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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    The Greatest Cowboy Burgers

    By: Jessica · Posted: Jun 26, 2023 · Updated: May 24, 2024 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Jump to Recipe 3 comments
    5 from 4 votes
    cowboy burger with text on image

    Cowboy Burgers: When you think cowboy food, you think bbq and bacon and hearty food, and these cowboy burgers are no exception! Juicy beef patties are topped with cheese, bbq sauce, bacon, and onions rings to create a burger fit for a cowboy.

    Are cowboy burgers good you ask? Let me tell you, these are high on our list of favorite burgers! They’re right up there with our viral hamburgers in the oven recipe (and that’s saying something) and our blue cheese stuffed burger recipe.

    A cowboy burger in the foreground with two cowboy burgers in the background.

     

    ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    These are incredible burgers! Juicy burger patties are topped with barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and crispy onion rings on top of that, and all sandwiched between soft hamburger buns. Pair them with these bbq baked beans with ground beef and talk about a hearty meal, that any cowboy would love!

    Jump to:
    • ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
    • 🧾 Ingredients
    • 🤠 How to Make Cowboy Burgers
    • 📖 Substitutions & Variations
    • 🥬 What Toppings Do You Put on a Burger?
    • ❄️ Storage
    • 💡 Expert Tips and FAQs
    • 🍔 Related Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    🧾 Ingredients

    The ingredients for this cowboy burger recipe are pretty simple, but they come together to create some of the best burgers you’ll ever make.

    The ingredients for cowboy burgers laid out with labels on the image.
    • 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 pound medium ground beef (or try ground venison for deer burgers!)
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 slices cheddar cheese 
    • 3 sesame buns
    • ½ cup barbecue sauce or more
    • 6 slices bacon, cooked and cut in half
    • 6 onion rings, cooked

    See the printable recipe card farther down in this blog post for exact quantities and step-by-step instructions.

    🤠 How to Make Cowboy Burgers

    1. Make 3 equal hamburger patties out of the ground beef and place back in the fridge to get cold (about 20 minutes).
    Three beef burger patties on a plate.
    1. Take out and sprinkle burger patties with about 1 teaspoon salt. 
    Three burger patties on a plate with salt sprinkled on them.
    Step 3 of how to make cowboy burgers.
    1. Heat up a skillet or deep sided pan, on medium heat and cook hamburger patties 6 minutes per side or to your preferred doneness (ensure you are cooking up to at least 160F, adhering to health and safety guidelines), then top with cheese and allow it to slightly melt. 
    Step 4 of building a cowboy burger with different toppings.
    1. Layer your burger:
      Bottom bun
      BBQ sauce
      Hamburger patty with cheese
      Bacon slices
      Onion rings
      Top bun (with more BBQ sauce if desired)
    A hamburger bun with a burger patty and cheese on it, topped with bacon, two onion rings, and another burger bun.

    📖 Substitutions & Variations

    If you need to make some changes to this cowboy burger recipe, we’ve got you covered. Here are our suggestions…

    • Bun – use gluten free buns instead of sesame buns to make this gluten free (be sure to double check your bbq sauce too if you are making this gluten free – often sauces can contain gluten)
    • Vegetarian – the beef patty can be replaced with a plant-based patty and the bacon can be omitted or replaced with vegan bacon to make this vegetarian
    • Want to get creative? Try adding some of the burger toppings listed below!
    Cowboy burger cut in half

    🥬 What Toppings Do You Put on a Burger?

    This cowboy burger is delicious with cheese, bacon, bbq sauce, and onion rings but you can definitely mix and match with your favorite burger toppings to create one that’s perfect for you.

    A few toppings we like on our burgers include:

    • sliced tomatoes
    • caramelized onions
    • lettuce
    • fried egg (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s pretty great)
    • pickles
    • pineapple rings (like on our Aloha Burger!)
    • sauerkraut
    • mushrooms (cooked or raw, both are great)
    Close up of cowboy burger

    ❄️ Storage

    Once you put these bbq cowboy burgers all together, they wouldn’t store very well (the buns would become soggy from the bbq sauce). If you do need to make them ahead, store all of the ingredients separately and combine them when you are ready to eat them. They will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days in airtight containers (although your onion rings will get a bit soggy if you store them).

    You could make the burger patties ahead of time and freeze them. When cooking from frozen, make sure the internal temperature gets to at least 165° F.

    💡 Expert Tips and FAQs

    What is a cowboy burger made of?

    A cowboy burger typically a beef patty topped with cheese, and then bbq sauce, bacon, and onion rings added on top.

    Why is it called a hamburger if there’s no ham in it?

    Whenever we make hamburgers, we think about this one (and it’s a good question, if you ask me). The reason we call them hamburgers is because they originated in Hamburg, Germany (just like frankfurters originated in Frankfurt, Germany)!

    Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

    🍔 Related Recipes

    If you enjoyed this cowboy burger, you’re definitely going to want to try our cheeseburger sliders recipe, Juicy Lucy burgers, and our donut burgers! No boring burgers here – these are both super fun and delicious takes on the classic cheeseburger, just like the cowboy burger. Or, mix things up a bit and give these cheeseburger subs a try for a fun twist!

    Recipe

    cowboy burger on bun

    The Greatest Cowboy Burgers

    Jessica Burgess
    Cowboy Burgers: When you think cowboy food, you think bbq and bacon and hearty food, and these cowboy burgers are no exception! Juicy beef patties are topped with cheese, bbq sauce, bacon, and onion rings to create a burger fit for a cowboy. 
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 12 minutes mins
    Total Time 32 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 3 servings
    Calories 962 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 pound medium ground beef
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 slices cheddar cheese
    • 3 sesame buns
    • ½ cup barbecue sauce or more
    • 6 slices bacon cooked and cut in half
    • 6 onion rings cooked

    Instructions
     

    • Make 3 equal hamburger patties out of the ground beef and place back in the fridge to get cold (about 20 minutes).
    • Take out and sprinkle burger patties with about 1 teaspoon salt. 
    • Heat up a skillet or deep sided pan, on medium heat and cook hamburger patties 6 minutes per side or to your preferred doneness (ensure you are cooking up to at least 160F, adhering to health and safety guidelines), then top with cheese and allow it to slightly melt. 
    • Layer your burger:
      Bottom bun
      BBQ sauce
      Hamburger patty with cheese
      Bacon slices
      Onion rings
      Top bun (with more BBQ sauce if desired)

    Notes

    How to Store Leftover Burgers
    Once you put these bbq cowboy burgers all together, they wouldn’t store very well (the buns would become soggy from the bbq sauce). If you do need to make them ahead, store all of the ingredients separately and combine them when you are ready to eat them. They will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days in airtight containers (although your onion rings will get a bit soggy if you store them).
    You could make the burger patties ahead of time and freeze them. When cooking from frozen, make sure the internal temperature gets to at least 165° F.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 962kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 69g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 189mg | Sodium: 1985mg | Potassium: 741mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 941IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 248mg | Iron: 5mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords burgers frying pan, burgers in a skillet, cheeseburgers, cowboy burger, hamburgers
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    1. Julia Lutsenko says

      August 30, 2022 at 8:43 am

      5 stars
      When you make something this delicious at home, who needs to go out?? So good!

      Reply
    2. Allyssa says

      August 30, 2022 at 7:19 am

      5 stars
      This is really easy to follow, loved this burger recipe! It’s really tasty and very flavorful! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!

      Reply
    3. Katie says

      August 29, 2022 at 10:00 pm

      5 stars
      This has lots of flavor and is easy to throw together. We love it!

      Reply

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