Hamburger Steaks Smothered in Gravy
When I think of a weeknight meal, Hamburger Steaks with Gravy comes to mind almost instantly. It’s Southern comfort at its finest. Simple, savory, flavorful, juicy, melt in your mouth, all beef patties seasoned and smothered in a thick rich homemade brown gravy with onions.
When I was a child, my mom hailing from the South never made things like Swiss Steak or Salisbury Steak, she made big, tender, juicy, hamburger patties and cooked them in a hearty brown gravy packed with onions. The end results were truly amazing. A simple dinner that made you want to come back for seconds every time.
I don’t know about you but I love a good hearty comfort food that made from scratch but simple as pie. How can you go wrong with making a batch of Hamburger Steaks that are smothered in rich brown gravy? The onions really make the Hamburger Steaks pop with flavor too.
You can omit the onions in the gravy, if you like, just add some onion powder if you have little ones that don’t like onions, I actually used to just leave the onion in for the flavor and dig out them out of the kid’s portion before serving. More for me! Ha Ha! You do what’s best for you though mama.
Look at those nice juicy Hamburger Steaks smothered in that wonderful gravy, don’t they look amazing? That’s real food folks, Homemade delicious Classic Southern Food. It’s perfect for a weeknight meal, and actually even tastes better the next day when reheated.
Let’s talk about serving suggestions for your Hamburger Steaks Smothered in Gravy, as you can see from above I made white rice and peas to go along with our dinner tonight. However, these Hamburger Steaks are great served with mashed potatoes or even wide egg noodles with the gravy. Any side dish such as broccoli, asparagus, and green beans, are also great additions to your Hamburger steaks.
My final thoughts before we get to the much-anticipated recipe, I know there is one person out there asking themselves, ” Isn’t Hamburger Steaks just another name for Salisbury Steaks?” Absolutely not my friend, they are somewhat similar but nope, nadda, no! Feel free to check out my Homemade Salisbury Steak recipe and compare the subtle differences for yourself between Hamburger Steaks Smothered in Gravy and Homemade Salisbury Steaks.

Ingredient List For Hamburger Steaks:
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Onion powder
  • Kosher salt, to season meat
  • Freshly Ground Black Peppercorns, to season meat
  • 1 large white onion, sliced into strips
  • Remaining drippings from hamburger or 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce +more
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Hamburger Steaks Smothered in Gravy
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 50 mins

Southern comfort at its finest. Simple, savory, flavorful, juicy, melt in your mouth, all beef patties seasoned and smothered in a thick rich homemade brown gravy with onions.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Gravy, Hamburger, Steak
Servings: 6 People
Author: hmccallum

Ingredients
Hamburger Steaks
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef reserve pan drippings
  • 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Onion powder
  • Kosher salt to own taste
  • Freshly ground black peppercorns to own taste
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil for cast iron skillet
Brown Gravy with Onions
  • 3 tablespoons Reserved Pan drippings or butter
  • 1 large Yellow onion sliced
  • 3 tablespoons All-Purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups Strong and Savory Beef broth + more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce +more if desired
  • Kosher salt to own taste
  • Freshly Ground black pepper to own taste
Instructions
Hamburger Steaks and Brown Gravy
  1. In a large glass bowl combine lean ground beef, Panko breadcrumbs, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Once combined form 6 balls from the meat mixture and form 6 patties. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
  2. Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat, place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the cast iron skillet, add the 6 hamburger patties in the skillet ( you may need 2 pans or to do in batches if your skillet is smaller) Leave the patties to cook 5-6 minutes on one side without moving. Flip the patties and cook another 5 minutes on the other side. Remove the patties from the skillet and place on a plate.
  3. Do not drain cast iron skillet of pan drippings/oil. If you have used lean ground beef you should have close to 3 tablespoons of oil, (if not use 3 tablespoons of butter for gravy.) At this time add the sliced yellow onions and cook on medium heat about 5 minutes in pan drippings of butter. Add the flour, and stir onions and flour in the pan drippings or butter until the flour taste has cooked off. This should only take a few minutes.
  4. Once the flour and onions are done add 2 1/2 cups of strong beef broth (not stock), Worcestershire sauce, Kosher salt, and Freshly Ground black pepper. Stir for 2-3 minutes until the gravy starts forming and tightening. Once the gravy tightens add the hamburger patties back in the cast iron skillet, reduce heat to lowest setting and cook about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally and flip patties over.
  5. Remove from heat source and serve immediately with white rice, mashed potatoes, or even egg noodles.