With layers of meat, cheese, bbq sauce, onions and bacon – you absolutely cannot go wrong with these BBQ Burgers!

I’m a burger lover by heart, anything that I can grill – I pretty much love. So does our whole family.
We love to come up with new flavors and creations, but sometimes just go back to old favorites.
BBQ Burgers have been one of our favorite flavor combinations that we have made, ever! And one of our favorite lunch or dinner meals.
The mixture between the seasoning, the beef, cheese and BBQ sauce – it is really unmatched in my opinion.
Plus, these are super easy to make, and they are smashed so you have a nice thin but crispy and tasty burger.
If you love grilling and want to try out a new recipe, you absolutely cannot pass up these BBQ Burgers, you won’t regret it.
Some of our other favorite grilling/summer recipes that we have on our site include: Grilled Italian Sausage Sandwiches, Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Brats and Beer Can Chicken!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With double pattied burgers, you have yourself an epic sandwich!
- You can add or take away anything that you want or do not want on these burgers.
- The BBQ Sauce really puts the burger over the edge in flavor.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Smoked paprika
Ground beef (80/20 is our preference)
Bacon
Butter
Onions
Vegetable oil
BBQ sauce (your favorite)
Cheddar cheese
Pretzel buns (or your bun of choice)
HOW TO MAKE BBQ BURGERS, STEP BY STEP:
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Portion the ground beef into 3-ounce sections and roll them into balls. You will have 8 balls.
- Preheat your flat-top grill to medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from grill and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add the butter to the grill and let it melt. Then add the onions and toss to coat in the butter.
- Season with about ยผ of the seasoning mixture. Toss the onions with a spatula frequently until they wilt and begin to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the grill and set aside.
- Turn up the heat to high and grease the flattop with the oil.
- Season the balls of meat with some of the seasoning mixture on the top.
- Place the balls, seasoning side down onto the grill.
- Using a piece of parchment paper and a weight, smash each ball down as thin as you can, really concentrating on the edges.
- Season the top side after smashing.
- Allow to cook until the meat looks a little holey and browned around the edges, about 2 minutes.
- Using a scraper, scrape under the patty and flip it over.
- Brush this side with the BBQ sauce.
- Then quickly add a slice of cheese.
- Continue to cook until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.
- Take off the grill and add some BBQ sauce to the bottom of your bun, top with two burger patties, then top with onions, bacon and more BBQ sauce if desired.
I DON’T HAVE A BLACKSTONE OR FLAT TOP GRILL, CAN I STILL MAKE THESE?
Yes, absolutely! I know now everyone owns a Blackstone or flat top so you can easily make these inside.
Just do everything on a griddle, or in a cast iron flat griddle plate that will accommodate the weights.
Also that means that if you are doing one thing in a griddle and another in a cast iron flat griddle plate, you will save up some space and time!
CAN I USE ANOTHER TYPE OF CHEESE?
While Cheddar is our go-to, you can absolutely switch it up because there are so many great cheese’s out ther.
Some of our favorites include:
- White Cheddar
- Provolone
- Swiss
- Pepper Jack
- American
- Colby Jack
Use what you want, play around and see what you come up with that tastes amazing to you!
DO I HAVE TO USE A BURGER PRESS?
While these do come in handy to press your burgers down like we are wanting to do in this BBQ Burger recipe, you have some other options.
You can use a large spatula, the flat side of a meat mallet, a potato masher (yes, the parchment paper helps so it doesn’t go through holes. I’ve even used a kettle with water before!
Use what you have on hand, but if you like pressing meat, then I would suggest getting a burger/meat press.
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH THESE BBQ BURGERS?
I think the real question is what CAN’T you serve with these! Some of our favorite sides to go with this recipe include:
- Horseradish Pickles
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Smothered Potatoes
- Homemade Baked Beans
- Cajun Corn on the Cob
- Veggie Skewers
- Green Goddess Salad
HOW TO STORE:
I do not suggest storing the assembled burgers, but all of the ingredients including the cooked burgers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The cooked burgers (without the cheese) can be frozen in a freezer container for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove from the freezer into the refrigerator until thawed. To reheat place on a grill and top with cheese until warmed through and cheese is melted.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Use at least 80/20 ground beef for this recipe.
- We love pretzel buns, but feel free to use whatever bun you prefer.
- Use your favorite BBQ Sauce, we love using our Homemade version.
- Add or remove anything that you do not like.
- These are made to be 2 patties per burger, but you can do one for each if you’d like.
- You can freeze this recipe, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t have a meat press, see some of our other options above.
- Switch up your cheese and try out new kinds, some ideas above as well.
- If you do not have a Blackstone or flat top you can make these on a griddle or a cast iron flat griddle pan.
BBQ, bacon, onions, cheese and beef…how can you go wrong? You really can’t when it comes to these BBQ Burgers. They need to make your summer menu ASAP!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these BBQ BURGERS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
BBQ Burgers
Ingredients
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- ยผ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 24 ounces ground beef 80/20 is our preference
- 8 strips bacon
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 4 small onions thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- ยผ cup BBQ sauce your favorite
- 8 slices sliced Cheddar cheese
- 4 Pretzel buns or your bun of choice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Portion the ground beef into 3-ounce sections and roll them into balls. You will have 8 balls.
- Preheat your flat-top grill to medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from grill and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add the butter to the grill and let it melt. Then add the onions and toss to coat in the butter.
- Season with about ยผ of the seasoning mixture. Toss the onions with a spatula frequently until they wilt and begin to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the grill and set aside.
- Turn up the heat to high and grease the flattop with the oil.
- Season the balls of meat with some of the seasoning mixture on the top.
- Place the balls, seasoning side down onto the grill.
- Using a piece of parchment paper and a weight, smash each ball down as thin as you can, really concentrating on the edges.
- Season the top side after smashing.
- Allow to cook until the meat looks a little holey and browned around the edges, about 2 minutes.
- Using a scraper, scrape under the patty and flip it over.
- Brush this side with the BBQ sauce.
- Then quickly add a slice of cheese.
- Continue to cook until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.
- Take off the grill and add some BBQ sauce to the bottom of your bun, top with two burger patties, then top with onions, bacon and more BBQ sauce if desired.
Notes
- Use at least 80/20 ground beef for this recipe.
- We love pretzel buns, but feel free to use whatever bun you prefer.
- Use your favorite BBQ Sauce, we love using our Homemade version.
- Add or remove anything that you do not like.
- These are made to be 2 patties per burger, but you can do one for each if you’d like.
- You can freeze this recipe, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t have a meat press, see some of our other options above.
- Switch up your cheese and try out new kinds, some ideas above as well.
- If you do not have a Blackstone or flat top you can make these on a griddle or a cast iron flat griddle pan.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Susan
This burger is how I found your blog. I’ve made these twice now. I love the spice combination for the outside of the beef patties. I couldn’t find pretzel buns so I went with kaiser buns. The kaiser buns worked well…The second time I used cheddar cheese kaiser rolls. Amazing too! The finished burger is miles better than anything you can purchase from a diner or restaurant!
I have been checking out your recipes, and everything looks incredible!!! I have to say… this blog is a real gem! I am looking forward to diving in!!!