This Five Guys Copycat Burger recipe tastes just like the real thing! Melted gooey cheese in between two beef patties on the famous soft sesame bun. The best news is it’s also peanut oil free!
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In my opinion there is no better burger than a Five Guys burger and this copycat recipe is about as close as you can get!
Although they serve amazing burgers, sadly, if you have a peanut allergy, Five Guys is a bit of a no go as they fry their chips in peanut oil. (It sucks right!) and although the burgers themselves are not cooked in the peanut oil, the risk of cross contamination is just too high for me, so this is where this delicious, juicy burger recipe was born!
You will roll the ground beef (mince) into balls, squash it down between two pieces of greaseproof paper to make hamburger patties, then fry off the burgers before sandwiching together with an American cheese slice into a lightly toasted bun packed full of your favourite toppings. Don’t forget to wrap in foil for that authentic Five Guys taste.
For a true Five Guys experience, make my Peanut Free Five Guys Cajun Fries to enjoy along side.
If you love making your own "fakeaways" as much as me, you may also want to try this Nando's Butterfly Chicken & Homemade Nando's Spicy Rice!
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❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe!
- This Five Guys copycat recipe tastes like the real thing!
- It is ready in just 10 minutes - quicker than you can get it delivered!
- So easy to make with a few simple store cupboard ingredients.
- Can be easily adapted to be gluten free or dairy free.
- No risk of cross contamination from peanut oil.
- It’s much cheaper than if you bought a burger at a Five Guys restaurant.
- Makes a great Friday night fakeaway!
🥘 Ingredients
- Beef Mince - Five guys don’t use any seasoning on their burgers. They use chuck mince and nothing else, so to get the flavour you need a good quality mince. I would recommend a steak mince with a high fat percentage (at least 10%) rather than just normal beef mince. It will make all the difference.
- Burger Buns - A sesame seed bun, preferably brioche is a must if you want the burger to be as authentic as possible.
- Cheese Slices - KRAFT American cheese slices are what is used in Five Guys, but any processed cheese slice will work if you can’t find the exact brand.
Optional
* Sauces - I have used the basic condiments, ketchup, mayo and American burger mustard. You will find other sauce and topping ideas further down.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How To Make This Recipe
Start by rolling the meat into equal sized balls. You will need two balls per person as each burger has two hamburger patties in it.
To smash the burgers you can use a hamburger press, but I prefer to do it by hand.
Grab yourself some greaseproof / parchment paper and cut into large squares. You will need two squares per person/burger.
Place a square of parchment paper on a chopping board, then place the meat ball on top of the paper. Put another square of paper on top of the ball of meat and press down with the palm of your hand and squash until the patties are around ½ cm thick.
You can also use the underside of a saucepan to push the patty down.
You won’t have a perfectly round burger, but the imperfect edges will crisp up a little and this is what gives that Five Guys taste.
Next, heat a large frying or griddle pan on a medium heat and when hot, slice the buns and toast in the hot pan on the cut sides of the buns for around 30 seconds until golden brown.
You don’t want them charred, just toasted enough to be able to hold the sauce and toppings. When done remove and set aside.
Turn up the hob to a medium-high heat (6-7 if you have a hob that goes up to 9) and place the burgers in the pan. Let them cook for 30 seconds or so then flip over with a spatula and press down on top of the burgers with the spatula. This is what the team members at Five Guys do.
Let them cook for a couple of minutes before flipping over again and cooking for another 1-2 minutes until well done. ( All Five Guys restaurant burgers are cooked to well done).
Whilst the burgers are cooking you can assemble your bun. For simplicity I have made a burger with very basic toppings, but in true Five Guys style you can add whatever you like!
The mayo is always put on the top bun. Use a knife to spread it to the edges. The ketchup and mustard is then squirted on the bottom bun.
Place one of the burger patties on the bottom bun, then top with two slices of the processed cheese, adding the next patty on top of the cheese, before putting on the top bun and giving the whole thing a good squish down with your hand.
Now you may think you are finished…but no! This next step will give you that real Five Guys experience!
Wrap the burger in tin foil, folding each corner of foil into the middle of the burger and wrapping tightly. This will soften the bun and melt the cheese just like it would in the restaurant. You can either leave it in the foil for a few minutes before eating to allow the cheese to melt or even better place in the oven (in the foil) for five minutes or so. (Just be careful when handling afterwards!)
💡 Tips & Tricks
- Don't skip the wrapping in foil! This is what gives the burger that Five Guys softness and allows the cheese to melt and gives you that gooey deliciousness!
- Use a meat thermometer to check the patties are fully cooked.
⚡ Substitutions
To Make It Dairy Free
Use dairy free cheese like these dairy free processed cheese slices from Violife.
To Make It Gluten Free
There are loads of great gluten free brioche buns around like these buns by Genius, but I have struggled to find any gluten free sesame seed topped buns, so let me know if you have seen them! To make your own gluten free sesame bun, egg wash the top of the shop bought bun, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in the oven at 180˚C for 5 minutes.
✔️ Variations
Toppings! - The best thing about Five Guys burgers is the huge range of toppings! The current choices when you go to a restaurant are lettuce, tomato slices, pickles, fresh or grilled onion slices, jalapeño peppers, green peppers, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mayo, mustard, HP Sauce, BBQ sauce, hot sauce & relish.
To make the famous grilled onions and mushrooms, simply chop and fry off in some melted butter and olive oil on a low/medium heat until soft.
🔪 Equipment
Greaseproof/parchment paper used to smash the burgers.
Large non stick frying pan.
Aluminium Foil to wrap the burgers in to give them that delicious softness.
Spatula - used to flip the patties.
🥡 Storage
These burgers are best eaten fresh as this is when they will be most tender and juicy. You can store the cooked burger patties in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days and re-heat in a frying pan or microwave until they are piping hot, but they will be drier than if eating them fresh.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
For the full Five Guys experience serve with these Peanut Free Five Guys Cajun Fries.
A side of dairy free coleslaw is also great with the burgers and fries
💬 Burger FAQ
You can smash the burgers and keep them between the pieces of parchment / greaseproof paper in the fridge uncooked for 24 hours before cooking them.
Generally burgers are not classed as a healthy food as they can be quite high in fat and calories. The good thing about a homemade burger is that you can control the fat and calories. If you use a mince that is low in fat (5%) you can reduce the calories enormously. Add lots of fresh toppings like lettuce and tomato and you will have a much healthier burger than a shop bought one.
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Five Guys Copycat Burger Recipe
Ingredients
Burgers
- 500 g steak mince at least 10% fat
- 4 brioche burger buns topped with sesame seed can be substituted for gluten free buns
- 8 slices American processed cheese slices can be substituted for dairy free cheese slices
Condiments
- tomato ketchup
- mayo
- American burger mustard
Instructions
- Roll the steak mince into 8 equal sized balls. You will need 2 balls per burger.
- Cut some greaseproof / parchment paper and cut into 8 large squares. You will need two squares per person/burger.
- Place a square of parchment paper on a chopping board, then place the meat ball on top of the paper. Put another square of paper on top of the ball of meat and press down with the palm of your hand and squash until the patty is around ½ cm thick. (You can also use the underside of a saucepan to push the patty down.)
- Repeat for each meat ball.
- Heat a large frying or griddle pan on a medium heat and when hot, slice the buns and toast in the hot pan, cut side down for around 30 seconds until golden brown. When done remove and set aside.
- Turn up the hob to a medium-high heat (6-7 if you have a hob that goes up to 9) and place the burgers in the pan. Let them cook for 30 seconds or so then flip over with a spatula and press down on top of the burgers with the spatula.
- Let the patty cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping over again and cooking for another 1-2 minutes until well done.
- To assemble the bun, spread mayo on the top bun and squirt the ketchup & mustard on the bottom bun.
- Place one of the burger patties on the bottom bun, then top with two slices of the processed cheese, adding the next patty on top of the cheese, before putting on the top bun and giving the whole thing a good squish down with your hand.
- Wrap the burger in tin foil, folding each corner of foil into the middle of the burger and wrapping tightly. This will soften the bun and melt the cheese just like it would in the restaurant. You can either leave it in the foil for a few minutes before eating to allow the cheese to melt or even better place in the oven at 180˚C (in the foil) for five minutes or so.
Notes
- Don't skip the wrapping in foil! This is what gives the burger that Five Guys softness and allows the cheese to melt and gives you that gooey deliciousness!
- Use a meat thermometer to check the patties are fully cooked.
Liz
Just like five guys!! Wow! Thank you so much!!
Lauren Woodger
Fab! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Rob Lowe
I entrusted my birthday dinner to this recipe (along with the Cajun fries), and it didn’t disappoint. The tip of wrapping them in foil and putting in over helped me get all 4 burgers ready at the same time but also added to the end result as the cheese was extra gooey!
I got mince from the butchers and next time I might ask them to mince some beef specifically with some extra fat as I think they may be even better.
Lauren Woodger
Thanks so much for the lovely comment! So glad you enjoyed it as your birthday dinner.
Yes, I agree, I find the higher fat % in the mince = a juicer burger 🙂
Ann-Marie Tobin
The burgers were absolutely delicious. Thank you for this recipe. Also made the cajun fries which were equally delicious. Will definitely be making them again. I made the Nando's spicy rice yesterday - again, delicious. Thank you x
Lauren Woodger
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, this has made my day 🙂
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, they are one of my favourites!
Stay tuned as there will be some more copycat recipes coming soon 🙂
Terry Johnson
I can't find the the seasoning on the meat I know how to cook a hamburger I'm 63 I just want to know what seasoning it is that you use in the meat. They do use one. I asked. He said it's a trade secret. He said it comes in a container with no ingredient listing.
Lauren Woodger
Hi,
In the UK the ingredients are listed as just "beef patty". I wonder if Five Guys in other parts of the world may differ? We may need some insider info!
Lauren
So easy and delicious!! Went down a treat. Will definitely be passing this recipe on x
Lauren
So glad you enjoyed them 🙂