11 Frozen Beef Burgers, Ranked Worst To Best

When you're craving a juicy burger, the frozen food section of the grocery store probably isn't your first stop. Chances are, you're headed straight to the meat department for fresh ground beef or pre-made patties to fire up on the grill. But frozen beef patties deserve a second look — they can be a convenient lifesaver for quick midweek meals, unexpected company, or those times when you can't get to the store but really, really want a burger. They're great to have on hand in your freezer so you can grab one at any time. But trying to decide which ones to buy might have you reaching for the cheapest, most obvious choice at the store.

Faced with a wall of options, you may be tempted to grab the most prominent frozen beef burger, but you just might be disappointed. To help navigate this choice, I visited multiple stores, sifted through frozen meat shelves, and picked up 11 brands of frozen beef patties. As an avid beef eater, I usually look for fresh meat at a butcher shop or grocery store to make my own burgers, but I was curious about the frozen variety. I taste-tested every brand to find out which ones are worth keeping stocked in the freezer. I compared the brands to each other while also considering chew, taste, and overall satisfaction. More of my methodology is noted at the end.

When I tried the Flanders burger, I was immediately disappointed. The "homestyle patties" label should have tipped me off to the laundry list of ingredients, but I wasn't ready for something claiming to be a "classic beef burger" to be anything but. The overpowering seasoning smell hit me right away. That's okay, though I prefer to season my own burgers versus relying on mystery spices. With the addition of soy flour and dextrose, these patties are heavily processed with a texture reminiscent of crab or salmon cakes. It's interesting to note, though, that these patties also include beef heart.

The quarter-pound burger patties from Flanders resemble and cook up like veggie burgers — they don't hold up like a regular burger should. In fact, I dubbed them "Flimsy Flanders" because the burgers barely stayed together. The patty is perfectly uniform and remains the same size and shape after cooking, which made for a pretty picture. I didn't know what to expect when I tasted it, though, but I expected to taste beef. I did not. It's heavily seasoned, and the texture is like compressed ingredients, mostly flour based, and with no meat chew whatsoever.

The Flanders burger easily ranked the worst — I couldn't eat it. I have nothing good to say about it. It's like the brand tried to mask cheap beef with an overdose of flavorings. The patties left a strange coating in my mouth and even on the fork. Honestly, this felt like an abomination to burgers — nothing about it says "classic beef." Even for a cheap option, it's not worth the price.

I had high hopes for Publix's 100% pure beef, 1/3-pound frozen patties, especially since I regularly eat its fresh ground beef. But these patties are a surprising letdown. I even thought maybe I screwed up cooking the first one, but after trying three patties, I just had to call this a loss. Publix squeaks in just above Flanders on the list because at least the burgers are made with all beef.

Publix frozen patties cook up looking great with a nice pan-fried char, and they smell tempting, but after one bite I had to wonder what happened. The outside is tough, but the inside remains a soggy, mushy mess, which is somewhat ironic because I needed a knife to cut the burger. Tiny bone fragments in some bites didn't help.

The patties are juicy and fatty, but the beef flavor is weaker than you'd expect. In typical burger fashion, they shrank a little but held a decent size. As someone who's grilled hundreds of homemade burgers with Publix's fresh ground beef, I am shocked at how bad its frozen patties are. And considering this is one of the more expensive options on this list, they're a hard pass for me — I'd stick to the fresh ground beef for burgers that can deliver.

Marketside offered a wide range of burger styles. For this taste test, I chose the original Angus, 1/3-pound beef patties. Since there were so many to choose from, this was another brand I figured had to be pretty good. But this burger was a hassle to cook. It kept curling up in the pan, so I had to flip it frequently in order to achieve an even cook. However, it remained a decent-sized burger when it was done, though the whole thing left me underwhelmed.

These Marketside patties tasted like old, stale beef, as if they used leftover meat to churn out pre-made burgers. A gamey note didn't help, and the texture was tough, chewy, and rubbery, like the meat had been overworked. I attempted to gnaw my way through it but couldn't finish — it just wasn't good. It became marginally better when adding other ingredients because the cheese and pickles masked the less-than-favorable flavor. Coming in low on our list, it edged out Publix's patties for acting more like ground beef instead of an overprocessed, mushy mess, but that's a low bar.

I prefer a fatty burger, so I was looking forward to trying the 75/25 frozen, quarter-pound burger patties from Aldi. The first thing I noticed was that there was no paper separating the frozen burgers, making it slightly difficult to get one out of the bag without ruining it. Typical of high-fat meat, a lot of volume got lost during cooking, and they turned into small, thin patties. Because of this, I did incinerate a couple of them as they went from perfectly cooked to overcooked in a matter of seconds.

Overall, Aldi beef patties remind me of fast food burgers — pressed thin but dense, a bit chewy and slightly dry, with virtually no flavor. They aren't bad. They don't have a weird or unpleasant taste; they're just bland. The patties curl fairly easily while cooking and need to be flipped constantly to remain flat. They chew like cheap meat but crisping them up helps to add crunch. Given their bland nature, they're good contenders for something like cheesy smashburger tacos. Aldi doesn't rank higher simply because other brands' patties were better, but it's still decent to eat. These patties are a good option to overcook in order to achieve a super crispy exterior. Its mid-price range doesn't make me want to bother with these again, though.

Great Value frozen, quarter-pound beef patties are so similar to Aldi that I wonder whether they have the same supplier. There isn't much difference between the two, though I opted for the 80/20 version from Great Value. Other than the different protein-to-fat ratios, there isn't much that separates the two brands. Great Value patties have slightly more beef flavor than Aldi, but they're also like fast food burgers with their thin, dense, pressed-meat nature and uniform, flat shape.

These patties taste like a typical, cheap, supermarket burger, so they are pretty decent but not outstanding in any way. Though I had to flip the burger repeatedly because of curling, they cook up fine and remain a suitable size. They are not as flat or thin as Aldi's patties, likely due to the fat content, but they are also mostly bland. However, they rank just a notch higher because they have a little more flavor than Aldi's burgers. They're somewhat pricey for what you get, but should you find yourself with a bag in your freezer, consider one of our many drool-worthy burger recipes for your next burger craving.

You can't miss Bubba at the store — it takes up serious shelf and bin space (at least it did at my local store). As a result, I figured it must be well-liked. I'd never tried this brand before but was curious to see whether it lived up to the hype, or at least its shelf space. Bubba USDA Choice beef chuck 1/3-pound patties are a pleasant surprise, landing near mid-to-top of our list, but they didn't blow me away enough to rank any higher. Still, I wasn't disappointed; it's good enough to enjoy as a classic patty melt.

The patties cook up without much fuss, holding together while cooking, and remaining a good size with only a little decrease. The texture and chew are closer to fresh ground beef than the lower options on our list, but it is slightly rubbery like the meat is overworked. Unlike many other burgers I tested, this patty is a weird shape, but somehow it worked. The beef flavor, while not as rich as a burger could be, was better than some other brands, like Aldi or Great Value. It's a decent burger, not overly juicy, but has hints of staleness, like the meat is aged and not in a good way. It's one of the pricier frozen beef burgers on our list, but I think it's a solid choice when you're craving a burger and don't want to mess with fresh meat.

We're told not to judge a book by its cover, but let's face it: The cover means something. With a name like Philly Gourmet, I was expecting a good burger. This one has its merits but only makes it into the top five because it doesn't wow me. There was some inconsistency when cooking these quarter-pound patties. The first burger just about fell apart when I flipped it, and no two burgers in the package are the same size. They present like homemade patties — not uniform and a little lopsided, though somewhat small. But they chew like meat should and are far more flavorful than most of the brands on our list.

Though cooking these burgers is a bit tricky — they shrink to almost nothing, creating something more like sliders — they get a nice char on the outside. The meat acts more like fresh burger and has a more pronounced beef flavor, to the point of almost being gamey. I found these patties to have a decent amount of fat that kept the burger from getting dry. It's not overly juicy, and I really enjoyed a runny sunny side-up egg on top. It also makes a good option for adding decadent French onion toppings. Given its price, this is a solid value choice that earns a higher spot on our list.

Made with Angus beef, Miami Beef burger patties land solidly in our top five — I think they're really good, but the top three are just that much better. These 1/3-pound patties plump up huge while cooking — blowing up like a meatball, which I think is bizarre. But perhaps there is a method to that madness because they're good burgers. It's as if they're pumped full of air and after a few minutes, settle back down. They shrink only a little after that and remain a good-sized burger.

Despite the odd experience during cooking that occurs, these burgers get a nice crispy char and are quite juicy. The beef is mild and pleasant in flavor, though it's not as deep and rich as I like. The meat is more like fresh burger and has a pretty good meaty chew to it, although maybe a little rubbery. It comes pretty close to our top three but just doesn't have that last little bit to launch it higher. However, Miami Beef is a solid choice and would make a great base for smoky chipotle burgers.

Holten's Chop House is the only brand on our list considered to be smash burgers. I was looking forward to trying them. Though some folks think smash burgers are better than regular burgers, I'm not one of them. But I don't mind being proven wrong. These quarter-pound smashed burgers land in our top three because I absolutely enjoyed them. I hesitate to call them smash burgers, though — they oddly lack that coveted crispy exterior when pan-fried — but they are very tasty and full of flavor. I especially liked them as a triple cheeseburger with an egg on top.

Smash burgers usually start off looking like a regular burger, and that's where these frozen patties differ. They're already smashed before you even cook them. They're super thin and spread out large, and though they're frozen, they're kind of delicate. I fully expected a crispy burger, though, and was really surprised when that wasn't the case. Still, these burgers make a great stacked sandwich with extra accompaniments.

Wahlburgers is the only pre-made burger on our list I've eaten previously, although it was the fresh option, not the frozen one. I enjoyed the fresh burgers, so I expected the frozen patties to be good as well. These 1/3-pound beef patties are made with Angus beef. The box states it's the brand's own proprietary blend. They resemble the fresh pre-made burgers and definitely don't disappoint. They're almost perfect. In fact, they held the top spot until I tried the one brand that knocked it down in the ranking.

Cooking these burgers is easy, though they curl a little bit. After a couple of flips, they cook evenly. They shrink like normal burgers and stay a good, respectable size for building all kinds of sandwiches, like a spicy quesadilla burger. Wahlburgers beef patties are full of deep beef flavor, tasting like fresh ground burger and not stale or bland meat. These burgers feature a good protein-to-fat ratio where the meat chews great and isn't dry or mushy; it's as close to freshly made as it gets.

Cattlemen's Ranch is a private label brand by Aldi. There are a number of beef products and multiple frozen burger styles under this brand. I opted for the Black Angus burgers for this taste test. They're one of the cheapest frozen beef burgers on our list, and yet they're easily one of the best. Cattlemen's Ranch Black Angus 1/3-pound beef patties get the top spot on our ranking without hesitation. I have almost no critiques for it except that maybe it ends up a little small when it's done cooking. It doesn't shrink a whole lot, though, so this gripe is a stretch.

These frozen patties taste like freshly made burgers that are popping full of beef flavor. They have a great chew — not dry, mushy, rubbery, or tough. The burgers cook up easily, only needing to be flipped once since they don't curl. The outside of the burger gets a great char while the inside texture isn't processed-like or overworked. This was an instant winner, outshining the rest — there was that moment when I was eating it and thinking, "Yes, this is a good burger." I didn't stop eating it until I was done. That's a good burger.

I visited multiple supermarkets and gathered up 11 brands of frozen beef burgers. All are meant to be cooked from frozen. I chose to pan-fry the burgers, though you can grill them, too. I tasted every burger as is after it was cooked to medium. I ate roughly 6 pounds of burgers spread over a few days. Ultimately, taste was the deciding factor.

What do I look for in a good burger? When I bite into a burger, I want a crispy char that snaps, not one that needs to be cut with a knife. The bite should yield slightly and still require some effort. It should never be so mushy that it's like swallowing without chewing. But a burger shouldn't require you to chew like a cow — endlessly waiting for it to dissolve in your mouth.

Some people like an overly juicy burger, but I believe a good burger is well balanced with fatty juice and hearty meat like every bite counts. A good burger should have heft, but not be dense, and I like a rich beef flavor that's not farmy or gamey.