The McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder represents everything we love about a perfect bacon cheeseburger, elevated with a signature smoky sauce that transforms an ordinary burger into something extraordinary. This limited-time menu item combines a juicy quarter-pound beef patty with crispy bacon, fresh vegetables, melted American cheese, and that distinctive smoky flavor that keeps you coming back for more.
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Why This Recipe Works
The secret to recreating McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder is understanding the balance of flavors. The smoky sauce combines mayonnaise with liquid smoke and smoked paprika, creating that distinctive taste that sets this burger apart from regular BLT combinations. The key is building the burger in the correct order, allowing the hot patty to melt the cheese while keeping the vegetables crisp and fresh.
Why Should You Try This Recipe?
Unfortunately, the Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder with Cheese is only available at select McDonald’s locations for a limited time. Once they are gone, they are gone.
This copycat recipe will show you how to recreate the same crave-worthy taste as the original allowing you to enjoy this unique bacon cheeseburger whenever you want.
What Makes the Smoky Sauce the Perfect Addition to a Bacon Cheeseburger?
Regular mayo may be fine for an ordinary BLT, but McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder deserves something special. Adding smoked paprika and Liquid Smoke to the smoked sauce in this copycat recipe takes this burger to a new level of savory deliciousness.
Ingredients
For the Burger Patties:
- Ground beef – Use 80/20 ground chuck for the perfect balance of flavor and juiciness
- Salt – Enhances the natural beef flavor and helps form a golden crust
For the Smoky Sauce:
- Mayonnaise – Creates the creamy base and helps bind all flavors together
- Liquid smoke – Provides the signature smoky flavor without needing a grill
- Smoked paprika – Adds depth and reinforces the smoky profile with subtle warmth
For Assembly:
- Hamburger buns – Sesame seed buns work best for authentic McDonald’s taste
- American cheese – Melts smoothly and provides the classic cheeseburger flavor
- Dill pickle slices – Adds tangy crunch that cuts through the richness
- Iceberg lettuce, shredded – Provides fresh crispness and classic texture
- Tomatoes, sliced – Use ripe Roma tomatoes for the best flavor and less mess
- Bacon, cooked – Applewood-smoked bacon is ideal, but any crispy bacon works
Ingredient Notes
McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder opts for applewood-smoked bacon, but you can experiment with other bacon flavors. A few slices of thick brown sugar-cured bacon would add a nice bit of sweetness to this burger. Try this oven-cooking method for extra-crispy bacon.
Fresh Roma tomatoes are the best in this recipe but use any tomatoes you prefer.
How to Make Smoky BLT Quarter Pounders
To make the Smoky Sauce:
- Whisk or stir the mayonnaise, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika in a bowl.
- Cover and place the sauce in the fridge for later.
To prep burger patties:
- Divide the meat into four balls.
- Place the balls between two pieces of waxed paper or into a burger press and form patties.
- Place the formed patties in the fridge for about ten minutes to firm up before cooking.
To toast the buns:
- While the burgers are in the fridge, it’s the perfect time to toast the buns.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and toast the buns cut-side down for a minute. Remove the buns from the heat and keep them to the side for later.
To cook the patties:
- Turn the heat under the cast iron skillet up to medium-high.
- Season both sides of the burger patties with salt.
- Cook the patties in the skillet for four minutes on the first side.
- When a little liquid starts to pool on the surface of the patties, flip them and cook for three to four minutes more, depending on how you like your burgers.
To assemble the burgers:
- Spread some Smoky Sauce on the bottom bun and place a slice of American cheese on top.
- Put the hot patty on the cheese and another slice of American cheese on top. The heat from the burger will melt the cheese.
- Cut two strips of bacon in half and place all four halves on the cheese.
- Add two or three slices of tomato.
- Top with shredded lettuce.
- Spread more Smoky Sauce on the top bun and put it on the shredded lettuce.
What to Serve With These Burgers
McDonald’s may limit your sides to fries and soft drinks, and those are good choices to serve with this burger, but you may want to try these alternatives:
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Cooked patties and bacon can be stored in airtight containers for up to 3 days, and smoky sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Reheating Method: Preheat oven to 400°F. Let patties and bacon come to room temperature, then heat on a baking sheet for 3 minutes, flip, and heat for two more minutes until warmed through.
- Freezing: Cooked patties can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, then place in freezer bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
More McDonald’s Copycat Recipes
Favorite Burger Recipes
- Air Fryer Burger
- Breakfast Burger
- Buffalo Burger
- Burger King Impossible Whopper
- Culver’s Butter Burger
- Krystal Burger
- Pizza Burgers
- White Castle Burger
Check out my easy burger recipes and the best copycat McDonald’s recipes on CopyKat!
McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder Copycat
Ingredients
- 4 sesame seed hamburger buns
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/3 pounds ground beef chuck this allows for some shrinkage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 slices American cheese
- 8 slices bacon cooked until crispy
- 3 roma tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 8 dill pickle slices
Instructions
- Toast the buns in a cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute, or until they brown. Set aside.
- To make the smoky sauce, combine the mayonnaise, liquid smoke, and paprika in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Form the meat into 4 equal balls. Place each ball between two sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and gently press the meat into patties. Do not press too hard, as the patties may fall apart.
- Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes per side in the same skillet where you toasted the buns. Season the patties with salt before and after flipping them over in the skillet.
- To build the burger, place a bottom bun on a plate. Spread some smoky sauce on the bun. Top with 1 slice of American cheese, followed by 1 burger patty and another slice of American cheese. Cut 2 slices of bacon in half and place the resulting 4 pieces of bacon on top of the cheese. Add 3 or 4 tomato slices and some shredded lettuce. Spread smoky sauce on the top bun and place it on the burger.
Would you happen to have just the CopyKat Receipe for the Smoky Sauce for the McDonald’s Smokey BLT Cheeseburger. There is to much sodium for my diet to fix this receipe so if I could get just the smoky sauce receipe I could fix a burger without the bun since I’m on a low sodium diet.
I am sorry I didn’t get around to the Smoky Cheeseburger when it was out. I don’t know what is in the smoky sauce for the cheeseburger, I would have guessed it was the same sauce. So my ingredients for the smokey sauce where mayonnaise, liquid smoke, and paprika. Here is there an option for a low-sodium mayonnaise, both liquid smoke, and paprika should not contain sodium.