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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frank ocean
Really nice i want to have sex with heidi larsen foodiecrush burgers mmmmmmmmmmmm
Ajla
These have been a staple at our house for several years now. Sooooo good. Thank you Heidi. Follow direction, and you won’t be disappointed! We put provolone and it’s still delicious. We love them ❤
So glad you love them too Ajia!
Barb Clough
My sister and I are checking this out! Our family always have loved what we call ‘Broil Burgers’ – open-faced thin burgers, but without cheese. Our secret ingredient is to spread a bit of butter on the bun and Nance’s mustard on the bun…. but might mix it up and try some Worcestershire sauce and butter on top as well! You do need to make thin burgers so they cook through!!
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Foodie
Hamburgers look amazing….
Susan
I grew up on these in the early 40s and on. We certainly didn’t have buns other than hamburger buns and I don’t remember using butter, but Mom must just not have thought of. It made a pound of hamburger go a long way. I don’t remember any of us wishing we were having something else. Thanks for such a happy memory. I’m all over it!!!
Natalie Boothe
Making these tonight…read all the comments and making adjustments but what I noticed is the recipe says OPEN FACED…people seemed to be confused by bun TOPS. Its open faced…8 small burgers 4 buns cut in half. Im not baking mine with the bun this time, we bought fresh rolls from thje bakery
Laura
Just went to the grocery for ingredients. Two questions:
They only had 80% fat ground beef. Think that will work? Too greasy?
I also got small brioche buns. I don’t like ciabatta. Think they will be heartt enough? Maybe toast the tops to compensate for the extra fat beef and light texture of the bun?
Thanks!
Sarah
Super delicious. I made these without the buns. Because I only had soft ones on hand! But I did everything else like stated and they were a hit. Made 8 and not a one was left. Next time I’m gonna get some chibatta buns and try it again like you Stated! Otherwise they were the best homemade burgers so far that I’ve made! Thanks so much
Robet
When will people learn that you shouldn’t eat ground beef medium rare, or rare? The FDA warns people about e coli poisoning if the burgers are not cooked to the proper temperature. Jack In The Box burger joints screwed up many years ago by not cooking their burgers properly and two children died and many other wee seriously ill due to food poisoning. Now they train their workers to fully cook the burgers.
lann horse
I am sure our daddy will be happy with such tasty burger)
Khalil
Made these tonight. Added my own spices (hamburger seasoning & Lawry’s). The taste was good, BUT the burger was too pink in the middle for me. The recipe said medium well, which is my usual favorite, but these came out more medium than anything. Probably would recommend increasing that 10 minute suggestion to 15 or so.
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Chris McCoy
Hi. I learned to make these from classes given by our local city public service home economics department…. many, many years age. We called them “built in hamburgers” . We mixed raw diced onions, a dash of evaporated milk, salt and pepper with the hamburger meat. The buns were then spread with soft butter. Hamburger mixture, the size of a regular patty was places on the buttered bun. Using a rounded point knife, we spread the meat mixture to the very edge of the bun, then cooked them under the broiler. When done, the center of the bun was soft from the meat juices, the edges of the bread were
lightly toasted. Delicious!
Adora Rosario
That’s going to be a task for my husband. (y) Never cooked anything for my children. :(
Carissa Cantrell
Raw mess! Followed everything to the letter. I want my money back.
Annalise @ Completely Delicious
So after drooling over these burgers for years, I finally made them! I went shopping without closely reading the recipe so all I had were regular soft hamburger buns. After reading the comments here, I browed the burgers on both sides first in a pan and then broiled for about 8-9 minutes on the buns. I also buttered and toasted the tops and we served them with ketchup and mustard. Phenomenal. The buns weren’t too soggy and the meat was cooked through. Going on our regular weekend rotation!
Andrea
Ha, I call BS too. Soggy, blood-soaked buns, meat raw underneath. An ungodly mess! Disaster.
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James @ best2wheelelectricscooter.com
These look awesome. My wife is always laughing at me for looking at foodie blogs and bookmarking recipes but I like cooking more than she does! Will definitely give these a try, thanks.
Ann
Made them exactly as you posted (with ciabatta rolls) and they were excellent. Thank you!
Delaney
Made these tonight, mushroom swiss style, and they were sooooo good. My only issue was that the buns started burning around the edges a few minutes into cooking. I used thick bakery buns. Maybe I just need to play around with heat, rack position, type of bun. Either way, they were totally delicious and I will be making them again. I threw the tops of the buns cut side down in the pan I used to sauté the mushrooms and that worked out great. Thank you for sharing!!
Natasha Cox
Hi broil or low broil???