Make your favorite restaurant style Double Bacon Cheeseburger at home with this easy recipe. Two fresh ground beef patties, two kinds of cheese, and two slices of bacon make for double the deliciousness!
The Double Bacon Cheeseburger: An American Classic
Any time I go a significant amount of time without eating (namely before surgery, after a sickness, or during childbirth), this Double Bacon Cheeseburger is what I end up craving.
This is a spectacle of meaty goodness, and it’s apparently exactly what my body wants after a long period without food. No easing in over here. My body skips straight past the toast or chicken soup to the STACK OF BEEF, BACON, AND CHEESE, please!
The Double Bacon Cheeseburger is about as American as it gets, and it’s definitely one of my comfort foods. Pair it with a pile of crispy, salty fries and I am a happy woman.
Today I’ll show you how to make this American classic at home!
Ingredients Needed:
First, let’s gather our ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Ground beef- I use 80%-85% lean for burgers. More fat = a juicier burger.
- Salt and pepper OR burger seasoning- You can definitely make a delicious burger with just salt and pepper, but if you want to up the ante, use my homemade burger seasoning.
- Bacon- Thin or thick sliced is up to you. I prefer thin sliced for burgers, but it’s your preference.
- Cheese- Listen, a double patty means we get to use double the cheese! I recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to use two different cheeses. My favorite combo is cheddar and Swiss, but the possibilities here are endless.
- Buns- A sesame seed bun is classic, but brioche and everything buns are also favorites around here.
- Toppings and sauces- More on this below!
How to Make a Double Bacon Cheeseburger at Home
- Cook your bacon. I recommend baking bacon. It’s hands-off and mostly clean up free, which allows you to focus on making the patties.
- Divide the ground beef. Usually when I make a burger, I recommend shaping it into balls, then smashing it with your hand. However, with this recipe, we want to make two THIN burger patties. So thin that smashing them beforehand is going to result in some very tricky maneuvering into the pan. To avoid that, we’re just going to divide our meat into even-sized balls, without smashing.
- Heat the pan. I recommend using a cast iron pan and heating it over high heat. I add a tiny scooch of oil to my first batch to avoid sticking. You also might want to open the windows as it can get a little smoky!
- Cook the patties. Place the balls of meat into the pan and quickly use a large, flat spatula to smash them until they’re about ¼ inch thick. Season the top side, and cook until the top of the burger begins to change color (from pink to mottled with gray).
- Flip the burgers, season, and cook the under side an additional 1-2 minutes. They won’t need much! Top with cheese, then remove the patties to a plate. Repeat as needed with remaining burgers.
Assembling and Topping your Double Bacon Cheeseburger
How you want to dress your burger is up to you. Here are some of my favorite options:
- For a fast food style double bacon cheeseburger similar to Wendy’s or McDonald’s, use American cheese, and top your burger with pickle, onion, ketchup, and mustard.
- For a fresher gourmet burger feel, top with lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
- If you really want to up the ante, make a homemade sauce to accompany your burger, like Copy Cat Big Mac Sauce or a Spicy Garlic Aioli.
To assemble, stack the burgers (with melted cheese) on a bun, then add bacon strips and your desired toppings.
TIP: For added flavor, toast your buns! Slather the buns with butter, and place them face down in a pan set over medium heat. Toast until light golden brown.
Tips for Success
Here are a couple things to look out for and ways to ensure you make an AMAZING double cheeseburger.
- Get the pan hot. Really hot! These burgers are very thin, so we’re really just going for a quick sear.
- Weigh your patties for consistency. This step may seem a bit extra, but if you want to ensure your patties are all a similar size, weighing the meat is the way to go! I’m obsessed with this scale.
- This recipe makes enough for 3-4 double cheeseburgers, depending on how hefty you want your burger to be. For 4 servings, divide your beef into 8 (3 ounce) portions. For 3 servings, divide your beef into 6 (4 ounce) portions.
- Smash the burgers immediately and quickly after they hit the pan, then refrain from flattening them any further while they’re cooking. This squeezes out all the yummy juices!
- You can easily double this recipe, or just increase the amount of beef used to 2 lbs.
More Amazing Burger Recipes to Try
We have quite the passion for burgers around these parts. Here are a few more of our favorites:
Double Bacon Cheeseburger
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. 80/20 ground beef
- Salt and pepper or burger seasoning
- 8 slices bacon
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 4 sesame seed buns
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Tomato slices
- Thin sliced red onion
- Lettuce
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a skillet or bake in the oven until crispy. Set aside.
- Using your hands, shape the ground beef into 3-4 oz. sized balls. If you prefer not to weigh them, divide the beef into 6 or 8 equal sized portions, depending on if you want to make three double cheeseburgers or four.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Turn the vent hood on and the smoke alarms off. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil (or leftover bacon grease!) to the skillet. You'll have plenty of fat after the first round of patties are cooked.
- Place 2-3 burger balls in the pan, then use a large, flat spatula to immediately press them down into a thin patty (about ¼ inch thick). It’s important to do this right after the patty hits the skillet, before it has started cooking. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper.
- Flip the burger once the upper side begins to change color. Season the other side, then top with cheese. The second side will only take a minute or two to finish.
- Remove the burgers from the skillet, and repeat with remaining patties.
- To assemble, slather ketchup on the bottom of one bun, followed by one patty, then the second patty (with different cheese, if desired), then the bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, and/or pickles. Slather the top bun with mayonnaise and sandwich together.
