A good, classic patty melt has a crispy crunchy bread, melted cheese, a thin beef patty, and salty and slightly sweet onions. It’s a perfect flavor and texture combo! It’s a hearty sandwich, for sure, and is pure comfort food in my opinion. It’s one of those sandwiches that I don’t really consider making at home very often, but then when I do make it I ask myself why I don’t make it more often?! It’s just absolutely delicious and the perfect mix of a grilled cheese and a good burger.
What Is a Patty Melt?
In its most basic form, a patty melt is a thin beef patty cooked between two pieces of toasted bread with cheese and onions. I suppose the onions are optional, but I consider them pretty important to a true patty melt experience.
What Makes a Good Patty Melt?
You might think it’s the beef patty that makes a good patty melt. It’s important, for sure—otherwise, you’d just have a grilled cheese. But it’s the caramelized onions that make a patty melt special. To make caramelized onions, you have to cook them slowly until the sugars breakdown causing the onions to brown and the sweetness to intensify. I like to add a splash of apple cider vinegar to my onions to help brighten the flavor. This deep onion sweetness gives a patty melt a crave-worthy complex flavor. Without them, you would basically have a cheeseburger on toast but the onions add a delicious sweet and tangy layer. If you make extra caramelized onions you can freeze the cooked onions in ice cube trays and save them for another day. This way the next time a patty melt craving strikes, you will already have the caramelized onions ready saving you valuable time.
How to Make a Patty Melt
For a simple sandwich, the cook time might seem like a long time, but it’s worth it! You cook a patty melt in three phases. First, the onions. As I said, they take some time—25 minutes on the low end, but it might take longer, and you could definitely cook them down more. After the onions are cooked, you make and cook the patties. This goes pretty quickly because the patties are very thin. If you wanted to speed up the cooking process (and dirty an extra skillet) you can absolutely cook the patties while the onions are caramelizing. Finally, you sandwich everything together and grill the sandwich in the skillet!
What Is the Best Bread for a Patty Melt?
Personally, I like simple sandwich bread for my patty melts. Nothing fancy! I just use standard white or wheat sandwich bread and the results are wonderful. Don’t overthink it!
Swaps, Substitutions, and Suggestions
You can go crazy with substitutions here. Personally, I’d keep the onions no matter what, but you could add vegetables like mushrooms or peppers. You can also change up the cheese to your liking, although swiss or provolone is pretty standard, and it’s hard to go wrong with them. My only suggestion for this sandwich is to take your time. Don’t make it if you are rushed for a meal. It’s a relaxed sandwich for when you have the time to make a good comfort food meal.
What to Serve With a Patty Melt?
A beer. No, but seriously, it’s really good with a cold beer! Other than the beer, I like to serve it with bright, acidic or vinegar-based side dishes since it’s such a rich sandwich. Try pickles, pickled vegetables, Greek salad, green bean salad, or maybe an olive salad.
More Great Ground Beef Recipes!
Best Ever Sloppy Joes Chipotle Burger Instant Pot Beef Chili Beef Noodle Casserole Hamburger and Macaroni
Near the end of cooking (about 5 minutes), add apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Then remove from the skillet. When onions are done in your skillet, set the heat to medium-high and add the patties. Cook for 3 minutes per side. If your patties are thin, that should be enough time to cook them through. Remove patties when done.
