Savory Caramelized Onion Burger
Rich and flavorful, this Caramelized Onion Burger will put your summer grilling over the top. In a hurry? Pre-make your onions and it will come together in a snap!
This year we bought a new gas grill. It was inexpensive, but the starter works, the burners light (all of them!) and it gets hot enough for a perfect sear.
Bring on the burgers and steaks!!
Even better if I can do burgers with a twist–just because variety’s the spice of life! Stuffed Pizza Burger? Yup. Flavorful Chimichurri Burger? Count me in.
And how about a savory Caramelized Onion Burger!
Why You’ll Love This!
Tasty. This Caramelized Onion Burger delivers classic flavor. Which mean you can’t go wrong with it–any time.
Speed option. Caramelize your onions ahead of time (in bulk even) and this will come together in a snap (see Tips below).
Special. Everyone loves a good burger—they’re tasty, easy and crowd-pleasing. But on your 47th burger of the season, raise your hand if you want something special!
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Onions. Any type will work but white or yellow onions will end up a better color than red onions, which tend to turn slightly grey.
- Butter or oil. This is used to caramelize the onion.
- Ground beef. This is the main component of the burger. But another type of meat or a plant-based burger should work as well. I use an organic grass-fed beef that I buy from a local farmer.
- Salt, pepper. For seasoning the meat.
- Hamburger buns. These hold the sandwich together. I think a brioche bun is delicious for this, but any will do.
- Gruyere cheese. This adds flavor and nutrition. I think that the nuttiness of Gruyere complements the caramelized onions well, but you can use another well melting cheese if you prefer.
- Lettuce for serving.
Special Tools
- A grill is nice, otherwise can be done stovetop with a cast iron or stainless steel frying pan
Step by Step Directions
To caramelize onions: In a small frying pan, melt butter or heat oil, then add your thinly sliced onions. Cook on medium, stirring occasionally until onions are a rich golden brown. Stir in water a tablespoon at a time if onions are sticking to pan and stir in any tasty brown bits. This will take about 30 minutes.
If using pre-cooking onions, re-heat them while the burgers are cooking.
To make the burgers, preheat the grill while you form your beef into the desired number of patties (3-5–see below for size discussion). Salt and pepper the finished patties, then place on hot grill.
Grill about 3-4 minutes per side (depending on grill temperature and thickness) until cooked through, adding cheese at the end if desired.
Toast the buns, then place the burgers on then, topping with a couple tablespoons of caramelized onion and lettuce if desired.
Serve immediately.
On How Large to Make Your Burger
So, true confessions, when I’m serving just myself and my husband, we divide up a pound of ground beef into 3 patties of just over 5 ounces each. That would yield about 4 ounce burgers cooked and he gets two and while I have one. It’s a luxurious experience, with no deprivation and little guilt (since his cholesterol is perfect).
I also think that dividing a pound into four 4 ounce burgers (3 ounces cooked) comes off as tasty and satisfying.
But when our kids were all at home, we could make that pound of beef work for 5 burgers. Dad got to eat extra potatoes, and all was well.
So sometimes how large you make your burgers has more to do with how many patties you need than anything else! If you do make small burgers, however, consider serving them on slider buns which won’t dwarf the burger. And work better for smaller kids anyway!
How to Serve
To turn this Caramelized Onion Burger into a complete meal, just add a vegetable side. My favorite addition for casual dining is a simple vegetable salad like: Thai Carrot Slaw, Carrot Raisin Salad, or Broccoli Bacon Salad.
For bigger eaters, fries are always good like these Air Fryer Eggplant Fries! In a pinch you can even add a store bought cole slaw or raw veggies and hummus. Tasty, easy and healthy!
Variations
Summer is prime time cookout time–though I’ve been known to grill all winter in Wisconsin even!
But if you need to cook inside, stovetop will work as well. I actually have a nice cast iron grill pan that even gives me grill marks, though a standard cast iron or stainless steel pan would work as well! I’d don’t recommend a non-stick pan due to the high cooking temperatures and preheating.
To cook stovetop, preheat your pan on medium-high and spray with a non-stick spray. Sear the burgers on both sides, then turn down the heat and cover to finish cooking. You may need to take the pan off the heat briefly to bring the temperature down if you are using an electric stove. Use an instant read thermometer to check doneness.
Tips & FAQs
My oldest is a huge fan of caramelized onions and always make them in bulk–then she freezes them in manageable quantities. I hadn’t tried this but when I realized how overzealous I was collecting local onions to last out the winter, I decided to get on the bandwagon.
Turns out I love having a steady supply of caramelized onions in the freezer—and find they enhance so many dishes. Stay tuned for my new Caramelized Onion Quiche recipe coming up!
I like to start cooking my hamburgers on a really hot grill—450-500F to start, then turning it down once the outside is cooked. This way they seem to get a beautiful sear on the outside and stay juicy inside. I think that’s part of the philosophy behind the smash burgers that are all the rage!
I prefer burgers on a toasted bun but wanted to share a caution about toasting on a grill. Even the top rack that is way above the burgers can burn your buns (ask me how I know this). So I’ve been toasting my buns off to the side or sometimes even in the toaster (shhh).
While many people swear by pressing on a burger to check doneness, I usually recommend using an instant read thermometer to confirm that your burgers are cooked through.
If you’re not familiar with grass-fed beef, check out this article on the health benefits. Then buy from your local farmer!
Caramelized Onion Burger
Ingredients
- 2 large onions or ¾ cup pre-caramelized onions
- 1 Tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- Salt, pepper
- 3-5 hamburger buns depending on burger size
- 1-2 ounces gruyere cheese sliced or grated, or other well melting cheese (optional)
- Lettuce for serving optional
Instructions
- To caramelize onions: In a small frying pan, melt butter or heat oil, then add your thinly sliced onions. Cook on medium, stirring occasionally until onions are a rich golden brown. Stir in water a tablespoon at a time if onions are sticking to pan and stir in any tasty brown bits. This will take about 30 minutes.
- If using pre-cooking onions, re-heat them while the burgers are cooking.
- To make burgers, preheat the grill while you form your beef into the desired number of patties. Salt and pepper the finished patties, then place on hot grill.
- Grill about 3-4 minutes per side (depending on grill temperature and thickness) until cooked through, adding cheese at the end if desired.
- Toast the buns, then place the burgers on then, topping with a couple tablespoons of caramelized onion and lettuce if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
The combination of caramelized onions and Gruyere sounds divine. Can’t wait to fire up my grill and give this a try!
I hope you enjoy Raymund!