Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak
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Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak is a delicious down-home comfort food dish. Half-pound hamburger steak topped with a decadent garlic butter sauce! This is easy and delicious.

What You Will ❤️ About Hamburger Steak
- Under 30 Minutes! This is perfect for a busy weeknight meal because it is on the table in under 30 minutes.
- Perfect Copycat! That garlic butter sauce on top of the steak patty is the key to this recipe and I’ve got it!
- Family Favorite – Everything at Cracker Barrel is made like you had at Grandma’s house and this is a favorite menu item in our family.

Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak Recipe Ingredients
Simple ingredients elevate a regular hamburger to a hamburger steak with this recipe for a delicious main dish. You’ll definitely taste the garlic butter in this one!
- Beef Patty Ingredients:
- Ground beef or ground chuck – recommend 80/20
- Milk – any kind of milk from skim to whole will work
- Bread – any kind of bread will do or you could use 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- Worcestershire sauce – you can swap soy sauce here
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Garlic Butter Sauce Ingredients:
- Butter – salted is recommended but either is fine
- Minced garlic
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Recipe Variations for Old Country Store Hamburger Steak
You can add more flavor to this hamburger steak with simple toppings like their smothered gravy! Here are a few ideas:
- Onion Gravy – you can get this “smothered” at the restaurant if you like! You can make sautéed onions and a brown gravy. Sauté onions in butter then add flour and a little chicken or beef broth.
- Buns – it’s basically a big hamburger so serve it on a bun!
- Cheese – make a cheesy patty by adding a thick slice of Swiss or American cheese!
- Bacon – fry up some bacon and dice it up and serve on top.

How to make Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak
Making hamburgers inside can sometimes lead to a smoky kitchen – avoid that with this method of searing the burgers on the stove top and then into the oven to finish. Your thick patty will cook much more evenly!
- Preheat oven to 425º. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and onion powder.
- In a medium bowl, add milk. Tear bread pieces into small pieces and soak in milk for 1 minute. Using hands, stir bread into milk until it forms a paste.
- Scoop bread portion of mixture (discard excess milk) and add to meat mixture. With hands, mix all contents together. Form four large patties about 1.5” thick. Sprinkle both sides of burgers with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons softened butter and garlic and set aside. If butter is hard, put in microwave for 10-12 seconds.
- In a cast-iron pan or heavy-bottom skillet, over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp garlic butter. Once butter melts and skillet is hot, add hamburger steak patties. My skillet would only fit two patties. So I had to do them in two batches.
- Turn heat down to medium low and sear for 2 minutes on each side and then set on a prepared cookie sheet. If you want to keep the hamburger steak patties out of the grease – place a wire rack on the cookie sheet.
- Place cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes until hamburger steaks are cooked through.
- Split remaining garlic butter into four pats of butter. Remove hamburger steaks from the oven and top each patty with a pat of garlic butter. Then, place burgers back in oven for 5 min more.
- Open oven and test internal temperature of patties with an instant read thermometer. Steak patties should read 150º for medium doneness.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans for the homestyle Cracker Barrel experience!

Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Yes – it’s a half-pound hamburger steak patty topped with a garlic butter. You can also order it smothered with onion gravy. Once smothered – it’s very similar to a salisbury steak.
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can put uncooked or cooked patties in the freezer for up to three months. If patties are uncooked, thaw in refrigerator overnight and heat according to instructions provided. If cooked, thaw in fridge and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes or in the air fryer at 275º for 5-6 minutes.
Most copycat recipes for this dish have an egg in them – but if you look on the allergens for Cracker Barrel – there’s no egg. You still need a bit of a binder, so I made a simple panade. You just soak torn bread pieces in milk and tear them apart and mush them into a paste. Then pour into your beef mixture. It’s a great substitute if you have someone with an egg allergy that you can use in meatballs and meatloaf too.

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What to serve with Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak
Normally, this Hamburger Steak is served with mashed potatoes & vegetables – here are some delicious ideas you can make at home!
- Texas Roadhouse Green Beans
- Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
- Chili’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Air Fryer Potato Slices
- Ruby Slipper Buttermilk Biscuits
More Homestyle Copycat Recipes

Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground chuck
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 slice bread
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Garlic Butter Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and onion powder.2 lb ground chuck, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder
- In a medium bowl, add milk. Tear bread pieces into small pieces and soak in milk for 1 minute. Using hands, stir bread into milk until it forms a paste.1/3 cup milk, 1 slice bread
- Scoop bread portion of mixture (discard excess milk) and add to meat mixture. With hands, mix all contents together. Form four large patties about 1.5” thick. Sprinkle both sides of burgers with salt and pepper and set aside.1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- GARLIC BUTTER: In a small bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons softened butter and garlic and set aside. If butter is hard, put in microwave for 10-12 seconds.4 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp minced garlic
- In a cast-iron pan or heavy-bottom skillet, over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp garlic butter. Once butter melts and skillet is hot, add hamburger steak patties. My skillet would only fit two patties. So I had to do them in two batches.
- Turn heat down to medium low and sear for 2 minutes on each side and then set on a prepared cookie sheet. If you want to keep the hamburger steak patties out of the grease – place a wire rack on the cookie sheet.
- Place cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes until hamburger steaks are cooked through.
- Split remaining garlic butter into four pats of butter. Remove hamburger steaks from the oven and top each patty with a pat of garlic butter. Then, place burgers back in oven for 5 min more.
- Open oven and test internal temperature of patties with an instant read thermometer. Steak patties should read 150º for medium doneness.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans for the homestyle Cracker Barrel experience!
nice info