Mini Bacon Cheeseburger Bites

OH! AH! YUM! That is the reaction to these delicious (and adorable) mini bacon cheeseburger bites. These take a little work up front but the payoff is worth it!

These mini bacon cheeseburger bites hit all the favorites; burger - check, bacon - check, small - check, on a stick - check, and SUPER CUTE - super check! Make extra because they will all be eaten. . . after everyone takes a picture!

Jump to:

• Base Ingredients
• Equipment We Used
• Size of Burgers
• How To Assemble
• Favorite Riffs
• Time Saver Tips
• Make Ahead Tips
• Saving Leftovers
• Other favorite small bites
• FAQ's
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

Equipment We Used

For Making Mini Burgers

Cookie Scoop. Cookie scoops can get SO confusing! Don’t stress over this. For these burgers, we like the 2 teaspoons (volume) size. It will yield around 30 mini patties. If using a 1 Tablespoon scoop increase the ground beef to 1 ⅓ pound for approximately 24 mini burgers. Go smaller or bigger as desired, just adjust the mini burger bun size and amount of meat accordingly. While a cookie scoop makes it so much faster to make your burgers, you can also make a square burger - pat the ground beef into a rectangle ¼ - ⅜ inch thick and cut into squares just a little bigger than the buns (the meat will shrink a little as it cooks).

Silpat. We use a Silpat nonstick silicone baking mat to line our sheet pans but parchment paper will also work. 

Squeeze Bottle. We like to add our chipotle mayo to a squeeze bottle, with a cap, for ease of adding to the buns and easy storage. No squeeze bottle? Use a small spoon or small knife to add the chipotle mayonnaise to each bun.

For Serving Mini Cheeseburgers

Picks. We do not recommend using colored toothpicks as the color can come off on the food. We like to use a reusable toothpick, but recognize if you are hosting a large party this may not be feasible. For large parties use a decorative toothpick when possible - like a bamboo knotted toothpick. These are found at most party stores, some grocery stores, or restaurant supply stores. Here are a few of our favorite pick sources.

• Wooden toothpicks - Least expensive and easy to get
• Knotted bamboo toothpicks - Inexpensive and easy to get at many locations
• Bamboo w/’pearl’ - Step up from basic pick and available at Amazon
• Metal cocktail pick - Most expensive option but reusable!

Platter. Use what you have; a plate, a serving platter, a tray, a cheese board. If you can refill the dish during your event, then space the mini burgers out so they are easy to pick up and look nice. This can be in rows, patterns, or random. If you are unable to refill during your event, select a platter that will hold them all either spaced or side by side. 

Size of Burgers

Remember, we are making a bite sized burger, but as with a larger burger, we want a nice balance of burger to bun. Since the burger will shrink a little while cooking, when formatting the burger patties, make them slightly larger than the bun. The goal is to end up with a cooked burger the same size as the bun.

Time Saver Tips

Don’t have time to make the mini burger buns (and none in the freezer)? Make larger slider size patties and use a mini ciabatta roll, dinner roll, or Hawaiian roll.

Burger Patties.

Square vs. Round. You can pat the hamburger into a large square patty and then cut into the size squares you want. This saves a little time from scooping each mini patty. NOTE: We don’t recommend baking them as one large patty as they don’t look as nice when you cut them after they are baked. 

Form patties ahead of time. Store unbaked patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to three days. Remove and bake per instructions. Store in the freezer, up to a month, thaw, bake, and assemble per instructions. The burger patties can also be baked up to three days in advance and stored (in an airtight container) in the fridge.

Chipotle Mayo.

Instead of making a chipotle mayo with chipotle peppers, just mix a little ground chipotle pepper and ground cayenne pepper with your mayo. We do recommend adding the lime juice if using dried spices to brighten up the mayo. Also add the spices in small amounts and taste as you go to make sure you get the flavor you want.

Buy a pre-made chipotle mayo. Most grocery stores carry a number of different brands. NOTE: We have not tested any of the different brands available, but have had good luck with Boar's Head condiment products. We recommend you taste the mayo before using and adjust the flavors if needed.

Make Ahead Tips

Bake the patties up to three days in advance.Store baked patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator and heat before assembling hamburger bites. Freeze the baked patties up to a month and refresh them in the oven. We prefer to bake them a few days before and reheat and eliminate the freezing step.

For Assembling Burgers

Have all the individual components ready to go, but don’t assemble the final mini bacon cheeseburger bites until ready to serve. 

• Make the mini burger buns in advance. Store in an airtight container on the counter up to 1 day or in the freezer (tightly wrapped) up to 1 month.
• Slice the buns earlier in the day and store in an airtight container. Refresh the buns in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 2-3 minutes if you like. Make sure they are stored flat so the tops and bottoms match up.
• Bake the burgers and bacon up to 3 days in advance, store in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat in a 350 degree oven until warm (3-5 minutes). NOTE: baked burger patties can be frozen up to a month, but we prefer to bake them a few days before and eliminate the freezing step.
• Slice the tomatoes up to a day in advance and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
• Make the chipotle mayo up to 2 weeks in advance and store in a capped squeeze bottle so it is ready to use.

Other favorite small bites

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📖 Recipe