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These are the BEST homemade hamburgers!! This cheesy Ranch Burger is complete with the most delicious secret sauce!
While we love a Classic Hamburger, this is the recipe we use most often for summer BBQ’s! If we’re trying to eat a little leaner, we’ll opt for our Turkey Burgers, but these ranch burgers are they way to go for big juicy flavor!
We love to Barbecue!
It’s a summertime favorite, and we love nothing more than the smell of steaks or burgers on the grill.
I think we’re especially more likely to get out and grill on holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Do you guys do the same thing?
If you’re hamburger fans like we are, then you’ll definitely want to try this ranch burger recipe (that comes with a special sauce too)! It’s really quite simple, but it’s far from ordinary!
This uncomplicated combination of cheddar cheese and ranch mix will make your burgers taste delicious!
How to Make Homemade Hamburgers
Once you realize how easy it is to make hamburger patties, you will never purchase pre-made patties ever again.
PATTIES. Put the raw ground beef in a bowl and mix in the ranch seasoning and cheddar cheese. Use your hands to form the ground beef into patties.
When forming your patties keep the thickness to about ¾ inches. Make a slight indentation with your thumb in the center to prevent the burger from bulging while they cook.
Note: Keep in mind that you can get at least 4 patties out of 1 lb of meat and that the patties will shrink a little bit when they cook.
GRILL. Grill the burgers to your liking. If you don’t have a grill, you can use other cooking methods (listed below).
SAUCE. While those patties are on the grill, mix all of the ingredients to make the secret sauce. A whisk works just fine for this.
Ways to cook a burger
Whichever cooking method you choose, be sure that your burger reaches an internal temperature of 160° F.
Outdoor grill. (Our favorite method) Add the burger to a preheated grill (375-400°F). Cook on a grill grate over high direct heat and watch for fire flair-ups.
- Medium-rare: Cook for 3 minutes flip and cook for 4 minutes more.
- Medium: Cook for 3 minutes flip and cook 5 minutes more.
- Medium well: Cook for 3 minutes flip and cook for 6 minutes more.
- Well done: Cook for 3 minutes flip and cook for 7 minutes more.
Pan fry. (Cast iron skillet works the best) Heat a little oil in the pan over high heat. When you put the burgers in, they should immediately sizzle. Cook until golden brown about 3-5 minutes on each side.
George Foreman Grill. Cook for 7-8 minutes.
Broil in an oven. Turn the broiler to HIGH. Evenly space the patties onto a broiler pan. Broil for 4-6 minutes on each side.
Oven bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake on an ungreased sheet for 8-10 on each side.
Recipe Tips
Tips for a juicy burger.
- Choose freshly ground meat when possible.
- Choosing ground beef with higher fat content, such as 80/20, will produce a juicy burger. Lean meats make a tough drier burger.
- Don’t over-mix the meat.
- Keep the meat mixture cold until you’re ready to cook. The fat in the burger will keep it from cooking out creating a flavorful and juicy burger. Keep in mind the more fat there is the more the burger will shrink.
Keep the patties from falling apart. There can be all sorts of reasons why a patty didn’t keep its shape. I’ve listed a few common ones here:
- When the meat gets warm the juices inside start to break it down. Keeping the meat cold will help it keep its shape.
- Don’t overwork the raw meat while seasoning and shaping it. Do not flip the patties too many times as they cook.
- Adding liquids to flavor the meat can cause it to become too wet to stick together.
- Adding too many chopped ingredients like onion or peppers can keep the meat from sticking together.
- Cooking them at a temperature that is too low can also cause them to fall apart. You want the burgers to form a nice crisp crust pretty quickly.
Serving Suggestions
Once your ranch burgers are done, serve them on buns with the secret sauce and your favorite burger toppings which might include:
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- A slice of cheese
- Pickles
- Onions
- Bacon
- Avocado
What to serve with hamburgers. There are SO many options, but you can find some great recipes in these collections:
Storing Info
Make ahead of time. Pre-make the patties and store them, uncooked, in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. Be sure to separate the patties with freezer paper. Thaw in the fridge.
STORE. Leftover Ranch Burger recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FREEZE them for up to 4 months.
Reheat in the microwave, on the stovetop, or bake/broil in the oven.
Recipe FAQ
Our top tips are to keep the meat cold, don’t overwork the meat when forming patties, and don’t flip too many times on the grill. Adding too many chopped ingredients like onion or peppers can also keep the meat from sticking together.
Make a slight indentation with your thumb in the center of each patty to prevent the burger from bulging while it cooks.
For more burgers and sandwiches, try:
Ranch Burger Recipe
Ingredients
For Burger Patty
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 package Hidden Valley ranch mix or 3 tablespoons
For Secret Sauce
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup relish
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Other Topping Ideas
- lettuce
- tomato
- onion slices
- pickles
- avocado
- bacon
Instructions
- Mix cheese and ranch into your hamburger meat and form into patties. Grill to your liking.
- Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well with a whisk.
- Top with this delicious sauce for a fantastic restaurant style burger.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My husband loved the change up from a regular grilled burger and the sauce was excellent!
The burgers were great, but I REALLY loved that secret sauce! We will be making often!
Our go-to for summer BBQs, these juicy ranch burgers are so good! The family loves them! They ask about the ‘secret sauce’ 😀
My ranch loving family went crazy for these!! I can’t believe how yummy they turned out. I will double the recipe next time to make more.
If you don’t like a bland burger like me this is a great recipe. This recipe is easy and your end product is a flavorful burger.
My family loves this recipe and I love that it’s so easy to put together. It’s in my meal rotation all year, not just summer!
I found your website looking for a ranch burger recipe. I don’t have any Hidden Valley packets but do have powdered ranch in a jar. Thank you so much for giving me a conversion to tbsp. I decided to check out some of your other links. I’ve come to the conclusion that I found a nice little jem here.
That secret sauce made an already great burger simply devine. My new favourite.
Great burger with the added “secret sauce”, it makes the burger come Alive with Flavor!!!
wonderful, wonderful, flavorful burger. should have made a dozen more. will do that memorial day for sure
Love this recipe soooo much!!!!!
Definitely a burger for my grandson Noah! His go to on everything including pizza is Ranch dressing.
A hamburger couldn’t be any better than this one!!!!
I love burgers but this recipe has turned up the flavor!! Putting flovors like ranch makes the burger so much better. Secret sauce is an added bonus.
The only way to have a good burger is right off the grill.
Thanks for sharing your burger sauce recipe
You’re welcome!!
Man oh man! This is making my mouth water! I’m in the mood for a fat & juicy burger. Off to the store I go to get my fixings! Can’t wait to try this!
These are easy peezy and really good!
Simply a knockout for any bbq get together!
A definite win win when you host a neighborhood cookout.
Delicious again and again. Forgot to rate the first time 😋
I have made this. Absolutely delicious 😋
These sound good! I can’t wait to try. I love that you can make the patties and freeze for a quick meal!
Yes, it’s a great make ahead meal!
This sounds like a great idea for our next family barbeque. I haven’t tried mixing in the flavor. We always try to do it wth toppings.
Found this just in time for a game-changing Mothers Day burger. It was so flavorful and juicy – the flavors really complimented each other. Everyone raved about each aspect and can’t wait to have these again! Thank you so much!!
I made this recipe for my family & they absolutely LOVED it!
I love my BBQ burgers and this one hits the spot! Super simple to make and really yummy to eat!
We tried the Ranch burger and now my family won’t eat burgers any other way!!! Big hit at our house 🙂
Don’t put that cheese in the patty. It just melts and sticks to the grill and catches on fire !!
Oh dear, I haven’t had that happen before. But, I suppose you could put the cheese on top if you have had trouble with it being in the patty.
The hamburger recipe with ranch is awesome and the secret sauce was perfect for my hubby. Thank you so very much for sharing the great recipe with me. Loved it. I am hoping to try a few more of your yummy looking recipes in the weeks to come. Thank you oh so much. Sincerely NJDJ
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed the ranch burgers. They are our favorite. Hope you enjoy some of the other recipes too!
It’s unfortunate that your emails- links have so many pop ups I can never see your entire post. I look for a recipe and have to FIGHT at least 5 pop ups and never can see entire recipe.
This has caused me to delete your emails.
Even just typing a note to you brought up another 5. Really frustrating. Thought you should know.
Thanks for the feedback.
Made them tonight in my cast iron pan. My hubby is quite picky. Lol. They were awesome! He loved them, and the sauce! Will definitely make these again!!!
So happy to hear that! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Oh, yummmm! These burgers turned out juicy and delish. Our new go-to summer BBQ recipe.
Our new favorite burgers!! Super juicy and delicious!
So glad you enjoyed them!!
I look forward to your delicious recipes. Can’t wait to try all of these.
Thank you so much!! That means a lot!
This sounds so delicious but am concerned about all the sodium, why is that so high? I have to be careful of my sodium intake…
Thank you, Bernadine
You could definitely substitute with some low-sodium ingredients to lower the sodium (ex: no salt added ketchup, reduced sodium relish, etc.) 🙂
How have I never thought to flavor a burger with ranch mix? I guess that’s why you have the recipe site and I don’t. Thanks for sharing all your delicious discoveries.
I love everything that you put into this burger! It was so juicy and full of flavor. I really will never buy pre-made patties again. Can’t wait to make these again all summer long!
The sauce takes these burgers to a whole new level!! It adds great flavor & was simple to make!
Thanks a lot for sharing this ranch burger recipe! It’s really helpful~
Summertime brings some of our most favorite food. Hamburgers….with a special sauce!
I love the sauce on these burgers!! They add so much flavor. I can’t imagine eating one without it!
Very delicious burger however they fell apart while cooking. Would appreciate tips on how to maintain the burger shape.
Glad you liked the taste. I am not sure about the falling apart issue. I haven’t had them do that on me. Maybe press a spatula down on the patty as it fry’s up. Is your heat high enough?
I Love this recipe site. I have made several.. I come here every time I need a GOOD , or different birthday .cookouts , holidays!! Theres not one food you can’t find here in a great exciting recipe!! Keep up the great yummy work!!
Awe, thank you so much for saying that!! I am glad you like what you try!
OBVIOUSLY, use gloves if you don’t want to use your bare HANds.
I just wanted to say how wonderful & easy your recipes are!!! Not to mention delicious! !! I love your site! As a mom of twins that are 2yrs old & picky eaters they also have loved your food as well…..yummy, yummy! We tried your ranch burgers tonight & they were amazing! !! Thank you so much for sharing these great recipes!
We made this tonight. It was a huge hit. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I wish I had one right now!
xox
This looks delicious! Pinned!
These hamburgers look simple enough for my skill level, and yet very delicious!
These all look so good!
My mouth is just watering!! Come to mama!