American · Main · Easy
Patty Melt
A juicy burger patty with sweet caramelized onions and melted Swiss on griddled rye bread. Half burger, half grilled cheese, all delicious.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Patty Melt, in 5 ideas
- Oval patties fit rye bread better than round ones and give you cheese in every bite.
- Low and slow is the only way to caramelize onions. Rushing them just steams them.
- Swiss is the classic, but gruyere is an excellent upgrade if you have it.
- Two cheese slices, one on each side of the patty, guarantee full melt coverage.
- Rye bread brings a tangy flavor that cuts through the richness of the beef.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground beef (80/20)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp butter, plus more for bread
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 slices Swiss cheese
- 8 slices rye bread
- 2 tbsp thousand island dressing
How to make it
Directions
- Melt 2 tbsp butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until deep golden and sweet, about 20 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Shape the beef into 4 oval patties to match the bread shape. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the patties in the same skillet over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
- Wipe the skillet. Butter one side of each bread slice.
- Assemble: bread butter side down, Swiss slice, patty, caramelized onions, thousand island, second Swiss slice, bread butter side up.
- Grill each sandwich over medium heat for 3 minutes per side until the bread is golden and the cheese is fully melted.
Make a big batch of caramelized onions and freeze them in portions. They are the slowest part of this recipe and they elevate everything from burgers to pizza.