Cooking Burgers In A Pan

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Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 3 burgers

how to cook burgers on the stove

Cooking burgers on the stove-top in a frying pan can be a quick and easy way to get an easy dinner on the table, FAST! Cook from fresh OR frozen with this easy recipe!

Quick Overview: For fresh, thawed burger patties, cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. For frozen, cook over low-medium heat, flipping occasionally for 20 minutes.

See the full recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed instructions!

Burgers cooked on the stove — How to Cook Burgers on the Stove

Baking burgers in the oven is our favorite way to cook cheeseburgers… but sometimes cooking them in a frying pan is must faster and a little more convenient. (Especially when you don't want to heat up the kitchen with the oven.)

So whether or not you have fresh ground beef patties or you have frozen burgers on hand (such as Bubba's Burgers) here is how you can easily make a juicy burger on the stove!

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Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
Substitutions
Burger Topping Ideas
Storage
More Burger Recipes
How to Cook Burgers on the Stove
Food safety

Ingredients

All it takes for a standard burger on the stove is ground beef (or pre-made hamburger patties) and a little salt and pepper.

raw burger patty - Bubbas frozen burger — Raw Burger Patty – Bubba's Burgers

3 burger patties (or 1 lb. ground beef, shaped in to 3 patties)
salt
black pepper

See the full recipe card at the bottom of the post for ingredients and measurement suggestions.

You can also add your favorite toppings after cooking as well! (See the list below of our favorite burger topping ideas.)

Step by Step Instructions

Cooking burgers on the stove-top can be done with fresh or frozen burger patties.

For fresh hamburger patties

Season fresh hamburger patties, on both sides, with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet large enough to hold all of your burger patties.
Place seasoned burgers in skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes and then flip.
Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Remove from skillet and place on buns and top with your favorite ingredients.

For frozen hamburger patties (Like Bubba's Burgers)

Over low-medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet big enough to hold all of your burger patties.
Place frozen patties in skillet and after a couple of minutes, season with salt and pepper. (You wait just a bit so the burger thaws some, so it can soak in the salt and pepper seasonings.)
Cook on first side for about 5-6 minutes and then flip.
After flipping, flip again when red juices have formed at the top.
Continue flipping every couple of minutes for about 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.

As you can see in the last photo above, there are still red juices forming at the top. When they are "clear" your burger is ready to pull off of the frying pan.

Hint: we love using a cast-iron pan to cook burgers in, like when we make our oven-baked steak but it's not necessary. You can use a regular, non-stick skillet if that's what you have on hand!

burger cooked on stove - on bun with cheese and onions with pickle on top

Substitutions

This recipe is for ground beef patties but you can also cook turkey burgers or veggie burgers if you prefer. Here's how:

For turkey burgers, you will cook them for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 155°.

For veggie burgers, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and cook veggie burgers over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes or until heated through.

Kick things up a notch and make these donut burgers using glazed donuts or these waffle burgers for the buns!

Burger Topping Ideas

For the burger that you see here, we used:

nacho cheese (Rico's canned nacho cheese)
sliced red onion
baby gehrkin pickle
chopped fresh parsley

Other burger topping ideas:

mustard
ketchup
white onion
sliced cheese
sliced pickles
guacamole
bacon
lettuce

Burger with nacho cheese, onion and pickle on bun

Storage

If you have leftover pan-fried hamburgers, you can store them in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

To reheat, you can place them back in a skillet and reheat over low-medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or until heated through.

Or, another great way is to reheat leftover burgers in an air fryer for 3-5 minutes!

More Burger Recipes

Love burgers as much as we do? You'll love these ideas below, as well as our burger sliders that are super fun for parties or a quick dinner!

Burger Bar Ideas for Your Next Party
Smoked Burger Recipe
Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers Recipe
Electric Skillet Hamburgers

Burgers cooked on the stove

How to Cook Burgers on the Stove

Cooking burgers on the stove-top in a frying pan can be a quick and easy way to get an easy dinner on the table, FAST! Cook from fresh OR frozen with this easy recipe!

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 3 burgers

Calories 342 kcal

▢
Stove Top

▢ 4 burger patties (frozen or fresh – see instructions for different times)
▢ 1 tablespoon butter
▢ .5 teaspoon salt or preferred amount
▢ .5 teaspoon pepper or preferred amount

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For Fresh (Thawed) Hamburger Patties

For fresh burger patties, season each patty on both sides, with salt and pepper
Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet large enough to hold all of your burger patties
Place seasoned burgers in skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes and then flip. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the juices run clear.

For Frozen Hamburger Patties on the Stovetop

Over low-medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet big enough to hold all of your burger patties.
Place frozen patties in skillet and after a couple of minutes, season with salt and pepper. (You wait just a bit so the burger thaws some, so it can soak in the salt and pepper seasonings.)
Cook on first side for about 5-6 minutes and then flip. After flipping, flip again when red juices have formed at the top.
Continue flipping every couple of minutes for about 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Keywords burgers frying pan, burgers in a skillet, burgers on the stove top, how to cook burgers on the stove

Let us know how it was!

Food safety

Cook to a minimum temperature of 160 °F (74 °C)
Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
Wash hands after touching raw meat
Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
Never leave cooking food unattended
Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.