The Best Patty Melt Recipes
When most people think of patty melts, they think of classic diner food. You know what I’m talking about: ground beef patties with a slice of cheese, caramelized onions and pieces of rye bread or Texas toast to round it out. I’m here to tell you that yes, the classic patty melt recipe is freakin’ delicious, but patty melts can be so much more! I’m stoked to share my favorite homemade patty melt recipes with you. Don’t be afraid to try a new version of a classic, because I know you won’t regret it! Table of Contents Why You’ll Love These Patty Melt RecipesCooking Tips for Patty MeltsThis sauce is FYR!My Favorite Patty Melt RecipesWhat to Serve with Your Favorite Patty MeltLeftovers and ReheatingFor More SandwichesFAQsFlavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire Why You’ll Love These Patty Melt Recipes Cooking Tips for Patty Melts This sauce is FYR! My Favorite Patty Melt Recipes What to Serve with Your Favorite Patty Melt Leftovers and Reheating For More Sandwiches FAQs Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire Why You’ll Love These Patty Melt Recipes Hamburger patties, slices of cheese, crispy bread, simple ingredients for toppings and sauces — what’s not to love? Patty melts are like a next level grilled cheese sandwich. However, what really makes these recipes go beyond a traditional patty melt are the toppings and bread we use. I’ll walk you through each version, but know that it’s easy to swap out ingredients based on your preferences. ​ Cooking Tips for Patty Melts Gear: First up, a cast iron skillet is your best friend here. You’ll also want the basics: tablespoons of butter, black pepper, kosher salt and a small bowl or medium bowl for mixing up sauces. The Meat: Since our sandwiches start with a juicy burger or grilled chicken, make sure you choose high-quality meat for your hamburger patty or any other type of protein. Smashburgers are great for patty melts since they’re nice and thin. This way, you won’t have all your ingredients sliding out of the bread slices. The Toppings: Be sure to check your patty melt recipe before you get started and make sure you leave enough time to prep the toppings. For example, caramelized onions usually take about 45 minutes to make, so I like to get those cooked onions started early. Same goes for slices of bacon and sliced jalapeños. Have your cheese at the ready too. Gear: First up, a cast iron skillet is your best friend here. You’ll also want the basics: tablespoons of butter, black pepper, kosher salt and a small bowl or medium bowl for mixing up sauces. The Meat: Since our sandwiches start with a juicy burger or grilled chicken, make sure you choose high-quality meat for your hamburger patty or any other type of protein. Smashburgers are great for patty melts since they’re nice and thin. This way, you won’t have all your ingredients sliding out of the bread slices. The Toppings: Be sure to check your patty melt recipe before you get started and make sure you leave enough time to prep the toppings. For example, caramelized onions usually take about 45 minutes to make, so I like to get those cooked onions started early. Same goes for slices of bacon and sliced jalapeños. Have your cheese at the ready too. The Special Sauce: Don’t skip it. There, I said it. Don’t. Skip. The. Sauce! It brings the whole sandwich together. Whether it’s an animal style patty melt with burger sauce or a chicken bacon ranch patty melt, you’ll find the sauce takes your meal to the next level. The Bread: A traditional patty melt uses slices of rye bread. But, I think Texas toast is fantastic since it holds up really well to a juicy burger, gooey cheese and sauces. Burger buns can work too, as does a sturdy sourdough bread. You just want that bread to be golden brown when you serve it, since that buttery toast flavor is essential to any patty melt recipe. The Special Sauce: Don’t skip it. There, I said it. Don’t. Skip. The. Sauce! It brings the whole sandwich together. Whether it’s an animal style patty melt with burger sauce or a chicken bacon ranch patty melt, you’ll find the sauce takes your meal to the next level. The Bread: A traditional patty melt uses slices of rye bread. But, I think Texas toast is fantastic since it holds up really well to a juicy burger, gooey cheese and sauces. Burger buns can work too, as does a sturdy sourdough bread. You just want that bread to be golden brown when you serve it, since that buttery toast flavor is essential to any patty melt recipe. Get stoked for life This sauce is FYR! an all-new line created for live fire cooking Born from a deep passion for food and flavor. Whether you’re grilling in the backyard or live fire cooking around the world, we have what you need to transform every meal into an adventure. My Favorite Patty Melt Recipes Here we go — a great patty melt, right at home! With this roundup of patty melt recipes, it’s easy to see how this diner classic can get a tasty and easy upgrade. Give them a try and then let me know your favorite in the comments! Bacon Patty Melt This 4th of July create memories with my BBQ Bacon Patty Melt recipe. It features upside-down buns for a cheesy, crunchy style of BBQ burger. View Recipe Animal Style Patty Melt Animal Style Patty Melt for the best smash burger you can enjoy right at home! View Recipe BBQ Brisket Melt BBQ brisket melts are a great way to use the meat from my foil boat brisket recipe to make some freakin' delicious sandwiches. View Recipe BBQ Beef Melt Get ready for the ultimate comfort food: BBQ Beef Melts. Smoked beef that falls apart after smoking is layered with melted cheese and your favorite bbq sauce between Texas Toast. View Recipe If you're looking for the best comfort food and killer sandwich all in one, this Patty Melt recipe has it all. Juicy beef, caramelized onions, and melted Swiss cheese on crispy brioche bread are an unbeatable combination. View Recipe Chicken Bacon Ranch Patty Melt Chicken Bacon Ranch Patty Melt for a saucy, cheesy sandwich. View Recipe Oklahoma Onion Patty Melt Oklahoma Onion Patty Melt for a fun, diner styled melt. View Recipe French Onion Patty Melt French Onion Patty Melt is your favorite patty melt, but with some sweet and tangy onions on top! View Recipe Cheesy Patty Melt This Cheesy Patty Melt is made up of juicy, crispy burger patties, three types of cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, and diner sauce. View Recipe Chopped Texas Patty Melt Chopped Texas Patty Melt for a fist full of deliciousness! View Recipe Bacon Melt Bacon Melts for a beefy, bacon-y sandwich experience. View Recipe Beer Braised Beef Melt This epic sandwich takes the classic American patty melt to another level with beef that's braised with Samuel Adams October Fest. View Recipe Stuffed Patty Melt This stuffed patty melt is a freakin' delicious spin on the viral trend of putting cubed cheese into burgers. View Recipe ​ What to Serve with Your Favorite Patty Melt ​I love to go classic here. French fries, onion rings, or a Caesar salad are delicious with any patty melt sandwich. Leftovers and Reheating Store any leftover patties and other ingredients in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days. Then, reheat your patties and ingredients in a hot skillet for maximum flavor in your patty melt recipe. For more articles highlighting my favorite handhelds, check out The Best Slider Recipes and The Best Smash Burger Recipes! For More Sandwiches FAQs ​What’s the typical prep time for a patty melt? Good news: these sandwiches go fast! Cooking the proteins usually takes the longest, about 5-20 minutes depending on what you’re using (but if you’re making a BBQ brisket melt, that’s an entirely different story). Once you assemble the sandwiches, they only need a few minutes on the grill to get all melty and so freakin’ delicious. Can I make patty melt recipe ingredients ahead of time? Definitely! You can cook patties ahead of time and then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Do the same for any other toppings that need a little extra cook time. Once you’re ready to pull together your sandwich, assemble everything and warm it up on the grill until the bread is dark golden brown. Where should I buy my meat? Check with your local grocery store or butcher shop. I’m often surprised by how good the quality is there. Another great option is to go online and buy pasture-raised beef from popular sites like White Oak Pastures, US Wellness Meats, and Primal Pastures. If there’s another high-quality meat supplier I should know about, be sure to leave a comment! Get The Cookbooks! Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire By Derek Wolf All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture. Derek Wolf Derek is the driving force behind Over the Fire Cooking. He started cooking with live fire in 2016 and decided to start a social media page so his friends and family could follow the journey. Fast forward to today and Over the Fire Cooking has spread across multiple platforms with millions now following Derek's fire cooking journey. He's a southern fellow who enjoys everything from classic BBQ to Central and South American inspired dishes. Whatever he's cooking up, it's guaranteed to be so freakin' delicious!