patties should be a little wider than the buns since they shrink as they cook.
  9. Season and cook the first side.
  10. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cook until the edges are browned and the tops turn grayish, about 45 to 60 seconds.
  11. Flip, cheese, and stack.
  12. Flip the patties once, season again, and immediately add cheese. Then stack one patty on top of another to create four double burgers.
  13. Build the burgers.
  14. Transfer the patties to toasted buns and finish with your toppings and sauce

Notes

Use 80/20 ground beef for the best balance of flavor and juiciness. The source specifically recommends ground chuck and advises against leaner beef for these burgers.
A heavy cast iron skillet or flat top grill works best because you want steady, intense heat. That heat, paired with the pressure from smashing, is what creates the crust.
Wax paper can make smashing easier. The source suggests placing wax paper between the meat and the press to keep the press cleaner and reduce sticking.
If you need to cook in batches, the source recommends placing finished burgers in buns without toppings and wrapping them in foil to keep the patties hot, the cheese melty, and the buns soft until serving time.