Maw-Maw’s hamburger surprise recipe has been in our family for generations. These stuffed burgers have melted cheese, onions, and BBQ sauce inside. The bacon is optional, but highly encouraged. These burgers will bring your cookout game to the next level!

Whole hamburger surprise with bacon wrapped around it and tomato, lettuce and bun next to a burger that has been cut in half showing the filling of cheese, onions, and BBQ sauce.

When I was growing up, we called Monday evenings “kids night.” My siblings and I got to pick the dinner.

When the weather was nice we also played yard games as a family. Hamburger Surprises were the most requested dinner for those fun kids nights.

They definitely were a family favorite. I enjoy making them for my “kids” and grandson too.

My cousin, Courtney, asked Carlee if she would share this recipe on her cooking blog. I’m guessing it has been years since she had them.

Ingredients including ground beef, onion, bacon, BBQ sauce, and cheese ready to be made into stuffed hamburgers.

Four thick ground beef hamburger patties, two with onion, cheese and BBQ sauce on top ready to be topped by the other two to make stuffed burgers.

They must have made such an impression on her that she would remember them. I’m glad she made the request.

I had been looking forward to sharing this family favorite recipe with everyone.

We kids would help Maw-Maw put the burgers together while Paw-Paw fired up the grill. He would often changed the letters up a bit and say he was going to (f)art the stire.

Maw-Maw says she just made these burgers up. Similar burgers have been popular recently, but I had never heard of anything similar until a few years ago.

Paw-Paw liked to add Lawry’s Seasoned Salt as he was grilling them.

Please consider starting up the charcoal grill for this. They are very worth the effort!

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I like a nice thick burger. At 1/2 pound of meat each they qualify as the perfect thickness.

You can eat 1/2 of one if that’s too big. My guess is you’ll enjoy it so much that you will want to eat the whole thing.

Two stuffed hamburger surprises wrapped in bacon, ready to be cooked.

Cooked hamburger surprise on bun with tomato and lettuce showing melted cheese and onion interior and crispy bacon wrap.

Sometimes we do show a little restraint and make a smaller burger patty and leave off the bacon wrapper. Either way the burgers are absolutely delicious!

Pops and I made these for our weekly family dinner and they were grilled to perfection. The meat was just right and the cheese was melted in the middle. Everyone enjoyed them.

Maw-Maw and I got to talking about these. She said she thinks mushrooms and Swiss cheese filling would be good. Sounds like the makings of another family dinner.

-MiMi

What are your favorite ways to jazz up a hamburger?

Half of a stuffed hamburger surprise with melted cheese and onion inside with bacon on the outside served on a bun with lettuce and tomato.

More Burger-ish Recipes to Try

If you are looking for a fun weeknight dinner that is similar to burgers, but easier… try my maid rites. They are so quick and delicious!

For a more Italian vibe, try making pizza burgers. They are a great easy weeknight meal that our whole family loves.

Or make some simple cola sloppy Joes for a flavorful almost burger experience. The homemade sauce is simple and they come together really quickly.

Close up of half of a hamburger surprise showing cheese and onion filling between thick layers of ground beef burger with bacon on the outside.

5 from 7 ratings

Maw-Maw’s Hamburger Surprise

Author: Carlee

Servings: Burger

These Hamburger Surprises have been enjoyed by at least 5 generations of our family. They are so delicious! Make them for your next BBQ for a special treat!

Prep: 10

Cook: 15

Total: 25

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Make two 1/4 pound hamburger patties.
½ pound ground beef
Top one patty with onion, BBQ sauce and cheese. Add second patty and pinch the edges together.
1 Tablespoon finely diced onion, 1 Tablespoon your favorite BBQ sauce, 1 slice cheddar cheese
Shape it into a bun sized circle. Wrap with bacon (optional but encouraged). Use a toothpick to hold in place.
1 strip bacon
Cook on medium hot grill. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Cook for about 8 minutes. Flip and grill for about 7 more minutes or until cooked to your liking
Seasoned Salt

Notes

We like using a block of cheese and stuffing the burger with a thin slice or two. You can also use shredded cheese. Just be careful not to overstuff your burger, otherwise it will be hard to seal the edges and keep everything inside.

These thick burgers also cook really well on a pellet grill.

You can also cook the burgers in a skillet in the house. Just cook over medium heat until you reach your desired doneness.

If a half pound burger is too big, you can make the patties thinner. They just need to be thick enough to keep the fillings inside.