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Hamburger – The Best Recipe for Grilling

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posted: 05/10/25

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

This is the best hamburger recipe! Perfectly seasoned, deliciously moist, and with my method, you won’t have any shrinking.

With summer right around the corner, you are going to need the perfect burger recipe for grilling this season. This recipe gets its delicious flavors from my hamburger seasoning. When you combine that with my tips and tricks, you get deliciously moist and plump burgers that everyone will love.

overhead of hamburger ingredients

How to Make Hamburgers

Here is a brief overview of how to make hamburger patties and grill them. For the full grilled hamburger recipe, including all ingredients and their measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step 1: Season the ground beef.

Combine the ground beef, seasonings, egg, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl and combine using clean hands.

person's fingers pushing into the center of a hamburger patty to show how to make hamburgers

Step 2: Form the mixture into patties.

Divide the mixture into four. Then form each section into a patty and place it on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet. Press a small indent into the middle of the burger with your thumb. In addition to the egg and breadcrumbs, this will help keep the burger from shrinking.

Four hamburger patties on a piece of parchment paper

Step 3: Cook the burgers.

Grill the burgers for five minutes on each side or until an internal thermometer registers 140 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-done.

Step 4: Add the toppings.

Serve on a bun with ketchup, tomato, red onion, and lettuce.

Hamburger Seasoning

If you want to make a hamburger seasoning to keep on hand for all of your favorite grilling recipes, this one is perfect. If you do decide to make a batch of that, skip all of the seasonings in the recipe card and add one tablespoon of hamburger seasoning.

Hamburger Seasoning

This Hamburger Seasoning recipe comes together with simple ingredients that you can already find in your pantry. Add it to your hamburger patties for the best hamburger seasoning! Make a big batch and have it on hand all grilling seasoning.
a small, shallow, blue dish with handles on a black surface, filled with hamburger seasoning broken up by seasoning

How Long to Grill Hamburgers

Please note that the USDA recommends cooking hamburger until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I love using our instant read thermometer that can be left in the meat while it cooks for this recipe. Cooking the burgers for about five minutes on each side will give you a medium burger. If you want your burgers more done than that, cook them for one to two minutes longer.

TOP PICK

Instant Read Thermomter

This instant read thermometer is amazing because you can leave it in your meat while it cooks. It makes it perfect for this recipe.
Product Image
Grilled hamburger on a but with lettuce, pickles, tomato slice, red onion, and ketchup. Hamburgers sitting in background, french fries sitting beside.

Hamburger Toppings

This hamburger patty recipe is the base of any burger you want to create. Enjoy your burger alone or add it to a bun (butter and toast your hamburger buns on the grill for just a minute or two before building your burger).

  • Cheese: Make it cheeseburger by adding a slice of your favorite cheese. American, cheddar, and pepper jack are all delicious options. Add your cheese to the burgers for the final minute of cooking time to allow it to melt.
  • Cooked bacon strips
  • Vegetables: Lettuce, pickles, sliced tomato, onion, or avocado
  • Condiments: Ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, or garlic aioli would be delicious.

Burger Variations

If you are looking for a lighter option, turkey burgers are delicious. Simply swap the hamburger meat for ground turkey and follow this recipe as written. For a vegetarian option, make my delicious Portobello Mushroom Burger.

If you don’t have a grill or want to cook your hamburgers another way, the air fryer works great. See the post linked in the box below for how to make air fryer burgers.

Air Fryer Burgers

Air Fryer Burgers make for an incredibly easy and fast dinner. With my hamburger seasoning and just 10 minutes, you can have perfect moist and delicious burgers!
Side view of Air Fryer Burgers served on a bun with lettuce and tomatoes. Fries beside.

Making Ahead and Freezing

If you want to make these burger patties ahead of time, you could definitely mix them up the night before. Be sure to stack them with wax paper between the patties so they don’t stick together and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If you want to make them even further in advance, you could do the same method of stacking and freeze them. These hamburger patties would store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months. They can be cooked from frozen, just know that you will have to cook them a bit longer and monitor their internal temperature.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Store any leftover cooked hamburger patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in the air fryer or in the oven until heated through. I recommend storing the hamburgers by themselves; store any leftover buns or toppings separately.

Hamburger topped with cheese on a bun with lettuce. French fries and hamburgers sitting beside and behind

What to Serve with Burgers

If you make this homemade hamburger recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear how you enjoyed it!

Grilled hamburger on a but with lettuce, pickles, tomato slice, red onion, and ketchup. Hamburgers sitting in background
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Hamburger Recipe

Serves: 4 burgers
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
This is the best hamburger recipe! Perfectly seasoned, deliciously moist, and with my method you won't have any shrinking.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound hamburger meat 80/20 (453.6 grams)
  • 1 egg whisked, optional, see note
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs optional (21 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt if using table salt, use 1/4 teaspoon
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat your grill to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients until well combined. Divide evenly into 4, shape them into four patties that are roughly 4 inches across. Press a small indent into the middle of the burger with your thumb. In addition to the egg and breadcrumbs, this will help keep the burger from shrinking.
    1 pound hamburger meat, 1 egg, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • Grill the burgers for 5 minutes on each side or until an internal thermometer registers 140 degrees Fahrenheit for medium done.
  • Serve on a bun with ketchup, tomato, red onion, and lettuce.

Notes

  1. The egg and breadcrumbs in this recipe are listed as optional because you can create a great burger without them. That being said, the binding does help to keep the burger from shrinking.
  2. Please note that the nutritional information is based on the patty alone and not any toppings or bun as those vary greatly.
Serving: 1burger
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Grilled hamburger on a but with lettuce, pickles, tomato slice, red onion, and ketchup. Hamburgers sitting in background

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Hamburger Recipe

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

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