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by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated 37 Comments
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White Castle Hamburgers are perfect anytime really. These mini-sized hamburgers are known as sliders. They are some of the first ones that were created. So you can see where everyone else got their inspiration from.
No need to run out of the house to by these famous hamburgers. You can enjoy these classic sliders straight out of your own kitchen.
Table of Contents
White Castle Burgers
These little sliders are incredibly addicting. If you have ever eaten at a White Castle before, you know how amazing they are.
Well, now you can make your own White Castle hamburgers right in your own kitchen. I’ll even show you how to make the hamburger patties nice, thin, and square. These homemade mini burgers taste like takeout from the restaurant.
What are the ingredients in a White Castle burger?
The ingredients are pretty straightforward and simple.
- Ground Beef
- Water
- Salt
- Onion
- Beef bouillon
- Dill pickle slices
- Dinner rolls
That’s it!
Best Buns for Sliders
Use dinner rolls for them. They are a perfect size and look just like the real thing. Some people like sweet rolls. But White Castle doesn’t use sweet rolls. If you want to stay authentic, use regular dinner rolls.
How to Make White Castle Burgers at Home
One of the most difficult things about making homemade burgers is making the beef patties stay thin. White Castle hamburgers are known for being really thin.
To do this, I actually use a food processor to mix my ground beef up with some salt and water. Watering down the beef helps them stay flat when you fry them.
Then, I roll out the beef mixture to 1/4-inch thick and cut it into 3-inch square patties. You need them to be this size or else they won’t look right.
Another thing that keeps the patties thin is poking holes into them. This gives the meat some steam holes so they don’t swell up.
Finally, fry your beef patties in a pan with water in the bottom.
Believe me, if you follow these steps, you will have the most amazing little patties.
How do you dice the onions so small?
I prefer to use a food processor to chop my onions this small. I know there are lots of hacks for chopping onions and not crying, but it’s easier to let the food processor do the work for me.
You can also buy frozen chopped onions, saving you all the work entirely.
Once the onions are diced, they are cooked with beef bouillon for authentic White Castle flavor.
How do you make White Castle burgers in the oven?
The most authentic way to make them is by frying the patties. But if you want, you can bake them in the oven too.
Thyme for co*cktails has a fantastic recipe for them. Basically, it involves baking the hamburger meat on a cookie sheet and then cutting them up into squares after.
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Check out all my restaurant copycat recipes and tasty game day eats.
White Castle Burgers
Make White Castle Hamburgers just like they do with this copycat recipe. They are the perfect late-night snack!
4.91 from 11 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Burger Recipes, White Castle Burgers
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 652kcal
Author: Stephanie Manley
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup water for beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup onion diced
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1/2 cup water for onions
- 12 dinner rolls (Parker house shape, 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ size)
- dill hamburger slices
Instructions
In a food processor place ground beef, salt, and water. Process for a few seconds so water and salt are blended through ground beef and meat should look a little pasty.
Place plastic wrap on the bottom of an 11 x 13-inch jelly roll pan. Place blended hamburger in the middle and cover it with another piece of plastic wrap. Roll the hamburger out to 1/4-inch thick.
Remove the plastic wrap and cut the meat into 3-inch squares. Leave the ground beef pieces on the tray. You should get between 12 and 14 squares.
Perforate each piece five times with the end of a plastic straw, this will give the meat little steam holes. Cover the hamburger with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer until the meat is partially frozen but not solid.
Place onions, beef bouillon, and 1/2 cup water in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Saute and stir onions until they are clear, more water may be added as needed. Turn the heat off until ready to cook hamburger patties.
When beef patties are ready to prepare, turn the heat to medium-low heat and add enough water to onions just so the bottom of the frying pan is covered. Place patties in pan and cover with lid. Frying time is just a few moments.
Turn the patties and cook until done but not dry. The patties should be juicy. When hamburgers are finished cooking, place on top of a roll, add pickles, cover hamburgers so they will steam slightly or pop them in the microwave covered just for a few seconds until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 652kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1106mg | Potassium: 498mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 254mg | Iron: 6.8mg
About Stephanie Manley
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
I grew up in Louisiana, and we ate them by the sack full. Ours had Mustard, but not ketchup. Hardly could wait to get home with them. Sometimes ordered Fries, and of course Taste Donuts ! That’s where we found these burgers. Loved them. We all did. I’m going to make these for dinner tonight. Perfect timing. Thanks !Reply
I made these for dinner two nights ago. I must admit, I had my doubts. I followed the recipe as close as I could. I used 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef. These were absolutely delicious. I’m going to keep this recipe and make this my go to burger recipe. I did add the sliced dill pickles & Mustard. Thanks ! And my family thanks You too. Happy Thanksgiving Y’all’s ! See, I am from the South. And proud of it. God Bless.Reply
Veronica Bright
I suggest caramelizing the onions first, then placing a few burgers onto the onion. Personally, I love them this way, and I think they taste close to WC.
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Mickey
Could we PLEASE, PLEASE have a recipe for Sloppy Joe sliders. SO GOOD! THANK YOU!
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Stephanie Manley
Thank you for the suggestion.
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FRED DUMIRE
ON THE GROUND BEEF SHOULD I USE 93 OR 82 PER CENT. WHAT DO YOU RECOMEND?
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Stephanie Manley
I would use the 93%, but I think they use something closer to 82%.
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FRED DUMIRE
THANK YOU
Matt
Thanks for this. The only thing I would say is that it’s “addictive,” not “addicting.” But that’s just me being a grammar Nazi.Reply
Jean
Our WC I back home Illinois had onions, meat, (cheese optional), pickles and mustard. I got mustard pkg on side I liked to add my own on some and some plain. and ketchup was for fries..
They sound good will have to try will let you know if it tastes like our WC.
Thanks for recipeReply
Kendall
Aww!! All this talk about making White Castle Burgers has me and my wife hungry! After waking up this morning craving a White Castle….we both agreed to drive 3 miles to our White Castle in Saint Paul, Mn. Nothing better than the real thing! Thank you for the Recipe, hope to make some at home someday. 😊❤️
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Dan Allen
I too frequent the st Paul white castle however I’m in spring valley its closer to 90 miles for me. These burgers do the job.
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CRYSTAL
I grew up in Indy where instead of burger king and mcd’s, you have White Castles and Steak n’ Shake on almost every corner…EXCELLENT! I wish I could afford to move back there.
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Ralph Hosier
I grew up in South Chicago and loved going to White castle . 10 cents for a hamburger and 12 cents for a cheeseburger . in high school we would see how many we could eat at one time . i think 2 dozen was my limit but my buddy would go way over that . it was always fun at night after being out, before they closed, and everyone talking in line . i met my wife while waiting in line there one night . miss that place and my old neighborhood . can’t wait to try this recipe.
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Bill Hibbett
Many, many years ago, long before the internet, there was a copycat recipe for White Castle in the newspaper. It said that the real secret of the Whitecastle taste was that the meat contained liver. They said that it was added to the meat during the depression to increase the nutritional value. When I was a kid I know liver was considered very healty.
The recipe is similar to the one here but they added a jar of Gerber strained liver babyfood.Reply
Barbara Erdman
I am going to try this. Frozen Whitw Castle don’t even come close to fresh. Here in NC no one ever heard of White Castle. I am a die hard NJ gal and miss so much of the food from there. WC, hard rolls, Italian pastry, just to name a couple. Now I am hungry. Will let you know how the WC came out.
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Stephanie
I agree the frozen aren’t anything like these at all. I hope you enjoyed these.
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Pat Bjornsen
So sorry, maybe it’s me but I didn’t taste White Castles, followed recipe exactly.
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GretchenM
This recipe is SPOT on!!! My kids love them & request them frequently! I used King’s Hawiian Rolls & there is NEVER one left over…
THanks!Reply
mike
just what i was thinking to do. hawaiian rolls.
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Bekki
going to try this tonight. Since I have moved away from white castle country and there is nothing close around Pensacola….
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jade2011
Krystal hamburgers are very close to being the same as White Castles!
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Yadaa
NO THEY ARE NOT!!!! Krystal burgers are DISGUSTING, and come nowhere CLOSE to WC except in appearance. That said, I’ll be trying this. I moved to GA from Chicago, and miss WC like CRAZY.
Crystal M. Braddock
Have you ever had a frozen White Castle burger? They taste EXACTLY like Krystal burgers. In Southern California, grocery stores sell both WC Hamburgers and WC Cheeseburgers, in both regular-sized boxes and family-sized.
Mark
You know what they say ? There are Yankees and damned Yankees. The damned Yankees are the ones that stay here, 😉
Joey
Theres Krystals which is identical to white castles the only difference is krystals puts mustard instead of ketchup
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Selbeeps
White Castles did NOT come with ketchup. I grew up in Cinci & ate plenty of them!
Gayle
What about the sauce?
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iendecker
Sauce? White castles have catsup, not sauce. Your thinking a big mac
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Stephanie Manley
But you could put Big Mac sauce on this.
Selbeeps
White Castles did not come with ketchup or catsup! Originals had nothing but bun, onions and burger patty. I grew up in Cincinnati and we ate them by the sackful!
Rlester80
When do you put onions on
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Onions go on the cook top before the meat. They and the water help to steam and flavor the burgers. But that turning over stuff…not convinced about that part. But, I’m gonna try ’em with a lid to steam them. One of the reasons I miss St. Louis! Before everyone else did, White Castle served burgers 24/7.
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Tommy Mac
When I was a child my father would buy 100 White Castle hamburgers for our family of seven, and my uncle would buy 100 hamburgers for his family as well. In those days customers were served in the order they were placed, and everyone in line would moan when my father placed his order. You could only imagine what happened when my uncle placed his order. My father tried to imitate cooking White Castle’s hamburgers in the 1970’s… they were good, but not the same. So, I will try your recipe on my Dear O’l Dad…He’s 80 now and his memory is fading, but this: I think he will remember.
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Sandraokulovich
These taste just like true sliders yum. They worked out great for New Years eve
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Anonymous
I am glad they worked out well for you!
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Liz Nelson
Love White Castle, I made these for the kids and they loved them.Reply
