Growing up, we always loved Mama’s hamburger steak recipe with fried onions. There was nothing like coming home and smelling the onions bubbling in the pan with the generous hamburger steak patties and knowing we were in for a hearty and delicious supper.
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This hamburger steak recipe with no gravy is one of my favorite family-friendly weeknight dinners. Why? Well, it’s simple, budget-friendly, and uses the family favorite, ground beef. You know, in the age where we have entire networks devoted to nothing but food, we have surprisingly few TV peeps using ground beef. This is all good and well, of course, but sometimes I think the food channels have greatly overestimated our grocery budgets! So this is why I try to bring you ground beef recipes every so often because I know how much I rely on it in budget-friendly main courses. If you also want more options, check out these posts: 20 ground beef recipes and 30 family favorites that use ground beef. That’ll keep you busy!
Now, these hamburger steaks are prepped, cooked, and ready to eat in a little over 30 minutes. How good does that sound? Pair yours with some simple mashed potatoes, gravy, or a side dish like potato salad. The choice is yours!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground beef
- All-purpose flour (but self-rising will work just as well for this. Almond or coconut flour is an option too if you are gluten-free. Almond flour is especially good if you are watching your carbs).
- Beef broth (or water as a substitute)
- A sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
If you like, you can also season your ground beef with some seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, or whatever else you’re in the mood for.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Hamburger Steak Recipe
Shape your hamburger patties into doughnut shapes.
Help your hamburger steaks cook evenly with this technique
The reason we shape them into doughnut shapes (which you don’t have to do, of course) is that it helps the hamburger meat to cook more evenly and as they cook and shrink up that hole gets filled up anyway.
Take each meat patty and dip each side in the flour. Toss with flour to coat. The flour acts as a binder but also gives a crispier version of the burger when done.
Add those patties to a large skillet that is on medium heat.
NOTE: You may want to add a tablespoon or two of oil to the skillet and let it heat beforehand if you have a really low-fat ground beef (such as lean ground beef or ground chuck) or if your nonstick skillet isn’t quite as nonstick as it used to be.
Let those brown for a few minutes on each side.
Then add your sliced onion to the pan. Cook those until they start getting a bit soft and brown on the edges.
At this point, you can drain off and discard the grease if you like.
Now pour in your beef broth (or water). I’m only using about a cup here.
Cover and let cook for another ten minutes or so, until your ground beef patties are cooked completely through and no longer pink in the center.
When your hamburger steaks are done they’ll look something like this picture above.
Now, I like to scoop out my hamburger steaks and then get my onions out with a slotted spoon to serve.
Storage
- If you don’t eat all your hamburger steaks, go right ahead and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Then when you go to reheat, you can either warm them up in the microwave or even in a skillet on the stove. Just know that overheating can cause the burgers to dry out a bit.
- You can also store the hamburger steaks in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
Recipe FAQs
What is a hamburger steak?
A hamburger steak is a hamburger patty that gets dredged in flour and then pan-fried. You will find it creates a light crust on the burger, that I then pair with sauteed onions. This is such an easy and delicious main dish that’s great for any night of the week.
What is the difference between hamburger steak and Salisbury steak?
The two names are basically interchangeable as they’re both ground beef patties recipes. But traditionally easy Salisbury steak recipes will include something to bind the meat patty together, like bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. Homemade Salisbury steak recipes also typically include caramelized onions and mushroom or brown gravy, like the Cracker Barrel hamburger steak recipe.
If you’re wondering how to make Salisbury steak, check out my blog post. I also have a recipe for Salisbury steak meatballs in the slow cooker if that’s more your style.
Another similar ground beef patty recipe is my slow-cooked beef patties with ketchup gravy.
What is a Japanese hamburger steak?
Japanese hamburger steak (or Hambagu) is very similar to both hamburger steak and Salisbury steak. It includes ground beef patties served with fried onions and a sauce typically made from ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Traditionally, they’re served with rice.
What can I serve with these hamburger steaks?
Not sure what to serve with your hamburger steak patties? One of my favorite way to serve this hamburger steak recipe is over mashed potatoes with a brown gravy mix, mushroom gravy, onion gravy, and some steamed vegetables. Southern comfort food at its best! Other options include tossing in some sliced mushrooms with the onions or serving it alongside side dishes like egg noodles, coleslaw, and potato salad.
Another way to serve it is in a hamburger steak burger. Grab your favorite toasted bread or hamburger bun and add one hamburger steak, some fried onions, a slice of cheddar cheese, and the topping of your choice. I’d recommend burger slaw, coleslaw, or just some lettuce and tomato.
Can I make ground turkey burgers instead of ground beef?
Go right ahead and use ground turkey to make this Southern hamburger steak recipe instead of beef. You might need to add a little olive oil into the pan to help prevent the burgers from burning, as turkey is a lot leaner meat than beef. Other ground meat options if you prefer not to have ground beef steaks with gravy include ground chicken, ground pork, or a combination of beef and pork.
How do you make gluten-free hamburger steaks?
Simply use almond or coconut flour and you instantly have gluten-free hamburger steaks. Serve with a side of mashed potato, which is also gluten-free.
Looking for more easy ground beef recipes? Check out:
Stuffed Peppers With Ground Turkey or Beef
Uptown Beef Patties with Ketchup Gravy
Crock Pot Lasagna
Hamburger Steaks with Fried Onions
This hamburger steak recipe is the perfect budget-friendly weeknight dinner for the entire family and made even better with a serving of fried onions.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: steak
Servings: 4
Calories: 319kcal
Ingredients
- ground beef can use lean, ground chuck, etc
- 1 cup beef broth
- all-purpose flour
- Vidalia or other sweet onion sliced
Instructions
Heat one or two tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet. Press ground beef into doughnut-shaped patties (the hole in the center will allow it to cook more evenly and will fill in as they shrink during cooking). Dip each patty into flour on both sides and place in the hot skillet over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until browned.
ground beef, all-purpose flour
Scoot patties to one side and add onions to the skillet. Stir and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned.
Vidalia or other sweet onion
Pour in 1 cup beef broth and cover. Allow to cook until meat is no longer pink in the center, or about ten minutes.
1 cup beef broth
Nutrition
Calories: 319kcal
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