Yep, you read that right! Hamburgers baked in the oven are a breeze to make and ready to eat in under 30 minutes. The open-faced burgers are cooked right on the buns, so all that’s left for you to do is pile on the toppings.
These baked burgers were my dad’s specialty, especially for fast dinners, because they’re baked in the oven instead of on the grill, with no flipping or babysitting.
When my dad cooked them, he was very precise, making even cuts of cheese squares to top these hamburgers to top french rolls or ciabatta. (We still call them hamburgers even though they’re topped with cheese because that’s what my dad does.)
It all looks way too simple to taste as delicious as it does. The secret is the pat of butter atop each oven-baked hamburger that melts down into the burger meat co-mingling with Worcestershire sauce to create a juicy, lickable drip down each side of your burger-loving face.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Use ciabatta rolls for a crisped bottom that acts as sponge to soak up all the flavorful juices from the seasoned ground beef patties that are baked directly on the buns.
- Use a burger press to shape the ground beef evenly.
- Because ground beef shrinks as it cooks, form the patties to cover the buns to the edges.
What’s in This Recipe?
- Lean ground beef — since the burgers cook on top of the buns, you’ll want to use lean ground beef or else they will taste greasy
- Sourdough or ciabatta rolls — the burgers release a fair bit of juice while they bake, so you need a hearty roll underneath the patties
- Worcestershire sauce — adds so much umami flavor to the burger meat
- Garlic salt — seasons the burgers while infusing them with a light garlic flavor
- Black pepper — freshly ground is preferred
- Butter — the secret ingredient that makes for the juiciest, most succulent burgers
- Cheddar cheese — we love sharp cheddar, but you can use any melting cheese you like (Colby Jack, pepper jack, gouda, etc.)
How to Bake Burgers in the Oven
- Preheat the oven. Before starting on the baked burgers, preheat the oven to broil and set the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Shape the patties. Divide the ground beef into eight portions and form each into a patty. I use a burger press to make even patties and press the beef to the edges of the buns.
- Assemble the burgers for baking. Place the rolls face up on a baking sheet and top each with a burger patty. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce, then garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder. Top with a pat of butter.
- Bake, then add cheese. Bake the burgers for about 25 minutes, then top with a slice of cheese and return to the oven until it melts (about 3 minutes).
Heidi’s Tip: If you prefer your baked hamburgers to be more well done, simply leave them in the oven for a couple extra minutes before topping them with cheese.
- Add your favorite toppings. Go crazy with the toppings or enjoy as is. I like simple ketchup and mustard, and that’s it.
Toppings to Try
Stick with the classic burger toppings or think outside the box when garnishing these insanely juicy open-faced baked hamburgers.
- Pickles — Killler Spicy Garlic Pickles, Bread and Butter Pickles, or Quick Dill Pickles
- Veggies — sliced tomato, onion, lettuce, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, or coleslaw
- Sauces — bbq sauce, fry sauce, Thousand Island dressing, ketchup, and more
DW’s Tip (aka Heidi’s dad): Instead of butter, slather the tops of the burgers with mayonnaise before baking. It adds juicy flavor in much the same way.
FAQs
You might be able to, but I’ve only ever made these baked hamburgers with ground beef.
If you do try to make these baked burgers as turkey burgers, you MUST cook the meat all the way through. You can eat ground beef medium-rare, but it’s unsafe to eat undercooked poultry.
Or, make my Greek turkey burgers with tzatziki sauce instead!
My dad has always made his baked hamburger patties using plain ground beef, so I’ve just never mixed spices into the burger patties before.
But you can certainly mix in finely diced onion, jalapeño, various spices, and more.
You need something sturdy beneath the burger patties that will soak up juices but not fall apart. I think regular hamburger buns would be too soft for this recipe, but ciabatta or sourdough is perfect.
Storage Tips
The hamburgers are best straight from the oven, but leftovers will last up to 2 days. The buns will soften and could become soggy as they sit in the fridge, so keep that in mind.
What to Serve With Baked Hamburgers
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Daddy’s Baked Hamburgers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 4 small ciabatta or sourdough rolls, halved
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 8 tablespoons butter, divided
- 8 slices medium cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F with the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the rolls cut-side up on the baking sheet and set aside. Divide the ground beef into 8 equal ¼ pound portions. Smash one beef portion flat, place on a roll, and shape the patty to the edges. Repeat with the rest of the ground beef.
- Drizzle ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce on each patty, then season each with garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder. Top each patty with a pat of butter.
- Bake the burgers for 25 minutes. Remove and add a slice of cheese to each burger and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from oven and serve immediately.*
Notes
Nutrition
More Homemade Burgers You’ll Love
- The Best Garlic Burgers EVER
- California-Style Bison Burger
- Bacon Cheddar Chicken Burgers
- Korean BBQ Burgers 3 Ways
- Bacon Double Cheddar Cheeseburger
- Super Juicy Turkey Burgers
- Greek Turkey Burgers
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Samm
These were delicious! Thank you for sharing. Followed recipe exactly and turned out amazing.
Briana Frank
Absolutely amazing!!!! The best burgers I have ever had!!!
Tim
These look really delicious!! My question is, 1lb of meat (16oz) divides by 8 is only a 2oz burger…..1/2 of a quarter pounder does not seam like much. I want to grill these and I’m gonna soften the butter and mix it right into the burgers….yum
Mallory
for those worried about done-ness sauté each side in a skillet (a minute or two per side) then follow recipe. Great recipe!
Kevin
Same here. Made these tonight. Looked *BEAUTIFUL* but as noted per recipe they came out rare/medium rare which just didn’t fly with my Family. We are more of a medium cook bunch. Was able to kinda recover using microwave but if there is a next time will maybe bake a bit before broil. Also had the soggy problem when we were hoping for full on crunchy roll.
Ashley
Made these and the buns were soggy but the meat itself was SO delicious. Tonight I’m making them again without the bun under them and I can’t wait! Thanks for the super easy, super delicious recipe!
Awesome Ashley. If your bread was soggy, try using a sturdier sourdough so they don’t get too mushy.
mike
yea im gonna call bs on this. im 20 minutes in and i still have raw, wet burgers.
Bonnie
The underside of my burgers looked raw as was the raw juice on the buns. What am I doing wrong?!
AJ
Same here. Didn’t work for me at all. :(
Brittney
I was reading some comments that said the buns would burn? You cook them on the bun right? Also, do you have to flip the burger?? These look aaaah-mazing!
Robyn
great story :)
Samantha
My mind has been officially blown today!
I am currently 33 years old and when I was little and we would go to our dad’s house and he would make what we called “daddy burgers”. It was one of his things.. His special meal.
It’s pretty much the exact same thing on your site. Is that a thing in real life.. like an actual thing that exists for a whole bunch of people? I always thought he made it up?
He didn’t put butter on the top when baking. We ate them with cheese and ketchup.. maybe some mustard too? It’s been probably 20 years since I’ve had them!
Tami
I made these burgers this past weekend and they were fantastic! My family loved them! I was a little anxious at first about the butter and broiling them in the oven but I got over that real quick! What flavor!!! I will definitely be making them again! Thank you!
Ashley
Broiled for 10 minutes and my smoke alarm went off. :( They tasted delicious but what could I have done wrong to fill my house with smoke despite nothing was burnt?
Carole
I make something like this. We add eveperated milk, velveta cheese, onion, ground beef. Love this!!!!
V
Made these tonight for dinner and they came out PERFECT.. and quite delicious! I used English Muffins and made 4 burgers that were 1/4 lb each. I seasoned with onion salt instead of garlic and left out the Worcestershire Sauce (I love it in meatloaf but not in burgers!). I scored the burgers and put the pat of butter on top. I broiled them on HIGH for 10 min exactly, removed them, topped them with cheese and then just put them back in for 1 more minute (I also put the tops of the English Muffins face down on the sheet pan to crisp up a little. I don’t think I’ll make burgers any other way again! The bottom English Muffin was crisp and full of burger juice/butter (I could have eaten a plate full of those!) and the burgers were a perfect medium rare throughout. Best part- not having to clean up a greasy stovetop! Great recipe.. thanks!
Amanda
I was wondering what to do with the tops. Thank you for posting!
Adam
Well, the recipe says 4 rolls for 8 burgers, so going by the original recipe, there would be no tops leftover as they would be the bottoms for the other 4 burgers.
Lorrie
I cooked for 10 minutes and the bread burnt, any suggestions?
Did you place it in the middle of the stove or close to the broiler? It could have been too close.
Pam Feir
One pound of meat for 8 burgers makes 2 ounce burgers and 10 minutes on broil is a long time. Please let me know if 2 ounce burgers are the correct size. Thanks
Pam Feir
One pound of meat for 8 burgers makes 2 ounce burgers. Is that the correct size??do people eat more than 1???
In advance, thanks for responding.
Pam
You can certainly eat more than one burger, I usually only eat one. The size of the patty will depend on the size of your roll, so my rolls worked for 2 ounces each. Yours may vary.
mike
What am I missing? The raw burgers look like they are at least 6 oz. The recipe says to divide 1 lb. burger into 8 portions. That would make a 2 oz. with 1/2 oz of butter on it. The recipe and pictures don’t match up if I’m reading it right.
Anna M.
I had the same thought on the burger size. But comparing them to the other items shown and looking at the cook time, they seem to be sliders. The presentation photos are definitely not a tablespoon of butter, but you get that a lot on food blogs. I think I’ll try them with 1/2 a tablespoon and see how it goes.
It depends on the size of bread or buns you’re using as to the exact amount of burger you put on the bun.
David
How does the under side of the hamburger and the bun which has raw hamburger and it’s juice on it get done enough to be safe?
Allyson S
Same question: raw burger juice in buns. Is that safe? I really want to make these!
I’ve been eating them for 30 years and haven’t had an issue.
AJ
It doesn’t and becomes very soggy. A GROSS mess!
Brian
ive been eating them for awhile and thought the same thing but it actually tastes really good when the juices soak in there. Ive made them for 3 different girlfriends actually and not one complained and nobody got sick. Broil is really hot, i doubt any bacteria can survive that.
KcMookie
Wait, what? You are criticizing the fact that she might have cleaned up for presentations sake? Shrinkage of patties? Who knows using this method, I imagine the scoring has something to do with.
I bet you are tons of fun at parties too.
Kelly
for your hamburgers it says preheat to broil? Do you broil or preheat to a certain tempature?
I set it to broil, let it get hot and then broil them.
Dave
My oven has low and high broil. Which one is used for this recipe?
Hey Dave, I’m assuming low broil. I only have one broil :)
Joyce
are you quite sure about ” tablespoon of butter” ????? thats ALOT of butter, I was wondering-by the thickness of the butter in the picture- if you really meant teaspoon. The burgers look delish and I am anxious to make them …Thanks for the share
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Lorna
The buns got soggy, but these were still pretty good. Definitely had good flavor!