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Make my air fryer stuffed burgers with delicious, melty cheese! All you need is ground beef, steak seasoning, and your favorite cheese to make the best air fryer Juicy Lucy burger ever. Forget the grill, air frying is where it’s at to make a cheeseburger without the mess! The whole family will love this easy air fryer recipe for a quick weeknight dinner.
The Juicy Lucy is a stuffed cheeseburger where melty cheese is inside the burger instead of on top. (Hello, yum!) Think of it like an inside out burger.
There’s a debate over who invented the stuffed cheeseburger. Matt’s Bar (home of the “Jucy Lucy”) and the 5-8 Club (home of the “Juicy Lucy”), both located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, each say they have the original. If you’re ever in the Twin Cities area, it might be worth trying both burgers so you can decide which is your favorite.
And if you can’t travel, no worries! Just follow my stuffed burgers air fryer recipe below for a copycat that turns out perfectly every time. Let’s do this!
🍔 Air Fryer Juicy Lucy Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make stuffed burgers in the air fryer:
- 1 lb lean ground beef (454 grams; 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef)
- 1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
- 3 cheese slices (I use American cheese)
- Cooking oil spray
- Burger buns and toppings (lettuce, tomato, pickles, caramelized onion, etc.)
Get a printable recipe card below!
American cheese is a classic choice for these burgers, because it melts so well. Cheddar cheese is a good option for those who want a less processed cheese, and Muenster is another. Blue cheese, pepper jack, Monterey jack, and provolone cheese slices are other great options.
If your air fryer basket is small, you may need to make stuffed burgers in the air fryer in multiple batches. Keep in mind that all air fryers cook a little differently.
Though you can use a Ninja Foodi, Cosori, Pampered Chef Air Fryer, Actifry, Nuwave, Instant Vortex, Cuisinart, Philips, Power Air Fryer, or another air fryer, you may need to adjust the cooking times.
➕ How to Make Air Fryer Stuffed Burgers
Here’s how to cook stuffed burgers in an air fryer:
Mix the ground meat and seasoning together with clean hands. Divide the meat mixture into six equal pieces.
Make three of the pieces into large, flat patties with a 4-inch (10 cm) diameter. Try to make sure there’s no holes in the patties, so the cheese doesn’t ooze out. Roll the other three pieces of meat into balls.
Cut each of the slices of cheese into four pieces. Put a stack of four cut pieces of cheese (equal to one slice) on top of each flat patty.
Take the burger pieces that you’ve rolled into balls and flatten each into a patty. (Again, try to make sure the patties have no holes.) Use these to completely cover the cheese on the other patties.
Seal the edges of your burgers. You want the cheese to be completely encased in the meat.
Mist the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Place the burgers in a single layer in the basket or tray (you may need to cook them in batches). If you have an air fryer oven, place the tray in the top rack position.
Air fry stuffed hamburgers for a total of 15-17 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200C). Flip them every 5 minutes until done. The minimum safe internal temperature for ground beef is 160F (71C); add air frying time as needed until they reach this temp.
You can flatten them a bit with a spatula when you check on them if they start puffing up too much.
After letting the burgers rest for a few minutes, top them as desired and enjoy. Be careful when you take a bite- the cheese is very hot!
How do you keep stuffed burgers from falling apart?
You don’t need to add anything to these burger patties to keep them from falling apart. The most important thing is to ensure the cheese is completely sealed within the meat prior to cooking. Large diameter burgers offer more surface area for covering the cheese.
Watch How to Make It!
Air Fryer Stuffed Burgers with Cheese (Juicy Lucy Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef (454 grams; 93/7 or 90/10 ground burger)
- 1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
- 3 slices American cheese
- cooking oil spray
- burger buns and toppings (lettuce, tomato, pickles, caramelized onion, etc.)
Instructions
- With clean hands, thoroughly mix the seasoning and ground beef together.
- Divide the beef mixture into 6 equal pieces. Make 3 of the pieces into very flat and large (4-inch/10 cm diameter) patties with no holes. Make the other 3 pieces into balls.
- Cut each slice of the cheese into four pieces. Stack four pieces (one slice) of cheese atop each of the flattened patties.
- Take the burger pieces that you formed into balls. Flatten each one out and use them to completely cover the cheese on the patties. Seal the edges of each burger. The cheese should now be completely encased within each patty.
- Mist the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Place the burgers in a single layer in the basket or tray (you may need to cook them in batches). If you have an air fryer oven, place the tray in the top rack position.
- Air fry stuffed hamburgers for a total of 15-17 minutes at 400℉ (200°C). Flip them every 5 minutes until done. The minimum safe internal temperature for ground beef is 160°F (71°C); add air frying time as needed until they reach this temp. You can flatten them a bit with a spatula when you check on them if they start puffing up too much.
- Let the burgers rest for a few minutes before topping as desired. Enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
💭 Expert Tips from Dietitian Summer Yule
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). Beef is a wonderful source of highly bioavailable heme iron, as well as high-quality protein, zinc, and vitamin B12. I consider it an excellent food choice, particularly for premenopausal women who have high iron needs (and may struggle with low iron). Personally, I’ve found that I no longer need to supplement with iron after adding beef to my diet. Additionally, these stuffed hamburger patties are naturally very low in carbs (keto). You can skip the bun and either serve them in a lettuce wrap or make them into a burger bowl for a low carb meal. These air fryer burgers cook fast and make getting a high-protein meal simple! Nutrition information is for one burger made with 93/7 ground beef and does not include the burger bun or toppings.
nutrition info disclaimer
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
“To taste” means to your preferences, which may have to be visual to follow food safety rules. Please don’t eat undercooked food x
Nutrition
🍟 Side Dishes for Stuffed Burgers
Here are some of the best sides for stuffed burgers:
👩🏻🍳 More Air Fryer Ground Beef Recipes
Need more ideas for cooking ground beef in the air fryer? Try these next:
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Hello! I’m Summer, a registered dietitian and home chef who loves to cook, eat, and create recipes for you! Every recipe on this site has been tested by me to help ensure your success in the kitchen. All eaters are welcome here 🙂
Where do you stick the instant read thermometer to determine doneness.
I would not expect to put in the cheese.
Great question, Yogiman! Since the cheese touches the raw meat, it should reach the safe temp too. I’d test the center of the burger (where the cheese is) as well as the beef. It might be easier to get a reading on the beef where there’s a thicker layer of it, probably on the sides of the burger. Thank you for dropping in 🙂
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog. I’m hoping to check out the same high-grade content from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my very own blog now 😉
Great idea, Summer, particularly as it avoids the exposed cheese-air fryer catastrophe just waiting to happen.
As you may know, I’m not among cheese’s most passionate advocates. A few worthy exceptions notwithstanding.
Still, your idea is entirely too noteworthy not to give it lots more thought. So…in that spirit…how do you think sauteed mushrooms would work, instead of the cheese? Yours is too intriguing a concept not to maximize the experience.
Now I want the mushrooms and the cheese! How much can I fit into a single burger? hahaha
Unfortunately, our area has been hit by quite a storm and we’ve been without power and well water for the past 24+ hours. I’ll get back to you more soon when our power is restored. I only have a short time on the computer right now 🙁