Patty Melt

Just like your favorite diner food, this Patty Melt is a comfort food classic! A hamburger patty is topped with caramelized onions, cheese, and a special sauce, all wrapped up in two slices of bread and then grilled.

If you love a good patty melt, you’ll also love this Italian Burger – an Italian twist on the patty melt!

There is nothing better than good, old fashioned comfort food. Especially the kind that reminds you of an old school diner.

And this Patty Melt is one of those recipes that will bring you back to your favorite diner, but in the convenience of your own house!

While this sandwich does take a little bit of time because of the caramelized onions, it’s actually really simple to make. And once you make it once, you’ll want to go back to it over and over again!

Ingredients

For the Onions:

• Onions: Sweet onions are your best bet here. They are usually pretty easy to find at most grocery stores.
• Butter: I like the flavor of butter, but you could also use olive oil.
• Salt and Pepper: Seasoning is important!

For the Sauce:

• Mayonnaise: Feel free to use light mayo to cut out a few calories.
• Ketchup: This is just regular ketchup.
• Relish: I usually use sweet relish because that’s what I normally have, but dill relish will work, as well.
• Sugar: The sugar doesn’t really make it sweet, but brings in some balance with just a hint of sweetness.
• Vinegar: I use white vinegar, but if you have a flavored vinegar you think will pair well, feel free to try it!
• Spices: You’ll need garlic powder and paprika.

For the Burgers:

• Ground Beef: I like to use a ground beef more on the lean side, just to avoid all of the grease clean up. But a fattier beef will give you more flavor. I like around 90% lean.
• Salt and Pepper: The burger patties are kept super simple, just seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Bread: Traditionally, a patty melt is served on rye bread. I really do like them on rye, but most of the rye bread I can find around me has very large slices, which makes it hard to get the patty the right size to fit well in the sandwich. But I do also love Texas toast (which is what is in these photographs).
• Cheese: Swiss cheese is a popular choice for a patty melt, but I will often use Monterey jack, as well.
• Butter: You just need a little butter for the outsides of the sandwich for toasting. I like to butter the bread instead of just adding the butter to the pan.

How to Make a Patty Melt

STEP 1: The onions will take the most time, so start those first. To prep the onions, cut off the root end and the stem end, then cut the onions in half from stem to stem.

STEP 2: Cut the onion into strips by slicing from end to end. This is opposite from if you are cutting the onion into half moons. (You can really cut them either way, but I think the onions hold up a little better this way.)

STEP 3: Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, then add your onions. It will look like a lot, but they will cook down quite a bit.

STEP 4: Cook over medium-low heat, stirring every now and again, until they start to turn a caramelized color. You can take these as far as you’d like – I like for them to still have a little bit of texture.

STEP 5: While the onions are cooking, you can make the sauce. Simply mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Refrigerate this until you are ready to use it.

STEP 6: When the onions are done, remove them from the skillet and wipe it down. Form the ground beef into 4 patties, salt and pepper each side, then cook them in the skillet until browned and cooked to your liking. You may need to do this in 2 batches.

STEP 7: Now it’s time to assemble! I like to lay all 8 pieces of bread out to make all of the sandwiches at the same time. You’ll spread the burger sauce on each of the slices.

STEP 8: Add a slice of cheese to each slice of bread. This gives you cheese on the top and the bottom.

STEP 9: Place the cooked patties on 4 of those slices, then top with the caramelized onions. Then turn that top piece of bread down on each, forming your 4 sandwiches.

STEP 10: Butter the outsides of the bread, then transfer the sandwiches to a hot griddle or skillet and cook until toasted and browned, flipping to cook both sides.

Tips and Tricks

If your pan has a lid, I like to cover the sandwiches for part of the grilling to make sure the cheese melts. If you don’t have a lid, you can also use loosely tented foil.

You can make the caramelized onions ahead of time to make this an easy weeknight meal. You will want to warm them up before adding them to the sandwiches, though.

The sauce can also be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

This patty melt is best served right away, but if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

More Grilled Sandwiches

Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Roast Beef Panini
Pimento Grilled Cheese

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Patty Melt

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Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Sandwich

Cuisine: American

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Just like your favorite diner food, this Patty Melt is a comfort food classic! A hamburger patty is topped with caramelized onions, cheese, and a special sauce, all wrapped up in two slices of bread and then grilled.

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Ingredients

Caramelized Onions

• ▢ 3 medium sweet onions
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ Salt and Pepper

Sauce

• ▢ 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ketchup
• ▢ 1 tablespoon relish
• ▢ 1 teaspoons sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoons vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Burgers

• ▢ 1 pound ground beef
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 8 slices bread rye, sourdough, or Texas toast are all popular choices
• ▢ 8 slices cheese
• ▢ 4 tablespoons softened butter

Instructions

• Slice the root end and the stem end off of each onion. Remove the outer peels, then cut the onions in half from top to bottom. Working with one half at a time, cut slices from top to bottom, keeping them all about the same same size. (This is the opposite of cutting the onion into half moons.)
  3 medium sweet onions
• Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a heavy skillet (I like a cast iron skillet) and then add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden and caramelized. This will take about 35-40 minutes if you still want a little bit of a bite to your onions. You can take them even farther and completely soften them, but I like a little bit of texture still for these sandwiches.
  2 tablespoons butter
• Add some salt and pepper, to taste, about 3/4 of the way through. When the onions are done, you’ll want to taste and season again, if needed. Remove the onions from the skillet and wipe it out.
  Salt and Pepper
• In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, and paprika.
  1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon relish, 1 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Take the ground beef and divide it into 4 even portions. Shape each into a thin patty and season both sides with salt and pepper.
  1 pound ground beef, Salt and pepper
• Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add the patties. (You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan.) Cook the patties until they are browned, then flip and cook the second side. They cook quickly – it should only take about 3 minutes per side.
• Assemble the sandwiches: Lay the bread out on a counter or work surface. Spread some of the sauce on each of the slices of bread, then top each with a slice of cheese. Add the 4 patties to the tops of 4 of the pieces of bread, then layer the onions on top of the patties. Place the other pieces of bread on top, cheese side down.
  8 slices bread, 8 slices cheese
• Spread 1/2 tablespoon of softened butter on the outsides of each slice of bread.
  4 tablespoons softened butter
• Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the sandwiches, and cook until toasted on both sides and the cheese is melted.
• Cut in half to serve.

Recipe Notes:

If your pan has a lid, I like to cover the sandwiches for part of the grilling to make sure the cheese melts. If you don’t have a lid, you can also use loosely tented foil.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1sandwich, Calories: 907kcal (45%), Carbohydrates: 65g (22%), Protein: 44g (88%), Fat: 56g (86%), Saturated Fat: 25g (156%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 162mg (54%), Sodium: 692mg (30%), Potassium: 3334mg (95%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 16g (18%)

Keywords: patty melt