Burgers are a summer staple in our house – they’re so easy and versatile that they make an appearance at least once a week on our dinner plans. But, there are always those nights when it’s so humid and sticky and gross that standing over the grill sounds like the worst idea ever. And when it’s like that outside, who really wants to turn on the stove and heat up inside?
These are the perfect burgers for nights like that.
The slow cooker won’t heat up the house, but you can still get a really great burger out of it. The trick? Making sure the patties aren’t sitting in their own grease. I roll up foil and make a mini grill-grate on the bottom of my slow cooker to boost them up just enough.
Then, I just lay my burger patties on top. I can fit four quarter-pound burgers in my four-quart slow cooker. If you want to cook more, just make a second layer of foil and stack them up.
You can use this method for any burgers you like. My favorite are a bacon cheeseburger variety – with the bacon mixed into the meat and the cheese buried inside. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1.5 oz. real bacon bits - about 1/4 cup
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 oz block of cheddar cut into 4 pieces
- Buns for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, bacon bits, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Divide mixture into four equal parts.
- Shape each section into two equal sized patties. Sandwich a cube of cheddar between them and press together to seal. Repeat until you have four cheddar-stuffed patties.
- Lay the burgers on foil grates in your slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours, checking for doneness in half-hour increments after 2 hours - mine are perfectly cooked in 3 hours, but depending on the size of your slow cooker, this may vary.
Kate is a home cook living and working in New Jersey. In addition to sharing recipes with Eat at Home readers, she blogs her cooking adventures at Kate’s Recipe Box. When she’s not in the kitchen, you can find her reading or tending to her garden.
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Katie B. says
Have you ever stacked more than one layer? WOuldn’t the grease from the top make the bottom layer more greasy?
Christy says
Does it matter what percent fat your meat is, Ex: 80-20 or 93-7?
Anonymous says
I would recommend 93% or 86% at the least. Even with 86% they would tend to be a little greasy. The leaner the better. 90% of the time we use 93% in our home. Better for us.
Tiffany says
I agree with this. For the grill, I”ve noticed that the leaner beef isn’t quite as good, but in the slow cooker leaner is better.
Kellee says
What a great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!
Karen says
Great idea! Can’t wait to try these.
TheBarNone says
We used to call these bacon Jucy Lucys back in Minnesota.
Stephaniedem says
Hi ! on your “6 ingredient” crockpot burgers have you ever stacked them? It says you can stack them, so I was wondering if you had success with that. I have 5 people and 3 are hungry boys. I need to make about double.
Thank you,
Stephanie
Rain says
You can stack them with very lean meat. Bison works great. I actually got an old grate, cut it to size and use it in my Crock-Pot. I too have 3 very hungry boys plus a husband.
Dagny Regan says
Can you mix the cheese right in to the meat first?
Tiffany says
You could do it that way.
Peggy says
This it safe to put foil in crock pot I just got a new don’t want break it
Beth Moore says
Peggy – we’ve never had a problem with it and have no reason to believe that it wouldn’t be safe!
Niki says
Great idea! I have to try, thank you
Theresa says
Do you roll the foil into balls or some other way? They sound yummy!!
Beth Moore says
Rolling the foil into strips and placing them side by side an inch or 2 apart in the bottom of your slow cooker should work perfectly for this one, Theresa. There should be a picture with the general idea near the top of this post. And we would love to hear what you think of these burgers! 🙂
Justin Rosenthal says
Do I need to flip the burgers at all like on a grill?
Tiffany says
There’s no need to flip them if they’re in the slow cooker – they should cook more evenly than on a grill 🙂