This mouthwatering Classic Patty Melt combines perfectly grilled beef patties with sweet, melt-in-your-mouth caramelized onions, homemade Thousand Island dressing, and plenty of melted Swiss Cheese. The flavor is even better than the old diners and dives that your parents took you to.
As a kid, the patty melt was standard at the local diners Mom and Dad took us to. I remember the sweet smell of the onions and beef searing on the grill. This recipe will bring back all kinds of wonderful memories and good times. You are going to love every ounce of this sandwich.
You can prepare it with or without onions, but the true classic always comes with grilled onions. For even more fun diner nostalgia, serve with beer-battered onion rings, sweet potato fries, or chili cheese fries.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Mayonnaise: I love Duke’s mayo, but you can use your favorite.
- Pickle relish: I use sweet pickle relish in this recipe, but you can use dill pickle relish.
- Onion: Preferably a sweet yellow onion or a Vidalia onion
- Ground beef: Use ground beef with a bit of fat. Fat gives the patty flavor.
- Bread: Use bakery-quality sourdough bread, rye bread, or Texas toast
- Swiss Cheese: Thick slices of baby Swiss are the best, but it’s your sandwich. If you don’t like Swiss Cheese, try provolone, cheddar, or American Cheese.
How to Make a Patty Melt
This is the summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Whisk the ingredients for the patty melt sauce.
- Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onions until golden brown.
- Mix the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper, then shape the mixture into patties.
- Cook the patties until browned and cooked through.
- Assemble the melts and grill the sandwiches until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown and toasted.
Preparation Tips for Success
- If you have a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, patty melts cook great in them.
- Stir the onions, but not too frequently. Every few minutes or so will do the trick, as you want the onions to soften and brown on the edges. The process can take 30-40 minutes.
- To save time, use your favorite bottled Thousand Island dressing.
- Preheat the pan before adding the hamburger patty and sear those juices in.
- The melts are best served right out of the pan or off the grill while the Cheese is melted, and the bread is warm, buttery, and toasty.
What to Serve with a Patty Melt
- Potatoes: fried potatoes, potatoes O’Brien, or air-fried potato wedges
- Slaw: creamy coleslaw or vinegar coleslaw
- Salad: Southern potato salad, dill pickle pasta salad, creamy pea salad, broccoli bacon salad.
More Ground Beef Recipes
- Hamburger Stew
- Frito Pie
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Hamburger Soup
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Cowboy Beans
Patty Melt Recipe
One of our favorite sandwich recipes brings back old-world diner charm with grilled onions, Swiss Cheese, and a homemade Thousand Island dressing.
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Servings: 4 sandwiches
Calories: 859kcal
Ingredients
Patty Melt Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon grated onion
- 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
Patty Melt
- 1 large onion cut in half and then sliced
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 8 slices rye bread or sourdough
- 8 thick slices Swiss cheese
- Butter
- Pickles optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, grated onion, pickle relish, and paprika.
- Place 2 tablespoons butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown, approximately 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Plate the onions and cover to keep warm. For more caramelization, cook longer.
- Mix the ground beef, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Divide into four equal portions and form patties. Preheat the skillet and cook over medium heat until golden brown and cooked through, flipping halfway through the cooking process.
- Spread a little more than 1 tablespoon of dressing on each slice of bread. Place a piece of Swiss Cheese on each slice of bread. Add browned onions and one beef patty to four of the slices. Top with the remaining slices to form four sandwiches.
- Butter the top of the bread, place it butter-side down in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook until golden brown. Butter the other side of the bread before flipping. Flip and brown the other side until golden brown and the cheese is melted. Cover the skillet with aluminum foil while it browns.
Video
Notes
The melts are best served right out of the pan or off the grill while the cheese is melted and the bread is warm, buttery, and toasty.
Nutrition
Calories: 859kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1442mg | Potassium: 549mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 136IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 8mg
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Linda
This was excellent! Thank you for sharing your recipe. We loved it.
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Linda!
Stacy Lane
This was so delicious!!!!! Best sandwich I have ever made.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Stacy! I am happy that you loved it!
Meyia
Amazing! All 5 of my kids loved their patty melts! Ages 19-3yo! Thanks 😉
Beth Pierce
Awesome. So glad to hear it! It can be difficult to please some kids.
Tweenselmom
This was soo yum! My kids would loved this classic patty melt 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe.
Rose Ann Sales
Wow! This was absolutely delicious! This is the best patty melt I have had in quite some time.
Bryan
Patty melts are one of my favorite sandwiches! Next to burgers, this is what I order most frequently when I dine out
Tonya
This is the best homemade thousand island I’ve ever eaten.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Tonya! So happy that you like it.
jill goebel
Yes it was the best.. My family of 6 loved it.. Best sauce ever!!!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Jill!
Grammasue
I make Patty Melts all the time (or.. rather… once every three months..) I love them. I have not made your homemade Thousand Island sauce yet but will next time.
Beth Pierce
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
So delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Kim Guzman
Tried this last night. Those onions were such a temptation. I snuck some of them before I had a chance to put the sandwich together. Of course, I tried with Swiss cheese first but I look forward to trying again with other cheeses to try different tastes. Thank you for the tasty recipe!