I love serving hearty comfort food in a cast iron skillet. It just adds to the feeling of welcome home.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- This Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak Recipe is an easy meal that's perfect for busy weeknights.
- The best part? It's a perfect dupe for the popular Cracker Barrel Old Country Store dish, so you can enjoy all the flavor without leaving home!
- Tender beef patties are slow simmered in a rich, brown gravy. It's pure comfort food!
I love copycat Cracker Barrel recipes. They fit right in with my idea of a hearty, old fashioned dinner. There aren't any fancy-pants ingredients, complex techniques, or long preparation times.
And that's a win in my book!
I like these hamburger steaks with a side of red skin mashed potatoes. Or, check out these ideas for what to serve with cabbage rolls - they'll work here, too.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
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- lean ground beef
- eggs
- worcestershire sauce
- breadcrumbs
- milk
- seasoned salt
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- onion
- butter
- all-purpose flour
- beef broth
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the beef patty ingredients.
- Form into 6 patties about the side of your hand.
- Sear in a hot skillet.
- Flip and sear the other side then remove from the pan.
- Add the onions to the skillet and saute until they begin to brown. Add the butter.
- When the butter is melted stir in the flour and whisk for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the beef stock and simmer until it thickens.
- Add the patties back to the gravy, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
🥄 Equipment
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🥫 Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warm or in the microwave for one to two minutes at a time.
📖 Variations
- Instead of topping this easy hamburger steak recipe with onion gravy, you can also top it with garlic butter that has a dash of soy sauce in it.
- If you want a bit of crunch in your burger steak, try adding some chopped up bacon to the mixture.
- For a little bit of heat, try adding some cayenne pepper to the beef mixture.
- Add some sautéed mushrooms to the gravy for an extra umami flavor.
- You can also add salt and black pepper to your ground beef mixture if you prefer.
- Cooked bell pepper can give a delicious flavor to your gravy.
- Add some shredded cheddar cheese to your ground beef mixture for a cheesy patty.
- One of the ways I love this dish is to cut a thick slice of Amish white bread and lay one of the hamburger steaks on top, then spoon over a ton of the gravy. SO good! Try it!
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: If your burger steak mixture is a little bit too wet, add in some more bread crumbs until it has a consistency that you're happy with.
- The internal temperature should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit when you take them off the heat.
- I used plain breadcrumbs but you can also use seasoned if that is what you have on hand.
- Remember when you are browning your patties, that the goal is just to get them brown on both sides, you are not cooking them all the way through.
- If you want to make this dish ahead of time, brown your patties but wait until you are ready to serve before making the gravy.
It's not traditional but I love to serve cheesy jalapeno cheese grits as a great side dish with this meal.
👩🍳 FAQs
A hamburger steak is a patty that is usually made of ground beef, breadcrumbs, and eggs that are browned and then simmered in gravy. It's similar to meatloaf but not baked.
The difference between Salisbury steak and hamburger steak is that Salisbury steak is usually made with ground beef, breadcrumbs, and onion while hamburger steak typically does not have onion inside it.
No, chopped steak is not the same as hamburger steak. Chopped steak is usually a tougher cut of meat that has been chopped up into small pieces. Hamburger steak is typically made with ground beef.
I like to use a lean ground beef, but you can any type of ground beef that you have on hand. I do find that fresh ground beef holds the patty shape best, instead of using previously frozen beef.
📚 Related recipes
- If you want a simple comfort food recipe that only requires 10 minutes of prep, then look no further than this Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak recipe.
- This Buttermilk Cornbread is one of my favorite southern side dish recipes.
- Chicken Fried Steak is a family favorite recipe that is full of southern comfort food flavor.
- Keep a batch of this easy Italian beef in the freezer for quick and easy sandwiches.
🍽️ Serve with...
Serve this simple meal with any of the recipes below... or go all out and make ALL of them.
- You can't have hamburger steak without creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes, if you ask me.
- Unless you want to change it up with these southwestern style Whipped Sweet Potatoes.
- Southern Style Green Beans are one of my favorite "must have" recipes when it comes to making country-style food.
- Maple Roasted Carrots are a perfect sweet and healthy side dish for a hearty dinner.
- Cloverleaf Rolls are one of my favorite recipes for homemade rolls. These buttermilk biscuits will work, too!
- Double Chocolate Coca Cola Cake is a rich and moist cake that pairs perfectly with this delicious main dish.
These ideas for what to serve with salisbury steak are also perfect with hamburger steaks, too!
📞 The last word
Y'all, there's a special place in my heart for Cracker Barrel recipes like this and their luscious buttermilk pie - not so much standing in line waiting on a table.
Their recipes are so similar to the comfort foods I grew up on that sometimes I just have to indulge. I hope you enjoy this one!
If you're looking for a fast meal try this easy egg bites recipe!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hamburger Steaks with Onion Gravy
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
Hamburger Steaks
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Onion Gravy
- 1 onion, sliced
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
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Instructions
Hamburger Steaks
- Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well to combine. Mixing with your hands works best here.
- Form mixture into 6 patties.
- Spray a heavy skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Brown each patty on a medium high heat setting for 3 mins per side.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
Onion Gravy
- Add the onions to the same pan. Add a little extra oil if necessary.
- Sauté until onions start to brown
- Add butter and let it melt.
- Once the butter melts, whisk in the flour until it’s no longer visible.
- Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the beef broth until no flour lumps remain.
- Bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Add the beef patties back into the gravy.
- Set heat to medium-low, cover, and allow it to simmer for 20-30 minutes or until patties are 160 in the center.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Notes
- The internal temperature should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit when you take them off the heat.
- I used plain breadcrumbs but you can also use seasoned if that is what you have on hand.
- Remember when you are browning your patties, that the goal is just to get them brown on both sides, you are not cooking them all the way through.
- If you want to make this dish ahead of time, brown your patties but wait until you are ready to serve before making the gravy.
Michelle F.
My husband and I loved this! The onion gravy was so flavorful and comforting. Great dinner!
Anne
This was great! Fast and easy even though I had to use green peppers and red onions since these were the only onion I had on hand still came out great. Thanks
Alicia
My husband really enjoyed this recipe, not one change is necessary. I loved your directions. They are clear and easy to follow. This will become a part of our monthly rotation!! Thanks for sharing.
Marilyn Zimmerman
2/5/23
Just finished eating our dinner. This recipe was easy to make and it was delicious.
jane
I love this recipe! Thank you!
I also sautee sliced fresh sliced mushrooms and when they have released their liquid, I put a splash or two of white wine, such as Chardonnay in with he heat raised to high until liquid is akmost gone. YUMMERS!!! Added to onion gravy.
Marye
What a great idea, Jane!
mommaGray
By far my favorite!
I tweaked it using unsalted sweet cream butter, mined garlic and a sweet Vidalia onion per my taste.
Kayla
Turned out excellent!!! I'm cooking it again tonight! Thanks for the great recipes!
Jessica Jones
I’m not a big ground beef person and mainly was making this for my husband. OMG it was SO GOOD!! We are adding this recipe in to our winter cozy meals!
Denise Snead
I tried this Hamburger Steak it was so good . We loved the flavor . Thanks
Betty
I had a hamburger steak at cracker barrel about a month ago and it was the worst hamburger steak I have ever had. In fact, it made me sick that night.
Betty