Smoky Barbecue Beer Burger with Caramelized Onions
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Imagine a Beer Burger smothered in caramelized onions, melted cheese, and your favorite barbecue sauce… my mouth is watering already!! This simple recipe comes together in just 30 minutes, so you can make it again and again all summer long.
Table of Contents
Beer Burger
The sounds of summer in the air had me whipping off my grill cover and dusting off my grill this weekend.
Chad has been talking about having a fine steakhouse burger all week. And when I say he’s been talking about it, I mean it!
Even last night — after my usual, “Goodnight, baby” — I heard, “So, what do you think about having burgers tomorrow…” Really??
Once menu requests sneak into your goodnights… It’s serious.
So, I started thinking and planning my next burger masterpiece. I have really been diggin’ cooking with beer lately, and it was clearly time to make a burger with beer next.
That and some smoky flavor create a fabulous base for this gourmet beer burger recipe. With barbecue sauce, cheese, and caramelized beer onions, it all comes together in just 30 minutes!
Don’t have a grill? Try my air fryer burger recipe instead. You’ll have dinner on the table even faster!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Ground Beef – 80/20 ground beef makes the absolute best hamburgers. Just enough fat to keep them flavorful and juicy, but not so much that they’re overly greasy.
- Beer – I love the flavor of dark beer in this recipe, especially when paired with the smoky BBQ sauce.
- Yellow Onion – The best option for caramelized onions, though a white onion will work too.
- Butter & Brown Sugar – Add these to the skillet with the onion slices to help them caramelize! The molasses in the brown sugar adds to the flavor.
- Garlic – Opt for freshly minced cloves to avoid a bitter taste, or swap with about a teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Smoked Paprika – Adds some smoky heat to the beer burger mixture. Replace with regular paprika if you’re sensitive to spicy foods.
- Ground Cumin – Warm and earthy, this adds some heat to the mix too without making it spicy.
- Montreal Steak Seasoning – One of my favorite spice blends for grilling, this contains coarse salt, red and black pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika.
Use the spicy version if you can get your hands on it — it’s got extra red pepper flakes! - Worcestershire Sauce – Adds umami flavor and enhances the taste of the beef. Substitute soy sauce or simply leave it out.
- Barbecue Sauce – I grabbed a bottle of KC Masterpiece Smoky Bourbon Barbecue Sauce when I first made this beer burger recipe, but it’s just as tasty with homemade.
I recommend my Jack Daniel’s Double Kick sauce or this Kansas City style one. - Cheddar Cheese – A classic! Swap with Pepper Jack to make your beer cheese burger more fiery, or try Colby or Provolone for something more mild.
Fresh slices will melt better than pre-sliced cheese. - Hamburger Buns – Choose thick, sturdy buns from the bakery section — they hold up much better under the weight of these beefy burgers.
I like to toast ours on the grill, and you can brush them with a little butter first if you’d like!
Tips and Tricks to Make Perfect Beer Burgers
- Mix and form the patties carefully.
Overmixing will lead to tough, dry patties, so combine the beef with the spices and beer just until blended.
Portion out the mixture first to ensure each patty is the same size and thickness, then shape and flatten so each one is a little bit bigger than the buns. They’ll shrink up when cooked.
- Indent the center to prevent the dreaded dome.
Press your thumb gently into the very center of each patty. Not too deep — just enough to make a shallow indent.
The middle rises when cooked, so by starting with an indent, the tops will be flat instead of domed. And that means your toppings won’t slide off!
- Don’t press on the patties as they cook.
All that does is squeeze out all the juiciness and make them dry! You’ll lose a lot of flavor too.
Start with the indent side facing up, then cook for about 3 minutes per side. The only time you need to touch them is to flip!
Prep Ahead
- Mix and form beer burger patties
- Caramelize onions
- Prep lettuce
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Outdoor or Countertop Grill
- Large Skillet – Wide enough to keep the onions in a single layer so they caramelize evenly.
- Mixing Bowl – I like to have a variety of sizes on hand, and this set has them all.
- Basting Brush – Useful for everything from greasing pans to brushing sauce over grilled food.
Serving Suggestions
We like to slather our hamburger buns with mayonnaise and top them with fresh lettuce.
There’s so much flavor in the beer burgers and caramelized onions that you don’t need much else in the way of toppings and spreads!
And what’s a smokehouse beer cheese burger without some smokehouse sides?
Choose from crispy hasselback potatoes or smoked baked potatoes, plus a big helping of creamed spinach and some freshly baked bread.
If you’re short on time, there’s always the classic side for burgers: French fries! I’ve got air fryer recipes for frozen or homemade.
Storing and Reheating Beer Cheese Burger
Keep beer burgers in a separate container from the other toppings. It’s fine if the cheese is melted on top. Store in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
The microwave tends to dry out hamburgers, so I like to warm the patties in one skillet and the onions in another. Place a lid over the top of the burger to help it warm evenly and re-melt the cheese.
Or, warm everything on a sheet pan in the oven — 7 to 10 minutes at 350°F should do it!
Beer Burger Recipe FAQ
Unlike steak, ground beef patties should be cooked straight from the refrigerator.
This helps them hold their shape and keep from becoming crumbly. It also allows for the best sear while keeping the center nice and juicy.
The mixture of fat in the ground beef and liquid (beer) can make the mixture a bit sticky.
Wet your hands under the faucet before forming the beer burger patties to keep them from sticking to your hands. This will also prevent over-handling and make shaping them go a bit faster.
Technically yes, but it won’t quite taste the same.
If alcohol is a concern, try a zero proof beer (like Guinness 0.0) to still infuse the burger with beer flavor.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Easy Gourmet Burger Recipes
Smoky Barbecue Beer Burger with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef, about 80% lean
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons spicy Montreal steak seasoning
- 12 ounce bottle dark beer, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- 6 ounces KC Masterpiece Smoky Bourbon Barbecue Sauce, or your favorite
- 6 hamburger buns
- 6 slices of cheddar cheese
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- lettuce
Instructions
- Warm a 10” skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, slice onion. Add butter and onion to skillet. Sprinkle with sugar. Stir to combine. Stir occasionally until onions start to brown, about 6 minutes.
- Preheat grill to high.
- While onions are cooking, combine beef, garlic, paprika, cumin, steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and 4 ounces of beer in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine. Portion beef mixture and form into patties slightly larger than your bun. Make a slight indentation in the center of the burger on one side to prevent it from doming up in the center. The indentation will rise as your burger cooks. Set aside.
- Pour remaining beer into skillet with onions. Stir to combine, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until beer evaporates.
- Brush burgers with olive oil and lightly sprinkle them with salt.
- Place burgers on grill with the indentation side facing up. Close lid and cook for 3 minutes. Flip, brush with barbecue sauce and grill for 3 minutes on the other side. Toast buns on grill.
- Assemble burger. Spread 1 tablespoon mayo on each bottom bun. Add lettuce, burger, cheese, caramelized onion and remaining barbecue sauce.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published March 2013, updated and republished May 2025
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Weโre Donna and Chad, the dream team behind The Slow Roasted Italian. Our focus is on taking complicated OUT of the kitchen. Life is busy enough, making meals should be fast and easy, to help make your life as simple as possible. Read More >>
You truly cant go wrong with this combination. It was an awesome burger with so much flavor!