Spicy Jalapeño Cheeseburgers

Recipe from Kevin Rezvani and Jose Arnaud

Adapted by Eric Kim

Updated September 2, 2025

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
10 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(94)
Comments
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It takes years to become a master burger flipper, and it’s worth the practice for incredible smash burgers at home. This special recipe and technique, from 7th Street Burger in New York City, teaches you that the best burgers are griddled hot and fast on a flat surface. A large skillet works well for two burgers. A stainless steel pan gives you the best browned crust, but cast iron is good too. Restaurant chefs have meat presses to flatten the patty, but at home you can use any heavy pot or saucepan with a handle and flat bottom. The richness of the thin, flat and crispy patty is cut by fresh jalapeño slices that turn bright green from the heat of the burger. Use your favorite mayonnaise or secret sauce, or make your own. At 7th Street Burger, they add a ghost pepper hot sauce that pairs well with the fresh chiles. —Eric Kim

Featured in: I Can’t Get Enough of These Easy Cheeseburgers

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Ingredients

Yield:2 burgers

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 2 hamburger buns

  • 8 ounces ground beef (preferably 20 percent fat), loosely rolled into 2 even balls

  • ⅓ cup diced yellow onion

  • Salt and black pepper

  • 2 slices American cheese

  • Mayonnaise or Thousand Island dressing, for spreading

  • 4 dill pickle chips

  • 1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Ventilate your kitchen well by turning on the hood vent and leaving a nearby window or door open. Melt the butter in a large skillet over low. Split the buns open and, using your hands, move the bun halves around in the butter, cut sides down, to coat. Leave to toast until warmed through and golden brown, about 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, heat a large stainless-steel skillet over medium-high until very hot. To check the heat, flick water droplets into the skillet; the skillet is hot enough when the water instantly beads up and evaporates.

  3. Step 3

    Add the balls of beef to the skillet, spacing apart. Using the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan, smash the beef as thin as possible and leave the saucepan there for 10 seconds, then carefully lift the saucepan. Add half of the onion to the tops of the beef and the other half to the empty part of the skillet. Season the beef and onion with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned, 1 minute. Using a flat, thin-edged spatula, scrape up the edges of the patties and flip them, top with the cheese slices and cook until the beef is browned and the cheese is melted, another 1 minute. Stir the onion a little.

  4. Step 4

    Apply a little mayonnaise to both sides of the toasted buns. Add the pickle chips to the bottom buns. Transfer the burger patties to the bottom buns, then top with the remaining cooked onion and a layer of jalapeño slices. Sandwich the burgers and eat immediately.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
94 user ratings
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Comments

David Bertan

Two smashed patties (ground chuck 20% fat), American cheese, a dab of ketchup, a drop of mayo, and a squirt of yellow mustard, along with a thin tomato slice and a bread and butter pickle chip, all on a brioche roll. I make a third patty for Kona the dog, but she goes without the accoutrements.

Peter

So much attention to the burgers but none to the buns. A typical store burger bun is just Wonder bread in a different shape. Yuck. Get a decent bun for the best experience, such as the kimmelwick buns sold at Wegman's.

Paul F

Wait, what happens to the onions on top of the beef when you flip the patties?

Michael Letourneau

Seems odd that there are three recipe authors for a recipe that is basically a smash burger with a few slices of jalapeño on it. While the smash burger part of the recipe is good, the NYT has four smash burger recipes that are pretty much the same as this one, only with a few slices of jalapeño.

Becca

I made this for my nephew who loves Jalapenos. He rated it 9 of 10. His only request next time was to add a little catsup. Hawaiian buns worked perfect.

Emma BB

Really delicious. Cooked my jalapeño with the onion, still provided some heat. Big hit.

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Credits

Adapted from Kevin Rezvani and Jose Arnaud, 7th Street Burger

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