Get the best grilling times for cooking burgers on the grill, right here. Today you’ll learn exactly how long to grill a burger on each side on a gas grill. Along with tips for adding cheese. Let’s go!
HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? I post easy BBQ menu recipes there @sipbitego.
Why this grilled burger recipe guide is so good…
- Recipe at bottom of post – learn exactly how to grill burgers.
- Simple seasonings and fast cooking times..
- Get juicy, thick burgers.
- Find out the best grill temperature for perfect burgers.
- See how long each side of the burger stays over direct heat on the grill grates.
- While this recipe is for ½ lb grilled burgers, you can divide the burger meat to make ¼ LB or ⅓ LB burger patties.
- New to grilling hamburgers? See my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
Beef burger grilling times for medium done temperature
How many minutes per side burgers take to grill will depend on the weight and size of the burgers.
So this is just a brief overview…
Plan for about ⅔ of the time to be on the first side, before flipping burgers over to grill the second side and adding cheese.
½ lb burger cook time
Plan to grill ½ pound burgers for 10-12 minutes for medium.
⅓ lb burger grill time
Plan for 8-10 minutes of grilling time for ⅓ pound burgers cooked medium.
¼ lb burger grilling time
Plan for 7-8 minutes of grill time for small burgers grilled to medium that are ¼ pound in size.
Always check that your burgers are cooked to your desired level of doneness. For medium burgers, of about 140 degrees F, here are the cook times that will give you a ballpark idea of how long it will take to grill them with high heat.
Always use an internal read thermometer to check the burger temp.
What’s the best size for grilling burgers?
In my opinion, most people like ½ pound burgers grilled to a perfect medium. This size burger is going to give you super plump, meaty burgers that are quite impressive to look at.
You can divide up the ground beef to make ¼ pound and ⅓ pound burgers that will be a bit flatter.
The recipe below uses 1 lb of beef to make two half pound burger patties of 8 oz each (half pound burgers).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this recipe for burgers on the grill.
Also see how to make smoked burgers.
For beef burgers
- Ground beef (wagyu or 80/20 ground chuck blend preferred)
- Salt and pepper
To grill burger buns
- Burger buns
- Olive oil
To add cheese to make grilled cheeseburgers
- Cheese (Swiss, American, cheddar, etc.)
How long to grill burgers and recipe overview
It takes about 10-12 minutes to grill burgers on a gas grill with melted cheese and grilled buns.
Quick look at recipe for how to grill burgers
- Form and season ½ lb burger beef patties, or buy them premade.
- Preheat the gas grill to high, about 500 degrees F.
- Grill burgers with the lid closed for 5 minutes.
- Rotate burgers 90 degrees (don’t flip yet) to make grill marks. Grill for another 2 minutes.
- Flip burgers and grill until your desired burger done temperature is reached, about 5-7 more minutes. You can top grilled burgers with cheese for 1 minute, moving them to indirect heat. Toast buns on grill if desired.
How to form patties for grilled burgers (substitute premade)
- Grilled burger seasoning – option A: Put the ground beef and seasonings in a large bowl with the salt and pepper, and season it all together before forming the patties. Then divide pound of ground beef in half to form two 8 oz grilled burger patties.
- Grilled burger seasoning – option B: Form the beef patties (without seasonings in them), then season top and bottom with salt and pepper.
- How to form grilled burger patties. Separate the burger meat into two 8-ounce patties. First, loosely form a ball with your hands. Then shape the ball into flatter discs, a little bit larger than the size of your burger buns. To prevent them from puffing up while grilling, push a hole about ⅓ of the way down the center of the burger patties with your thumb.
- Chill burgers in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to a couple of hours before grilling burgers.
STEP-BY-STEP How to grill burgers on a gas grill
- Preheat gas grill to high, about 500 degrees F.
- Prep grilled burger buns, if desired, at this time. Brush burger buns on the inside with olive oil and set aside.
- Remove the burgers from the fridge immediately before grilling them.
- Season burgers with salt and pepper on both sides, if you did not season the ground beef meat before. (though you can always sprinkle a little extra salt and pepper on the outside even if you did season the inside of the grilled burgers – you know, just for good, flavor-rich luck)
- Add burgers to grill, directly over the flame (aka direct heat source), once the grill reaches 500 degrees F. Close the grill lid and grill burgers on the first side for 5 minutes.
- Spin burgers 90 degrees on the grill. That’s right, don’t flip the grilled burgers yet, but to get beautiful grill marks, slide a spatula under each burger patty and rotate it 90 degrees. Grill burgers for an additional 2 minutes with the grill lid closed.
- Flip grilled burgers. (read this step carefully in advance) Flip and grill burgers on the second side, with the lid closed for an additional 3 minutes, or until the burgers are within 1-2 degrees of your desired grilled burger temperature. (use a thermometer to check temperature).
- Move burgers to indirect heat in the grill and add cheese at this time. To do this, move burgers to a top rack in the grill, or to an area where they receive indirect heat (not directly over a flame) to finish to desired temperature – WITH CHEESE ON TOP IF DESIRED. This will take about 1-2 minutes. (EXAMPLE: For the medium grilled burgers in the Sip Bite Go demonstration, the burgers were cooked on the second side, over direct flame, until they reached a temperature of 133 degrees F. Then they were transferred to a top rack, away from the flame, so they still cooked, but with indirect heat. Once moved to indirect heat, a piece of cheese was added to the burger to melt while cooking. The burgers were removed around 137 degrees F and came close to a medium temperature of 140 degrees F once rested.)
- Remove grilled burgers and rest for about 5-10 minutes on a cutting board.
- Grill burger buns while burger meats rests. Add buns to indirect heat, like the top rack of the grill, with olive oil-brushed insides facing down. Grill buns for about 1-3 minutes until grill marks appear to your desired level. I prefer to only grill the inside of the buns.
- Finish assembling burgers with your favorite burger toppings and enjoy.
Top grilled burgers with something tasty
Here are a few favorite grilled burger topping ideas:
FAQs
Exactly how long to grill burgers depends on how well you want them cooked. The burgers in the Sip Bite Go recipe demo were cooked to a perfect medium grilled burger temperature of almost 140 degrees F, as measured with an internal read thermometer. See the recipe details to learn what temperature to move burgers to indirect heat on the grill and when to add the cheese.
Kindof… Turkey burgers cook longer than beef burgers, so make sure to use an internal read thermometer (right in the center of the patties) and fully cook them before removing them from the grill.
Hamburger buns need a little prep, with a brush of olive oil on the inside. Pop th
em on the grill after the burgers are done cooking, over indirect heat (try a higher up grate). While burgers cool, the buns can toast for a couple of minutes. 
Gourmet burger recipes from Sip Bite Go to check out…
- Smoked burgers
- Viral taco smash burgers
- Breakfast burgers
- Onion smash burgers
- Philly cheesesteak smash burgers
- Blackstone burgers
- Burger sliders
- See how to make hamburger patties step by step
- GUIDE: how long to grill burgers
- Sous vide burgers
- Mayo seared sous vide burgers
- Sous vide lamb burgers
- Smoked bacon wrapped burgers
- Bacon wrapped burgers
- Cheeseburger pizza
- See more Blackstone griddle recipes
- Learn how to toast buns on griddle
- See the best burger recipes…
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about how long to grill a burger on each side for your next cookout.
Serve burgers with something tasty and easy to make like this smoked corn on the cob.
Also see these smoked bacon wrapped burgers…
So what to cook next?
Yummy Tri Tip roast is always flavorful and juicy.
It’s a simple steak recipe for beginners to master because it’s difficult to mess up! The recipe on Sip Bite go will help you make very tender steaks cooked medium, medium rare, or however you like ’em.
And if you’re into other cooking methods, you can also learn how to sous vide tri tip and smoke tri tip here, too.
Connect with me on Instagram @sipbitego.
Subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel on YouTube.
And browse more easy burger recipes to try in the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.
½ LB burger recipe with details on how long to grill burgers on a gas grill | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
For beef burgers
- 1 lbs ground beef wagyu / 80/20 blend preferred
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
To grill burger buns
- 2 burger buns
- 1 tsp olive oil
To add cheese to make grilled cheeseburgers
- 2 slices cheese Swiss, American, cheddar, etc.
Instructions
How to form patties for grilled burgers (or use premade)
- Grilled burger seasoning – option A: Put the ground beef and seasonings in a large bowl with the salt and pepper, and season it all together before forming the patties. Then divide pound of ground beef in half to form two 8 oz grilled burger patties.
- Grilled burger seasoning – option B: Form the beef patties (without seasonings in them), then season top and bottom with salt and pepper.
- How to form grilled burger patties. Separate the burger meat into two 8-ounce patties. First, loosely form a ball with your hands. Then shape the ball into flatter discs, a little bit larger than the size of your burger buns. To prevent them from puffing up while grilling, push a hole about ⅓ of the way down the center of the burger patties with your thumb.
- Chill burgers in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to a couple of hours before grilling burgers.
How to grill burgers on a gas grill in about 12 minutes (with cheese and grilled buns)
- Preheat gas grill to high, about 500 degrees F.
- Prep grilled burger buns, if desired, at this time. Brush burger buns on the inside with olive oil and set aside.
- Remove the burgers from the fridge immediately before grilling them.
- Season burgers with salt and pepper on both sides, if you did not season the ground beef meat before. (though you can always sprinkle a little extra salt and pepper on the outside even if you did season the inside of the grilled burgers – you know, just for good, flavor-rich luck)
- Add burgers to grill, directly over the flame (aka direct heat source), once the grill reaches 500 degrees F. Close the grill lid and grill burgers on the first side for 5 minutes.
- Spin burgers 90 degrees on the grill. That’s right, don’t flip the grilled burgers yet, but to get beautiful grill marks, slide a spatula under each burger patty and rotate it 90 degrees. Grill burgers for an additional 2 minutes with the grill lid closed.
- Flip grilled burgers. (read this step carefully in advance) Flip and grill burgers on the second side, with the lid closed for an additional 3 minutes, or until the burgers are within 1-2 degrees of your desired grilled burger temperature. (use a thermometer to check temperature).
- Move burgers to indirect heat in the grill and add cheese at this time. To do this, move burgers to a top rack in the grill, or to an area where they receive indirect heat (not directly over a flame) to finish to desired temperature – WITH CHEESE ON TOP IF DESIRED. This will take about 1-2 minutes. EXAMPLE: For the medium grilled burgers in the Sip Bite Go demonstration, the burgers were cooked on the second side, over direct flame, until they reached a temperature of 133 degrees F. Then they were transferred to a top rack, away from the flame, so they still cooked, but with indirect heat. Once moved to indirect heat, a piece of cheese was added to the burger to melt while cooking. The burgers were removed around 137 degrees F and came close to a medium temperature of 140 degrees F once rested.
- Remove grilled burgers and rest for about 5-10 minutes on a cutting board.
- Grill burger buns while burger meats rests. Add buns to indirect heat, like the top rack of the grill, with olive oil-brushed insides facing down. Grill buns for about 1-3 minutes until grill marks appear to your desired level. I prefer to only grill the inside of the buns.
- Finish assembling burgers with your favorite burger toppings and enjoy.
Leave a Reply