How To Make a Diner-Style Patty Melt With Caramelized Onions

What is a patty melt and OMG how do you make one?

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Published on March 18, 2021

Today we're going old-school with a classic diner sandwich called a patty melt. A patty melt is cousin to a burger, but comes standard with a sweet and savory heap of caramelized onions and melty cheese over a ground beef patty, and is served skillet-grilled on rye bread instead of in a bun. Nicole McLaughlin, aka NicoleMcmom, shows you how to make a patty melt — from caramelizing the onions to building and grilling the sandwich to mouthwatering perfection.

Get the recipe for Diner-Style Patty Melt

close up side view of a patty melt with ground meat patty, melted swiss cheese, and caramelized onions on rye bread — Allrecipes

Tip: You'll want to give yourself plenty of time to make the caramelized onions before you assemble your patty melt, but it's well worth taking the time to let the natural sugars in the onions slowly turn a deep brown as they cook down into a soft, sweet/savory jammy tangle that loses all of the sharpness of raw onion and gains all of the golden glory of caramel.

You'll need:

Dutch oven or large skillet (for the caramelized onions)
Skillet or griddle (for the patty melts)

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (sounds like a lot, but they cook way down)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce (optional but recommended)

Patty Melt:

1 pound ground chuck
Salt
Black pepper
8 slices Swiss cheese
8 slices rye bread
8 teaspoons butter

Directions

Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes to an hour. Nicole prefers not to season the onions before caramelizing. After the onions are deeply caramelized, season with salt and pepper, and deglaze the pan with a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Set aside the onions.
Meanwhile, shape ground chuck into 4 oval patties (to mirror the shape of the bread). Season with salt and pepper. (You could use garlic salt, if you wish.)
Cook patties in a skillet over medium-high heat, flipping once, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Spread 1 teaspoon butter over each slice of bread on the outside (the side that will touch the skillet or griddle).
Add a slice of Swiss cheese to each slice of bread, top with a patty, top with caramelized onions, and top with more cheese.
Place the sandwich in a hot skillet or on a griddle — Nicole likes to use a cast iron skillet — and press it down as it sizzles. (You can use another heavy pan for the press.)

Note: The recipe broils the sandwiches, but Nicole prefers to toast the sandwiches on both sides in a hot skillet or on a griddle. And who can argue with the crunchy, toasty, melty results?