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30 mouth-watering burger recipes you NEED to try
Brilliant burger recipes
By Jane Curran · May 28, 2024
Originally published on loveFOOD
Homemade is best
You just can't beat a burger, and you definitely can't beat a homemade burger. This collection is guaranteed to give you new favourites to try. Whether you want a classic melting cheeseburger, something new with fish, or tasty ideas for veggies and vegans, you'll find them here. There are burgers for spice-lovers, chicken fanatics, pulled pork aficionados and chili fiends. So what are you waiting for? It's time to fire up the grill and get cooking.Cheddar and corn smash burger
Smash? Yes, because you crush a ball of burger mixture on to a hot surface to give lots of crunchy, crisp edges. This is cooked over fire using a 'chapa', a heavy cast iron flat pan (or use a solid baking sheet). Cook sweetcorn, chipotle flakes and shallots until charred, then cook bacon until crisp. Put balls of meat on, flatten, then once they are cooked on one side, add the corn mix and cheese. Layer it all up on toasted buns.
Slow-cooked barbecue chicken sliders
Chicken thighs, cooked in a slow cooker with barbecue sauce, onions, garlic, honey, Worcestershire sauce, lime, tomato purée and paprika, served with a chipotle mayonnaise and slices of avocado, will be a winner every time. If you don't have a slow cooker, you can bake the chicken, covered, in the oven, for two hours at 120°C fan (140°C/275°F/gas mark 1). When cooked, shred the meltingly tender chicken with two forks.
Get the recipe for slow-cooked barbecue chicken sliders here
Vegan kimchi burgers
Here's a vegan burger with a difference. The base is made with tempeh, a fermented soya bean meat substitute. You can also buy ready-made kimchi, which is widely available in major supermarkets and specialty Asian grocery stores. The burgers are spiced up with ginger, garlic and chilli, then layered in a bun with lettuce and vegan mayo.
Fried fish burger
How about making a homemade version of a fast food classic – crisp, crunchy baked fish in a bun with mayo and salad. Follow our method for breading the fish in our tacos recipe. Mashed or slices of avocado with a squeeze of fresh lime would be perfect with a fried fish burger.
Chickpea burgers
Mass-produced veggie burgers can be dry and rather tasteless. So try these, made with Indian spices, which are fried off with onion, garlic and ginger, to bring out their flavour and aroma. Served with a lighter coleslaw dressed with yogurt and mayonnaise, the chickpea base is only part-blended, so the result is a chunky texture.
Lamb and chorizo burger
Take a lamb burger to the next level by adding fiery cooking chorizo to the mix. It's served with a fresh apricot salsa, which cools the chilli. If apricots are hard to find, you can use peach or mango. The apricot is mixed with red onion, chilli, mint and lemon juice. Add some garlicky mayonnaise to the toasted brioche burger buns before assembling.
Get the recipe for lamb and chorizo burgers here
Big Max burger
Make your own homemade version of the Golden Arches classic. It's the sauce that really makes it, which is so simple to replicate. The quantity for the patties makes two burgers, so just up-size to make more. The sauce is sufficient for four servings. It's just a mayonnaise base with sweet pickle relish, onion and garlic powder, American mustard, vinegar and paprika. You'll have a big, crisp and meaty burger, with all the trimmings.
Pulled pork burger
Slow-cooked pork shoulder, baked in the oven in a spicy tomato marinade until it's so tender, it falls apart, is a winner for a burger. It's simple to prepare, but does need a long cooking time. Shred it with two forks for ease, then serve with a crunchy slaw in a bun. Leftovers are perfect for tacos or nachos, too.
Indian-spiced chicken burger
Minced chicken is mixed with spices, garlic, ginger, chilli and fresh coriander to make these easy burgers with a big kick of flavour. They are served with a herby lemon mayonnaise with lettuce, tomato and onion rings. They taste just as good made with turkey mince, too.
Get the recipe for Indian-spiced chicken burgers here
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Chipotle, mushroom and bean burger
The secret ingredient in these moreish vegan burgers is peanut butter. Simply whizz up the peanut butter with black beans, garlic, chipotle flakes, cumin, olive oil, rye flour and sea salt, add whizzed up chestnut mushrooms and make into four thick patties. They are baked in the oven, though you can finish them on the grill. To serve, squeeze over fresh lime juice, add chopped peanuts and fresh coriander, then serve in toasted buns.
Crispy chicken burger
Ditch that takeaway for this speedy, healthy version of a favourite burger. The chicken breasts are marinated in buttermilk for an hour or so to tenderise them. They are then coated in seasoned flour and baked in the oven, rather than being deep-fried. Serve in a bun with chilli mayonnaise, avocado, crunchy lettuce and slices of pickle.
Spiced Mediterranean burgers
Minced beef and lamb are combined Middle-Eastern style, with onion, garlic, parsley, fresh coriander, dried oregano, cumin, cinnamon and a splash of hot pepper sauce. They are shaped into a sausage for a baguette roll, or you can make them into burger patties. Served with cooling yogurt, fresh herbs, shallots and tomato, they only take 30 minutes to prepare and cook.
Kids' veggie burgers
All kids love a burger so making a tasty veggie variety is a smart way to sneak in more vegetables for those picky eaters. Our easy recipe is potato-based, with onion, carrot and cabbage. A little cheese and tomato ketchup are added to boost the flavour. You could incorporate any veg you have to hand – frozen peas and sweetcorn are always a winning addition.
Shawarma-spiced seitan burger
Seitan is a meat substitute which comes in one piece, which you slice. This recipe is a vegan twist on a Middle Eastern chicken shawarma, where the seitan is coated in spices, then stir-fried with garlic, ginger, soy, chilli sauce and rice wine, to make it wonderfully sticky. There's an Asian-inspired slaw to make with sesame oil and tamari, then it's all piled up in a bun with a sriracha mayonnaise.
Chicken katsu curry burger
Chicken katsu is a Japanese fried chicken dish, served with a curry sauce. It makes a perfect filling for a burger bun. The curry sauce is easy, made with store cupboard ingredients. The chicken is dipped in panko breadcrumbs – worth searching out as they are much lighter than standard crumbs. Add mayo, lettuce and thin slices of red onion to the bun, then serve with sweet potato fries.
Spinach, tomato and mushroom burger
Here's an umami-rich, savoury, tasty veggie burger. The ingredients are simple, but the wow factor comes from marinating slices of tomato for a few hours in soy, brown sugar, rice vinegar, chilli and ginger. The mushrooms are cooked with a herb butter to make them mouthwateringly juicy, then add cooked spinach, before loading into a toasted bun.
Get the recipe for spinach, tomato and mushroom burgers here
Classic cheeseburger
Everyone needs a really great cheeseburger in their recipe collection. A few tips you need to know, though. The minced beef should be 20% fat, so it has flavour and doesn't dry out. Don't press the meat too firmly, as you want the fat to render around the meat. Make your patties slightly bigger than the burger buns, as they shrink on cooking. Lastly, don't force the burger off the grill. It will flip once it's cooked on both sides.
Sweet potato burgers
The base of this veggie burger is baked, mashed sweet potato. To add texture and extra flavour, it's mixed with black beans, cooked onion and red pepper, with spices and breadcrumbs to hold it together. Remember to season the mixture well. The burger is served with mashed garlicky avocado, mayo, jalapeño chillies, lettuce and tomatoes.
Lamb and harissa burgers
Lamb is quite a rich, sweet meat so it pairs well with hot spices like harissa, a North African chilli paste which is spiked with caraway, garlic and roasted peppers. Add parsley, for freshness, and some chopped onion. Serve with raita, a mixture of yogurt, mint, cumin and lemon, rather than mayonnaise, which would be too rich with the lamb.
Pea and spinach burgers
Made with frozen peas, frozen spinach, fresh herbs and chia seeds, with ricotta and eggs to bind the mixture, these green burgers will be a hit with everyone. Serve in a bun with tzatziki and fresh rocket. Any leftovers make for an easy lunch box treat.
Salmon burger
Try a Scandi-style fish burger for something different. With the characteristic Nordic flavours of dill, mustard, anchovies, capers and horseradish, the burgers are served with a homemade dip of Greek yogurt, fresh dill, mint and cucumber. Serve in a soft bun or in toasted pitta breads. These are really good if you add some small prawns or shrimp to the salmon, too.
Mushroom and bean burger
The base of this veggie burger is mashed kidney beans, mixed with diced mushrooms which have been cooked with onion and spices. Mixed with fresh coriander, crushed tortilla chips for texture and hot pepper sauce, they are lightly fried until crisp on the outside. Serve with an easy green chilli mayo, and onions tossed in a lime, coriander and garlic oil.
Sweet and sticky duck burger
Sweet and sticky Chinese-style duck is a firm favourite, so why not try it in a bun? Follow our recipe, then thinly slice or shred the duck. Serve with crunchy cabbage, bean sprouts and shredded carrot, and a generous amount of hoisin or plum sauce on the bun.
Shredded chicken burger
Shredded chicken works just as well as pulled pork as a burger. It's just delicious in a bun with crunchy coleslaw and hot sauce. It's easy to prepare, and our recipe explains how to poach a whole chicken. Any leftovers from your burgers would be great in a stir-fry, added to soup or for tacos with slaw, avocado and hot sauce.
Vegan burger with 'bacon'
This is a firm, crisp savoury burger with an appealing texture. The base is shiitake mushrooms, kidney beans and rice, given added crunch with oatmeal, flavoured with garlic, onion, miso, balsamic vinegar, herbs and brown sauce. The 'bacon' is the genius touch – strips of rice paper are marinated and baked in the oven until crisp. There's a recipe for vegan mayo, too, based on soya milk, but just buy a jar if you prefer.
Ultimate chuck steak burger
Ever fancied trying to make your own burger buns? Well, here's the recipe for you. Although there are instructions on how to make the dough by hand, you can speed up the process by using a food processor or a free-standing mixer with the dough hook attachment. The recipe uses chuck steak, as it can have more flavour and fat than prepared minced beef. The burgers are coated in a salt and pepper crust before grilling.
Spicy pork burgers
Minced pork makes a great alternative to beef, as it can take on so many flavours. In this case, it's seasoned with Cajun-style spices – cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and garlic. The burgers are served with a fresh peach salsa, with chilli, fresh coriander, lime, ginger and onion, with a little oil. Add crisp sweet potato wedges, cooked with garlic and chilli flakes.
Burgers with caramelised onion and green chilli yogurt
These Indian-style burgers are just bursting with so many flavours. The meat (use beef or lamb) is spiced with ginger, garlic, garam masala and onion. The caramelised onions are cooked with panch phoron, which is an Indian five-spice blend, but use garam masala instead if you like. A roasted green chilli yogurt really brings all the tastes together. These burgers are perfect for barbecue-cooking.
Get the recipe for burgers with caramelised onion and green chilli yogurt here
African volcano burger
If you like your burgers spicy, hot and sweet, try this South African recipe, where the meat is marinated in tomato ketchup, chutney, soy, onion, cola, barbecue spices and hot peri-peri sauce. The marinated beef is then mixed with ketchup, peri-peri and soy. You'll need to allow at least three hours for the marinating, but it's worth the wait, before grilling and topping with cheese.
Venison burger
Using minced venison in place of beef gives a leaner burger with a light, gamey flavour. The venison is mixed with crushed juniper berries, a classic combination. Juniper tastes of pine – it's tart, sharp with an overall citrus flavour, so it makes these burgers a little different. They are cooked and served just like a cheeseburger, but it's the sweet chilli sauce on the side which makes all the difference.
Get the recipe for venison burger here
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