Grilled Burger Skewers {Mini Cheeseburgers on a Stick}

Name: Grilled Burger Skewers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef (80 or 85% lean); 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 4 slices thick-cut sandwich bread (cut into quarters); 4 slices cheddar or American cheese (cut into quarters (optional)); ½ cup cherry tomatoes or campari tomatoes (sliced); ½ cup pickle chips; 16 pieces of butter lettuce; 16 cocktail picks; ½ cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons ketchup; 1 tablespoon yellow mustard; 2 teaspoons finely chopped pickles (or pickle relish); 1 teaspoon white vinegar (or pickle juice); ½ teaspoon garlic powder; Salt and pepper (to taste)

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These Grilled Burger Skewers are mini burgers on a stick, and they are every bit as good as that sounds. Little beef patties go on the grill for a few minutes, get topped with melty cheese and homemade burger sauce, then stack up on a cocktail pick. Easy to make, easier to eat.

The Keys to Nailing This Recipe

Mini burgers on a stick? Genius. Why didn’t I think of this a long time ago? They do cook differently than full-size burgers though, and a couple of small things separate juicy little patties from dry, dense ones.

Handle the beef as little as possible. Overworking ground beef packs it tight, and at this size a dense patty has nowhere to hide.
Get them off the grill early. A one-ounce patty goes from juicy to dry in well under a minute, so stay close and pull them the moment they are done.
Put the sauce on the bread, not the patty. It keeps the base from going soft while the skewers sit out, which is exactly when everyone is grabbing them.

A burger skewer with tomato, pickles, and lettuce.

How to Make Grilled Burger Skewers

Since these burger bites are small, they cook super fast. On hot summer days, the less time spent standing by the grill the better, right? You still get to grill without missing out on all the backyard BBQ mingling.

The whole thing comes together in four moves: shape the patties, grill them, mix the sauce, and build. Have everything else ready before you fire it up.

Step 1: Shape and Season the Patties

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, around 400°F.

Shape the ground beef into small, thin patties about 3 inches across. One pound gives you about 16 patties. They will look too wide for the bread right now, and that is on purpose. Beef pulls in as it cooks, so a 3-inch raw patty comes off the grill just about the size of a quartered slice of bread.

Season both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Press a shallow dimple in the center: It keeps the patties from puffing up into little domes on the grill.

Seven burger patties on a white plate surrounded by ingredients over a rustic table.

Step 2: Grill the Patties

Place the patties on the hot grill rack and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.

Ground beef is done at 160°F, though at this size an instant-read thermometer is tough to use accurately. Go by the center instead: no pink, juices running clear.

Want cheese? Lay a quartered slice on each patty during the last minute of cooking so it has time to melt without sliding off.

✦ Leave them alone once they hit the grate: Moving small patties around tears them and costs you the crust.

✦ Use a grill basket if your grates are wide: Patties this small can slip through. A sheet of heavy-duty foil with a few holes poked in it works too.

Burger patties fresh off the grill on a white plate.

Step 3: Toast the Bread or Buns

While the grill is still hot, toast your base for 30-60 seconds per side until golden.

I use thick-cut sandwich bread cut into quarters, which gives you a sturdy square that holds up to the sauce and stays put on the pick.

Slider buns or Hawaiian rolls work too if you want something closer to a traditional mini burger, though they are softer, so keep the toast on the light side and build them right before serving. Whatever you use, thick and sturdy beats soft and squishy here.

✦ Toasting is not optional: It puts a barrier between the sauce and the bread, and it is the main thing standing between you and a soggy skewer.

Step 4: Mix the Burger Sauce

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.

Stir in the chopped pickles or relish, the vinegar, and the seasonings. Taste it and adjust with salt and pepper.

This is a scaled-down version of my Burger Sauce, so if you already have a batch in the fridge, use that and skip this step entirely.

Homemade burger sauce in a white dish with a spoon.

Step 5: Build the Skewers

Spread about a teaspoon of sauce on each piece of bread and set a patty on top. Layer in this order: lettuce, tomato, pickle chip.

The order matters more than it looks: Lettuce goes down first because it sits between the hot patty and the tomato, and it keeps the tomato’s moisture from running down into the bread.

Then stick a cocktail pick straight down through the middle of each one. Let’s be real, anything on a stick is always more fun to eat.

✦ Build them however you like them: Crispy bacon, a thin slice of red onion, jalapeño, or BBQ sauce in place of the burger sauce all work.

✦ Grill the patties a day ahead for a party. Assemble right before people show up. Built skewers do not hold well sitting around.

Grilled burger skewers on a black plate with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

What to Serve them with

Since these are already a grill recipe, the easiest move is to lean on sides that either come off the same grill or come out of the fridge cold and ready. Anything that holds up on a plate next to a handful of skewers is fair game.

Small in size but big on flavor, these mini cheeseburgers work as an easy appetizer or a fun main course, so plan accordingly. Figure 3 to 4 skewers per person if they’re part of a spread, or 5 to 6 if they’re the main event. One pound of beef makes about 16, so scale from there.

Close-up of grilled burger skewers on a white plate served with French fries.

Storage and Reheating

Storing: keep the patties separate from the bread and toppings so nothing gets soggy. In an airtight container in the refrigerator, they will hold for up to 3 days.

Make ahead: the patties and the sauce can both be made a full day in advance. Assemble the skewers within an hour of serving.

Reheating in the microwave: place the patties on a microwave-safe plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and heat for 1-2 minutes.

Reheating in the air fryer: 3-4 minutes at 375°F.

Reheating on the grill: a couple of minutes over medium heat until warmed through.

Can I make these without a grill?

Yes. A grill pan or a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat works well and gives you a better crust than the grill does, since the patties get full contact with the surface. Cook them the same amount of time per side. If you would rather use the air fryer, my Air Fryer Burgers covers that method in full.

Will the small patties fall through the grill grates?

They can, especially on a grill with wide-set grates. A grill basket is the easy fix. You can also lay down a sheet of heavy-duty foil, poke a few holes in it for airflow, and cook the patties right on top of that.

Does it matter which ground beef I use?

It does. Fattier beef makes a noticeably juicier mini patty, since there is not much mass to hold moisture at this size. I go with 80 or 85% lean. Anything leaner than 90% tends to come out dry no matter how carefully you cook it.

Can I use ground turkey or chicken instead?

You can, but season it a little more aggressively and expect to add a touch of oil to the mix. Leaner ground meats dry out fast at this patty size, so watch them closely and pull them as soon as they are cooked through.

How many skewers do I need for a party?

Figure 3 to 4 per person if you are serving them alongside other appetizers, and 5 to 6 if they are the main thing on the table. One pound of ground beef gets you about 16 skewers, so a 12-person party runs roughly 3 pounds.

What Else to Make While the Grill’s Hot

Recipe

Grilled Burger Skewer with lettuce, tomato and pickle on a plate.

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