Patty Melt

5 from 2 votes

Simple Patty Melts are one of the greatest classic American diner foods known to mankind! Made with juicy ground beef patties, caramelized onions, and melted Swiss cheese between two slices of rye bread that have been grilled in butter to perfection, these iconic sandwiches are absolutely delicious!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Lunch, Sandwich

Cuisine: American

Keyword: patty melt, patty melt sandwich

Servings:

Calories: 717kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter divided
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1 pound ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
8 slices rye bread or your favorite sandwich bread
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
8 slices Swiss cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the caramelize and are a deep brown color. Keep an eye on them to not burn them, turn down the heat to medium low if needed. Transfer the onion to a plate and wipe the skillet clean.
Season the ground beef with salt and pepper and shape it into 4 patties that are roughly the size of your slices of bread.
Add the patties to the skillet, do it in batches if needed, and cook for 3 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Transfer the patties to a plate and set aside.
Wipe the skillet clean again and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter melts add 4 slices of bread and toast until golden brown. Remove 2 slices and flip the other two remaining slices.
Place a slice of cheese over each piece of bread in the skillet, then top each with a patty, some caramelized onions and another slice of cheese. Spread a tablespoon of mayo on the other two toasted bread, on the side that's untoasted, and place the mayo side over the sandwiches in the skillet.
Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the sandwiches for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping them halfway through until nicely toasted and the cheese is melted.
Remove the patty melts from the skillet and repeat with remaining ingredients.
Slice sandwiches in half and serve immediately with chips or french fries.

Video

Notes

Slowly cook the onions. You can not speed up the caramelization process. The onions must cook slowly at a lower heat to properly release their sugars and turn golden brown.
Clean the pan out. It’s important to wipe the pan out with a paper towel each time you cook a different ingredient. You do not want the residual oil or butter to burn in the pan.
Grill on medium-low. The assembled sandwiches must be grilled at a lower temperature. A higher temperature will just burn the bread before the cheese even melts.
Leftover already grilled patty melts will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition