This Is the Only Guide You'll Need for the Best Backyard Burgers Ever

A cookout just isn't a cookout without a burger. If you've been grilling forever, you probably have your technique down, but if you're new to the game it can be intimidating to cook with fire. No one wants a dry, shriveled burger, and cooking over coals or a flame isn't as straightforward as cooking on a stove.

The good news is that you can be the grillmaster your backyard cookout needs, even if you've never done it before. It's surprisingly easy to grill up a really great burger with just a few pointers, and believe it or not, grilled burgers are a perfect example of a dish where it's best to keep it simple. Read on to learn everything you need to know to make your best backyard burger.

Butter Burgers on a plate — The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Start With Our Perfect, Simple Grilled Burger Recipe

A grilled cheese burger topped with cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and onion — The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

There's nothing tricky about grilling a great burger. In fact, if we could distill all our advice into three words they would be, "don't overthink it." Whether you're using gas or charcoal and no matter what toppings you can't wait to pile on, the best grilled burger comes together in under 20 minutes.

We're here for your burger journey and in this recipe we answer all your burning questions about ground beef, how to portion, season, and shape your patties, and, most importantly, how to grill the juiciest burgers on the block.

Your Best Grilled Burger

Beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, pickles, and mayo on a sesame bun

If You're Feeling Extra

The recipe featured above is our recommendation for a perfect, classic backyard burger that can be easily customized. If you’ve already graduated from basic burger school and want to branch out, try these tasty twists.

Burgers Beyond the Basics

Shrimp Burgers

Desi Indian-Style Burger

Mushroom Swiss Burgers

Bratwurst Patty Burger — The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

Just Add Cheese

We love American cheese for its reliable meltability and mild flavor, but if the cheese is the main event for you, you might be disappointed in American cheese’s processed flavor. In that case, we recommend using a young cheese of any kind. Very aged cheeses (like an aged gouda) contain less moisture and do not melt as well as young cheeses.

Some of our favorites include pepper Jack, mild cheddar, and even fontina (an underrated melting cheese). And although it's not considered a melting cheese, a soft blue cheese like gorgonzola dolce or Fourme d'Ambert provides a welcome kick of flavor and tang on a burger. There are really no rules when it comes to your ideal cheeseburger. Have fun and follow your taste buds!

The Cheeses

Monterey Jack

Colby

Fontina

American Cheese — The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Sun's Out Buns Out

Part of the beauty of the backyard burger is its un-fussiness. Grab a package of ground beef, a bag of buns, and some cheese and you practically have all you need. But for those setting out to impress or just spend a pleasant day putzing around the kitchen, homemade buns are a surprisingly easy way to upgrade your cookout.

Bring On the Buns!

Brioche Buns

Potato Buns

Homemade Kaiser Rolls

Round pieces of dough on parchment paper — The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Bring On the Toppings

Burger toppings are where you can unleash your inner burger Bob Ross. Whether you’re a fan of a bacon burger in all its double meat glory or you can’t resist the siren song of sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese, there is practically no limit to the over-the-top toppings you can pile on your perfect burger.

Pile Them On

You Get a Grill, and You Get a Grill...

You can make a great burger on practically any grill, but let’s just say that some are more enjoyable to use than others. At your backyard cookout you should be leisurely flipping burgers and socializing, not trying to compensate for your grill’s flaws.

Maybe you're looking to buy a grill because you finally have a backyard, or maybe you're finally ready to replace your old not-so-reliable grill. Either way, we have thoughts and recommendations at the ready. The world of grills can be overwhelming, so we did the hard work for you. Whether you’re looking for gas or charcoal, big or small, spendy or budget-friendly, we’ve got you.

The Best Grills