Epic Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese

This is a bacon double cheeseburger like you’ve never seen before. This epic grilled cheese is served with homemade burger sauce too!

In answer to your question yes this is slightly more effort than making a regular cheeseburger, BUT, dare I say it’s much more delicious. And lord knows I love a burger. Follow me…

Homemade Burger Sauce

With every great cheeseburger comes a delicious burger sauce. At its heart, burger sauce is essentially mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and some form of acidity. Here I use dill pickle juice, just to chuck in some extra flavour too. Alongside this I also like to add onion powder, but you could add minced shallot/onion.

How do I serve this?

I actually serve it as a dip for the sandwiches, but you could absolutely drizzle it inside the sandwiches if you fancied.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Definitely! In fact I recommend you do make it in advance. Not only will this help to marry the flavours together, but it also means it’s one less thing you’ve got to prep when you make the sandwiches.

How long does burger sauce last?

It’ll comfortably last 3-4days tightly covered in the fridge (longer at your discretion).

Process shots: add ingredients to small pot (photo 1), mix and taste for seasoning (photo 2).

Ground Beef

The beef is the star of the show, so it’s important to bring out the best in it. Two things you want to avoid is the beef being dry and the beef being bland.

Bland Beef Fix

In with the beef I like to add garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Alongside this I always add in beef stock and Worcestershire. This really deepens the flavour and ensures the beef doesn’t dry out. Speaking of dry beef…

Dry Beef Fix

In with the beef stock I recommend stirring in some cornstarch/cornflour. This way when you reduce down the liquid it’ll stick to the beef and create a glossy coating. This ensures the beef stays nice and juicy in the sandwich!

Process shots: add beef to oil in pan (photo 1), brown then season and reduce down liquid (photo 2).

Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese

The main thing to consider when making the grilled cheese is to spread the fillings nice and level, just to avoid them mounding in the middle and falling out when you flip it. Giving the sandwich a good squish once you’ve stacked it will also help with this.

What Cheese to use?

We’ve gotta go with ‘plastic’ American style cheese. It’s a burger classic – what can I say?! You can realistically use any cheese you want though…

What other fillings can I add?

Alongside the beef and cheese, I like to add bacon, tomatoes, dill pickles and minced onion. You can however use any of your favourite burger fillings!

Process shots: butter bread then flip (photo 1), add cheese (photo 2), add beef (photo 3), add toppings (photo 4), and more cheese then buttered bread (photo 5), fry both sides (photo 6).

Serving a Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese

From there, just slice in half and enjoy using the burger sauce as a dip!

What can I serve with this?

• Crisp/Chip Recommendation: I love a Chilli Heatwave Dorito with this sandwich.
• Side Recommendation: Go wild and add some fries (Garlic Parmesan or Sweet Potato) or keep it classic with a Homemade Coleslaw!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this cheeseburger grilled cheese sandwich shall we?!

How to make a Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese (Full Recipe & Video)

Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese

This is a bacon double cheeseburger like you've never seen before. This epic grilled cheese is served with homemade burger sauce too!

5 from 5 votes

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Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings (click & slide): 5 sandwiches

Calories per serving: 638kcal

Author: Chris

Cost per serving: £2 / $2.50

Equipment

• Small Pot (for sauce)
• Large Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Paper Towels
• Spatula/Turner

Ingredients

Beef

• 1lb / 500g Ground Beef (preferably 10% lean or less)
• 1/2 cup / 120ml Beef Stock (preferably low sodium)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Cornstarch/Cornflour
• 1/2 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• Olive Oil, as needed

Grilled Cheese

• 10 medium slices of Sesame Seed White Bloomer (or other sturdy bread like Sourdough)
• 15 square slices of American Processed Cheese
• 10 single rashers of Bacon, cooked
• 5 tbsp EACH finely diced White Onion, Tomato, Dill Pickles (Gherkins in UK)
• Butter, as needed

Burger Sauce

• 4 tbsp Mayo
• 2 tbsp Ketchup
• 2 tsp Mustard (Dijon or Classic Yellow)
• 2 tsp Dill Pickle Juice (Gherkin in UK)
• 1/2 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt, or to taste

Instructions

• Burger Sauce: In a small pot combine mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice, sugar, onion powder and salt. Taste test for preference and adjust accordingly. Cover and place to one side or in the fridge until needed.
• Beef: In a large pan over medium heat add a drizzle of olive oil. Add in beef and break up with your wooden spoon until it's brown almost all the way through. Add in garlic powder, salt and pepper and continue frying until fully browned. Add in 1 tbsp Worcestershire and the beef stock mixed with cornstarch/cornflour. Rapid simmer until all the liquid is soaked up. Remove beef from pan to a side bowl and wipe out pan with paper towels.
• Grilled Cheese: Either prep on a chopping board or in the pan with the heat OFF. Spread one side of the bread with butter. Place butter-side-down in pan and top with 1 1/2 slices of cheese, followed by 1/5th of your beef. Squish the beef with a wooden spoon, then top with tomato, onion & pickles (1 tbsp each). Top with 2 slices of bacon, followed by 1 1/2 slices of cheese. Add bread, squish down the sandwich to contain the filling then spread with butter.
• Fry: Turn heat to a medium heat and fry both sides until golden with the cheese melting around the edges. Be careful when you flip to ensure the beef doesn't spill out.
• Serve: Once you've fried all the sandwiches, slice in half then serve up with the burger sauce!

Quick Demo

Notes

a) Fillings - Alongside the beef and cheese, you can really add any of your favourite cheeseburger fillings! Jalapeños, caramelized onions, red onion and mushrooms all work great.

b) Spillage - Some fall out is inevitable, I usually collect all the scraps in the pan and make a mini sandwich at the end. The filling stays intact best when you spread it evenly and level across the sandwich (i.e not a mound in the middle).

c) Burger Sauce - This is optional, the sandwich will taste great without it. But I do recommend it because it's so bloomin' delish! You can absolutely make it ahead of time (lasts 3-4days tightly covered in the fridge, longer at your discretion). If you want to drizzle it inside the sandwich instead of using as a dip you can do that too!

d) Calories - per sandwich (5 in total) without burger sauce assuming 2 tsp butter per sandwich is used, 10% lean beef and 1/2 tbsp olive oil for frying. Whole burger sauce is 468 calories.

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 638 Calories from Fat 361

% Daily Value*

Fat 40.14g62%

Saturated Fat 19.03g119%

Trans Fat 1.079g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.761g

Monounsaturated Fat 13.945g

Cholesterol 148mg49%

Sodium 1814mg79%

Potassium 679mg19%

Carbohydrates 29.06g10%

Fiber 1.4g6%

Sugar 8.11g9%

Protein 38.74g77%

Vitamin A 905IU18%

Vitamin C 7.7mg9%

Calcium 513mg51%

Iron 4.33mg24%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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