Classic Patty Melts

Classic patty melts feature perfectly seasoned ground beef patties, melted Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing all between griddled slices of rye bread. These retro sandwiches are a yummy alternative to burgers.

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I just love diner food.

One of my favorites is the patty melt.

You can never go wrong with any griddled, cheesy sandwich, but this one is so simple but so flavorful.

It’s an amazing choice for when you are feeling like a vintage dinner from a simpler, bygone era and you can really get the full retro diner experience serving it up with chips or fries and an ice cold coke or glass of sweet tea.

What is a patty melt?

A patty melt features a ground beef patty (hence the name) with melted cheese. Caramelized onions and thousand island dressing top the patty and the whole thing is pressed between two slices of griddled bread.

It’s kind of like a grilled cheese burger, but on crustier bread.

This sandwich feels vintage, and for good reason.

Though no one knows for sure when it came about, records of them being served in diners and eateries go back to the 1940s.

Ingredients

To make these melts you need:

• Butter– I use salted butter for extra flavor.
• Onion– A large, thinly sliced yellow onion.
• Patty ingredients– Lean ground beef, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce
• Swiss cheese– Go for thin slices.
• Thousand Island dressing– Your favorite brand. Be sure to save some extra for dipping!
• Rye bread– Not into Rye bread? Sub sourdough or Texas toast instead.

How to Make

Let’s break this into parts to make it easier. The parts are:

• Caramelizing the onions
• Making the patties
• Assembling the sandwiches

Caramelizing the onions

To cook the onions, start by melting some of the butter to a large skillet set over medium heat.

Add the onions to the skillet, tossing them in the butter to coat and then spread them out in an even layer.

Let the onions cook for 8-10 minutes.

Flip them over and continue cooking another 8-10 minutes, stirring the onions well.

Reduce the heat to medium low and cook another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the onions have caramelized.

Set them aside and transfer them to a bowl.

Wipe the skillet down with a paper towel.

Making the patties

Now it’s time to make the patties.

To do it, mix the ground beef, seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce together in a mixing bowl. 

Set the wiped down skillet over medium high heat and let it get nice and hot.

Then, divide the meat mixture into 4 roughly even balls.

Flatten each one out to form a patty that’s loosely the size and shape of your sliced bread.

Cook the flattened patties in the hot skillet for 4-5 minutes before flipping and continuing to cook to your preferences.

Carefully remove the hot patties from the skillet and transfer them to a waiting plate.

Set them aside.

Assemble the sandwiches

Now you can build your sandwiches.

Start by buttering the outsides of your bread and adding them to the skillet.

Working quickly, spread thousand island to the edges of the topside of the bread.

Then top the thousand island covered bread with a hamburger patty, 1/4 of the caramelized onions, and two slices of Swiss.

Close each sandwich by adding the other side of bread, buttered side up.

Cook until the bottom slice of bread is golden brown.

Using two spatulas, carefully hold the sandwiches together and flip them.

Continue cooking until the other side’s also golden brown, and the cheese has melted.

Press down gently on the tops to ‘glue’ them together before removing from the skillet.

Serve them warm with additional dressing on the side for dipping

Enjoy!

Storing leftovers

I don’t recommend storing leftovers of the assembled sandwich. They will get soggy in the fridge.

However, you can store leftover patties and grilled onions in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Just warm any leftover patties or onions before you make the melts so everything is nice and hot.

Tips and Tricks

• Press down the sandwiches gently to “glue” them together, but I don’t recommend using a panini press. The filling will leak out if you press the sandwiches too aggressively.
• I like using good quality rye or sourdough. However, you can absolutely use your favorite bread instead.
• Want a heartier filling? Add sliced mushrooms to the onion mixture, caramelizing them together.
• We’ve made this using Russian dressing, and even ranch dressing in a pinch- don’t have either? Our big mac recipe’s secret sauce is a perfect substitute!

Other Melt Sandwiches

These patty melts are a classic diner offering we love. Make them anytime and enjoy!

Looking for other melt sandwiches? Try these:

• Turkey Dijon Melt Sandwiches
• French Onion Meatball Sub Sandwiches
• Ground Beef Philly Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese
• Chicken Cordon Bleu Paninis

If you’ve tried these PATTY MELT SANDWICHES, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

recipe adapted from Love Bakes Good Cakes

This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.