Culver's ButterBurger Cheese Copycat Recipe
Culver's ButterBurger Cheese copycat: a smashed salt-and-pepper patty, American cheese and a butter-toasted crown. Makes 2 burgers in 15 minutes.
Photo: Sarah Stierch, CC0 1.0
To make a Culver’s ButterBurger Cheese at home, smash a cold ball of fresh ground beef (about 3.5 to 3.9 oz, or 100 to 110 g) onto a very hot griddle at around 425°F (218°C). Season it with salt and pepper only, flip it once and lay one slice of American cheese on top. Then serve it on a bun whose crown, and only the crown, is buttered and toasted. That last detail is the whole name: Culver’s says the butter goes on the bun, not on the beef. This copycat makes 2 burgers in about 15 minutes. Wherever Culver’s publishes nothing, I say so and give my own estimate.
What is a Culver’s ButterBurger Cheese?
The ButterBurger Cheese is Culver’s plain ButterBurger with a slice of cheese on each patty: a smashed fresh-beef patty on a soft bun with a lightly buttered, toasted crown. It sits on the current US ButterBurgers menu next to the ButterBurger, Culver’s Deluxe, Bacon Deluxe, Mushroom & Swiss, Sourdough Melt, Wisconsin Swiss Melt and the limited-edition Smoked Cheddar CurderBurger (Culver’s ButterBurgers menu, checked October 31, 2026).
Food Republic describes the base ButterBurger as beef on a buttered, toasted Kaiser bun. The Cheese version is the same burger with one slice per patty; lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo belong to the Deluxe (Food Republic, July 24, 2026). Culver’s opened on July 18, 1984, in Sauk City, Wisconsin (Wikipedia), and had 1,041 restaurants at the end of 2025, every one of them in the United States (QSR 50, 2026). Live outside that footprint and this copycat is the closest you’ll get. The chain’s full story is on our Culver’s brand page.
A Culver’s ButterBurger dressed with American cheese, lettuce and a thick slice of raw red onion, photographed in November 2008. Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo make up the Culver’s Deluxe; the ButterBurger Cheese is just beef, cheese and the buttered crown. (Photo: Arnold Gatilao, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/58819758@N00/3053949120)
Butterburger cheese recipe: what Culver’s publishes vs. my homemade version
Culver’s publishes the beef blend, the never-frozen rule and the buttered crown. Not the patty weight, the seasoning ratio, the griddle temperature or the amount of butter. The table separates the two.
| Element | What Culver’s (or a named source) says | My homemade version |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | Blend of sirloin, chuck and plate, fresh, never frozen, on the griddle only after you order (Culver’s) | 80/20 ground beef, ground from chuck and sirloin with some plate if your butcher will do it |
| Patty weight | Not published | 3.5 to 3.9 oz (100 to 110 g) raw, estimated from nutrition data (see below) |
| Seasoning | Salt and pepper (FastFoodNutrition ingredient list); 5:1 salt-to-pepper per a Reddit user cited by Tasting Table, not official | 5 parts salt to 1 part black pepper, on the raw side only |
| Cooking | “A little pressure” to sear the beef (Culver’s); about 425°F and about 90 seconds with one flip, per former employees (Tasting Table) | Cast iron or griddle at about 425°F (218°C), smashed once, flipped once |
| Cheese | Wisconsin American cheese as standard, cheddar or Swiss on request (Tasting Table) | 1 slice American cheese per patty |
| Bun | Kaiser per Food Republic; Culver’s just says “bun” | Soft Kaiser roll or brioche-style bun |
| Butter | Crown only, lightly buttered, from Alcam Creamery in Wisconsin (Culver’s); amount not published | About 1 tsp (5 g) softened butter per crown, my amount |
| Toppings | Not confirmed on a readable official page (US menu, October 2026) | Optional “works”: ketchup, mustard, pickles, raw red onion |
What Culver’s publishes about the ButterBurger (a sirloin, chuck and plate blend, never frozen, “a little bit of pressure” on the griddle, a buttered crown) compared with the estimates in this homemade version: a 3.5 to 3.9 oz patty, 5:1 salt to pepper, 425°F and about 1 tsp of butter per crown. (Table: Burger Breton, original work, data from Culver’s (The Art of a Great ButterBurger, Origin of the Name ButterBurger), Tasting Table, Food Republic, Mashed and FastFoodNutrition, checked 2026-10-31)
How much beef goes in a Culver’s ButterBurger?
Culver’s does not publish a patty weight, so I worked one out from third-party nutrition data. FastFoodNutrition lists a single ButterBurger Cheese at 151 g and a double at 230 g. The 79 g gap is one cooked patty plus its slice of cheese, which points to a raw patty of roughly 100 to 110 g (3.5 to 3.9 oz). That’s my estimate. Not Culver’s.
Other third-party sources put the patty nearer 4.4 oz raw, and I used that figure in my Culver’s Sourdough Melt copycat recipe. Here I stay lower, because the ButterBurger Cheese should feel like a lean, thin single next to the 151 g original. Want a beefier bite? Go up to 4.4 oz; you’re still inside what has been reported.
Ingredients for 2 ButterBurger Cheese burgers
These quantities make 2 single burgers. For doubles, double the beef and the cheese and keep 2 buns.
- 7 to 7.75 oz (200 to 220 g) fresh 80/20 ground beef, kept cold
- 2 slices American cheese, Wisconsin-made if you can find it
- 2 soft Kaiser rolls or brioche-style buns
- 2 tsp (10 g) unsalted butter, softened, for the 2 crowns
- 5 parts fine salt to 1 part ground black pepper, mixed (for example 1 1/4 tsp salt with 1/4 tsp pepper), about 1/4 tsp per patty
- Optional “works”: ketchup, yellow mustard, dill pickle chips, raw red onion
- Tools: cast-iron skillet or griddle, sturdy flat metal spatula, ice cream scoop
Culver’s butterburger copycat recipe, step by step
Prep takes about 10 minutes and cooking about 5. Each patty spends only about 90 seconds on the heat, so get the bun, the cheese and the toppings ready before the beef goes down.
1. Portion the beef with an ice cream scoop
Scoop the beef into 2 loose balls of 3.5 to 3.9 oz (100 to 110 g) each, without packing them. Culver’s portioned its early ButterBurgers the same way, with an ice cream scoop, before pressing them on the griddle (The Daily Meal, October 13, 2026; Tasting Table, July 10, 2026). Keep the balls in the fridge until the pan is hot.
2. Heat the griddle to 425°F
Heat a dry cast-iron skillet or griddle to about 425°F (218°C), the temperature former Culver’s employees describe. No surface thermometer? A drop of water should skitter and vanish within a second or two. No oil and no butter go on this surface: the beef cooks in its own fat.
3. Butter and toast the crown of the bun
Spread 1 tsp (5 g) of softened butter on the cut side of each crown only, then toast it cut side down over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Culver’s says it butters only the crown, and Mashed specifies that the inside face is the one buttered and browned (Mashed, April 24, 2026). The heel stays plain. Baking your own? My colleague Clara’s homemade burger buns take a butter toast very well.
4. Smash the patties and season the raw side
Set a ball on the hot surface, press it flat with the spatula in one firm push, then leave it alone. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of the salt-and-pepper mix over the raw top. Culver’s only writes that “a little pressure” seals the beef, and that matches what I found: one hard smash at the start builds the crust, while a second press later just pushes juice into the pan.
A Culver’s Double ButterBurger with cheddar instead of the default American cheese, photographed in February 2009. It shows the thin, deeply seared patties that a hard smash on a hot griddle produces, and that cheddar is a menu option. (Photo: @joefoodie, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/98178986@N00/3529385587)
5. Flip once and melt the cheese
Flip when the edges have gone deep brown and lacy. Scrape under the patty with the spatula’s edge so the crust comes with it, then lay the cheese on straight away. Former employees put the whole cook at about 90 seconds on a commercial griddle. My home skillet needed longer, so I go by that brown edge, not the clock. For doneness and food safety, see my colleague Clara’s burger patty internal temperature guide.
6. Assemble the ButterBurger Cheese
Put the cheesed patty on the plain heel. Add the works if you want them: ketchup, mustard, pickles and raw red onion. Close with the buttered crown, toasted side down on the cheese, and eat it right away, while the crown is still crisp.
Why this recipe tastes like the original
This copycat stays close to Culver’s because it copies the four things the chain actually describes: fresh beef, a hard sear under pressure, salt and pepper only, and butter on the crown alone. Many copycat recipes online butter the whole bun or fry the patty in butter. Culver’s says neither happens: the name comes from Craig Culver’s mother, who lightly buttered the crown (Culver’s).
I think the crown-only rule matters more than any number in this recipe. Butter the whole bun and the heel goes soggy under the beef; butter just the crown and the first thing you taste is warm butter, then salt and crust. The other choices are informed estimates: patty weight from nutrition data, the 5:1 seasoning and the 425°F, 90-second cook from employee accounts, the Kaiser bun from Food Republic.
Two Wisconsin schools of butter burger
Wisconsin has two kinds of butter burger. At Culver’s the butter is on the toasted crown; at Milwaukee’s Solly’s Grille it melts over the patty itself. To me, the Culver’s version is a cheeseburger with a buttery bun, and Solly’s is a burger dressed in butter. For the other side of the argument, read our visit to Solly’s Grille, Milwaukee’s butter burger landmark.
ButterBurger Cheese calories and nutrition
A single ButterBurger Cheese has 460 calories and a double has 700, according to third-party data from FastFoodNutrition, not Culver’s official guide. My homemade version was not lab-tested, so these figures describe the restaurant burger only.
| Per burger | Single (151 g) | Double (230 g) |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 460 | 700 |
| Fat | 23 g | 42 g |
| Saturated fat | 10.5 g | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g | 40 g |
| Sugars | 7 g | not listed |
| Protein | 23 g | 40 g |
| Sodium | 605 mg | 830 mg |
Sources: FastFoodNutrition single and double, checked October 31, 2026. Allergens listed: gluten, milk, soy and wheat.
Bar chart of Culver’s ButterBurger Cheese nutrition, single (151 g) vs. double (230 g): 460 vs. 700 calories, 23 vs. 42 g fat, 10.5 vs. 19 g saturated fat, 39 vs. 40 g carbs, 23 vs. 40 g protein and 605 vs. 830 mg sodium. Source: FastFoodNutrition, a third-party database, checked October 31, 2026. (Chart: Burger Breton, original work, data from FastFoodNutrition (https://fastfoodnutrition.org/culvers/butterburger-cheese/single and https://fastfoodnutrition.org/culvers/butterburger-cheese/double), checked 2026-11-05; to generate)
Where to try the original
Culver’s has no restaurant outside the United States, so tasting the original means a trip to the US Midwest or beyond. Start with our guide to Culver’s in Milwaukee, with addresses, hours and what to order; the Milwaukee burger hub lists the city’s other burger stops.
Map of the original Culver’s at 716 Phillips Blvd, Sauk City, Wisconsin, where the first ButterBurger was served on July 18, 1984. The restaurant calls itself the “home of the first Culver’s”. It is about 25 miles northwest of Madison. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; address from culvers.com/restaurants/sauk-city, checked 2026-11-05)
More copycat cheeseburgers to cook next
The same smash-and-melt method carries over to other chain cheeseburgers. Next on the list: my Dairy Queen Original Cheeseburger copycat, the Shake Shack double cheeseburger recipe and the Five Guys cheeseburger copycat. Every one of them is in the recipes hub.
FAQ
Why is Culver’s burger called a ButterBurger?
Because the crown of the bun is lightly buttered and toasted, not because the beef is cooked in butter. Culver’s says this came from the way Craig Culver’s mother made burgers, with butter from Alcam Creamery in Wisconsin.
How does Culver’s butter their buns?
Culver’s lightly butters the crown of the bun only. According to Mashed, the cut side of the crown is buttered and toasted golden. No source says the heel is buttered.
Is the patty cooked in butter?
No. Culver’s says the name doesn’t come from cooking or basting the beef in butter. The patty is seared on a griddle and seasoned with salt and pepper.
What cheese goes on a ButterBurger Cheese, and can I use cheddar?
Wisconsin American cheese is the standard, one slice per patty. Culver’s also offers cheddar or Swiss on request, so cheddar is a fair swap. American melts smoother, though, and tastes closer to the default burger.
What’s the Culver’s burger seasoning salt-to-pepper ratio?
Culver’s has not published one. A Reddit user cited by Tasting Table describes 5 parts salt to 1 part pepper. That’s an employee claim, not an official figure, but it reproduces the flavor well.
What toppings come on a ButterBurger Cheese?
No official page I could read confirms the default toppings (US menu, October 2026). Order it with “the works” and you get ketchup, mustard, pickles and raw red onion, per The Daily Meal. Lettuce, tomato and mayo belong to the Culver’s Deluxe.
What’s the difference between the ButterBurger Cheese and the Culver’s Deluxe?
The ButterBurger Cheese is beef, cheese and the buttered bun. The Deluxe keeps the cheese and adds lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayonnaise.
What beef does Culver’s use?
Culver’s uses a blend of sirloin, chuck and plate. It says the beef is fresh, never frozen, and only goes on the griddle once you order.
Can I make a butter burger without a griddle?
Yes. A cast-iron skillet heated to about 425°F (218°C) does the job, because it holds its heat when the cold beef hits it. That retained heat is what builds the crust.
Is there a Culver’s in Europe?
No. At the end of 2025 Culver’s had 1,041 restaurants, all in the United States, and none in Europe.
