How Long to Cook Burgers

5 from 4 votes

Never undercook or overcook a burger again with my comprehensive guide on How Long to Cook Burgers, featuring crispy Smash Burgers!

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: burger temperatures, burger temps, how long to cook burgers, how long to cook burgers on the stove

Servings: burgers

Calories: 910kcal

See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!

Heat a cast-iron griddle or pan over medium-high heat. Once sizzling hot, grease lightly with butter. Divide your ground beef into 4 equally sized balls - not patties!
2 Tablespoons butter, 1 pound 80/20 ground chuck beef
Place the ground beef balls on the griddle and smash them flat with a spatula. Each patty should be about 4" in diameter.
Season liberally with burger seasoning and cook until the edges brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the patties and season the other side. When almost fully cooked, add a slice of cheese to the top of each patty.
4 slices American cheese, 1 serving burger seasoning
Cook until the cheese melts and the burgers are medium-rare, about 1 minute.
Let rest for 5 minutes, then place on brioche buns or potato rolls with lettuce, onion, tomato, and burger sauce. Serve, and enjoy!
1 serving burger sauce, 4 slices tomato, 4 leaves lettuce, 4 slices onion, 4 brioche rolls

It's worth it to get and use a meat thermometer! It takes a lot of practice to gauge burger doneness by sight and touch, but a meat thermometer will be accurate every time.
Always take burgers off the heat 5°F below the target temperature. For example, a burger cooked to medium doneness should be removed at 135°F. Beef keeps cooking for 5 minutes while resting and will reach the target temperature over time.
Make sure to always rest your burgers for at least 5 minutes. Resting beef is incredibly important, as it lets the meat soak up its own juices. Serving it too quickly off the burner can make it dry out!
Add cheese in the last 1-2 minutes of cook time. This will melt it perfectly without it getting so runny it drips off entirely!
Try adding the seasoning on top of burgers vs mixing it in! This method adds a delectable crunchy crust to burgers that you'll miss when the seasoning is added directly into the meat.
You can cook from frozen, but it'll take more time. Ideally, safely defrost the meat first. Be extra careful to be safe, as ground beef grows bacteria extra fast. Check out my guide to Defrosting Ground Beef Safely for the best, fastest methods!