When you're craving a hearty and quick meal, there's nothing like a stacked, satisfying BBQ Bacon Burger. A flavorful burger with spices and sauces is grilled to perfection, then topped with melty cheese, leafy green lettuce, a juicy tomato slice, and crispy crunchy bacon. It's the perfect summer barbecue recipe!
Summertime means beaches and barbecues, beers and burgers. We love hosting Build-Your-Own-Burger Bars, and making Asian Beef Burgers and Teriyaki Turkey Burgers.
This BBQ Bacon Burger recipe is one I've been working on over the years, and it's simply our family's favorite summer beef burger!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Burgers
- Recipe Ingredients
- Step-by-step Instructions
- Optional Toppings
- Recipe FAQs
- What to serve with BBQ bacon burgers?
- Kitchen tools and equipment
- Best wine pairings for burgers
- More recipes using ground beef
- BBQ Bacon Burgers
- Want more easy, delicious recipes? Buy my cookbooks!
- Pin it
Why You'll Love These Burgers
Our whole family just loves these burgers. For so many reasons!
- The beef contains a healthy amount of lean-to-fat ratio, which keeps the burgers super juicy without being too greasy or fatty.
- It's an inexpensive recipe. We usually can make four stacked BBQ bacon burgers for around $10 total. MUCH cheaper than eating out from a fast food chain!
- You probably have all of the ingredients already on hand - or at least, most of the ingredients - to make these yummy burgers.
- Only a few spices and sauces are needed to take these burgers from ordinary to AMAZING - they are so full of flavor!
- You can use whatever cheese you have on hand - including dairy-free cheese slices! - and each person can customize their burger with their fave fixings.
- Burgers are a quick and easy dinner. This recipe takes it up a notch!
Recipe Ingredients
Ground Beef - I've found the best, juiciest burgers are made with ground beef that has 80/20 ratio of lean to fat. You could also use an 85/15 ratio. Any leaner, and you won't get the same juicy burger.
BBQ and Worcestershire sauce - You can use your own homemade sweet BBQ sauce (our BBQ sauce recipe is SO easy to make!), or you can use your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce. Combined with just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, these add a nice bit of tanginess to the burgers.
Garlic powder & onion powder - I've made these with freshly minced garlic and onions before, and have discovered that using garlic powder and onion powder is actually best for evenly distributed flavor in these burgers.
Bacon - For the best bacon burgers, use thick center-cut bacon, cooked on a cast iron pan on the grill. But you can also use crispy air fryer bacon, or cook the bacon on the stove or in the microwave.
Step-by-step Instructions
Cook the bacon slices using your preferred method of cooking bacon. For these burgers, I prefer to cook the bacon on a cast iron skillet on the grill until they are nice and crispy. If the grill is preheated, this takes just about 5 minutes or so.
Set aside a plate with your cooked bacon and sliced cheese.
If your grill isn't already preheated, preheat your grill to 400°F.
In a large bowl, mix together the beef, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and half of the BBQ sauce. Set the other half of the BBQ sauce aside for later.
Form four equal sized burger patties.
Use the back of a spoon or your thumb to create an indent at the top center of each burger. This helps the burgers cook up evenly so there's no odd center bulge in the burgers.
Grill burgers at 400°F for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
Just before the burgers are done, top them with a slice or two of cheese and grill just until the cheese melts.
Burgers are done when a thermometer inserted into a thick part of the burger reads 160°F and juices run clear. Remove from heat.
Spread the remaining BBQ sauce evenly on the insides of the hamburger buns. Place cooked burger patties on top of the bottom buns.
Optional Toppings
Consider adding lettuce, sliced tomatoes, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, or relish to your burger.
Top each with cooked bacon and your preferred optional toppings, then the top of the buns. Serve immediately.
Recipe FAQs
Burgers are done when a thermometer inserted into a thick part of the burger reads 160°F and juices run clear.
Absolutely! You can easily double and even triple the recipe to make more for your BBQ.
Allow the meat to cool completely then store burgers - without any buns or fixings - in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
What to serve with BBQ bacon burgers?
Burgers and fries, tater tots, or onion rings are the ultimate classic combos. But this BBQ Bacon Burger is no ordinary burger. So go beyond and think about serving these burgers with some fun, elevated sides.
For summer cookouts, I love serving burgers with a bright, refreshing Summer Slaw. A Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad or a Simple Fruit Salad are both light sides to serve with these burgers.
Want some sides that are more substantial? I love serving pasta salads at barbecues. Try this BLT Pasta Salad, Filipino Macaroni Salad, or Avocado Tomato Corn Salad.
For dessert, these Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars or this Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Ice Cream would be a delicious way to round out your barbecue!
Kitchen tools and equipment
Outdoor Grill - You'll need either an outdoor grill or you can use an indoor grill pan.
Mixing Bowl - You'll need a large mixing bowl to mix together all of the ingredients for the meat. Plus, keep the BBQ sauce in a separate small bowl, since you'll use half in the burger meat and half after.
Spatula - You'll need a spatula with a somewhat long arm and a wide flat flipping surface. A stainless steel spatula is preferred when working on the grill.
Cast Iron Skillet - I prefer to cook the bacon on a cast iron skillet over the grill. It gets nice and crispy, and that luscious bacon aroma permeates the grill, which helps add even more flavor to the burgers while they cook.
You can make air fryer bacon, or cook it over a stove or in the microwave, if you prefer.
Best wine pairings for burgers
While beer is often the automatic beverage of choice to pair with burgers, several wines go deliciously with juicy BBQ bacon burgers.
Try enjoying a glass of Petite Sirah, a French Syrah, a Mourvèdre, or a Lodi Zinfandel with burgers. These wines are all smoky, earthy red wines that can match well to smoked meats like bacon and heartier meats like ground beef.
More recipes using ground beef
If you're looking for more recipes to use ground beef, try one of these:
- Dairy-Free Creamy Ground Beef Pasta
- Lumpia (Filipino egg rolls)
- Mexican-style Lasagna
- Sloppy Joe Sliders
BBQ Bacon Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce, divided
- 4-8 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4-8 slices cooked bacon
- OPTIONAL: lettuce, tomatoes, pickles.
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to 400°F. Set aside a plate with your cooked bacon and sliced cheese.
- In a large bowl, mix together the beef, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and half of the BBQ sauce; set the other half of the BBQ sauce aside for later.
- Form four equal sized burger patties. Use the back of a spoon or your thumb to create an indent at the top center of each burger.
- Grill burgers at 400°F for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Just before the burgers are done, top them with a slice or two of cheese and grill just until the cheese melts. Burgers are done when a thermometer inserted into a thick part of the burger reads 160°F and juices run clear. Remove from heat.
- Spread the remaining BBQ sauce evenly on the insides of the hamburger buns. Place cooked burger patties on top of the bottom buns. Top each with cooked bacon and your preferred optional toppings, then the top of the buns. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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kushigalu says
How juicy and flavorful are these burgers. Thanks for sharing.
Natalie says
What a burger recipe! My family was amazed, thank you!
Dannii says
Everything is better with bacon, right? This burger looks amazing.
Ieva says
We love making burgers from scratch and this was absolute perfection! All the lovely toppings that we adore and great easy-to-follow recipe!
Anita says
The burgers are so juicy and super flavorful. These are definitely one of the best burgers I've had in a while.