Between regular beef burgers, turkey burgers, and even burgers made of fish, these healthy hamburger recipes will be your favorite new weeknight dinners to make.
1. Red Wine-Infused Mushroom Swiss Burger
Our take on the upscale dish is a mushroom swiss burger, and it’s a snap to make, tastes like it costs 20 bucks, and packs fewer calories than an average restaurant salad.
One of the many by-products of the Great Burger Boom of the 21st Century is what you might call the bourgie burger. You’ll recognize it by its exotic condiments and its 20-syllable menu name. Even chains like Ruby Tuesday and Chili’s have tried their hands at the bourgie burger—with predictably precarious results. Our take on the upscale dish is a mushroom swiss burger, and it’s a snap to make, tastes like it costs 20 bucks, and packs fewer calories than an average salad.
NUTRITION: 390 calories, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 360 mg sodium
SERVES 4
YOU’LL NEED
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1⁄2 cup red wine
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 lb ground sirloin
1⁄2 cup shredded Gruyère or other Swiss cheese
2 cups arugula
4 potato buns, lightly toasted on the insides
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Cook the bacon in a large sauté pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until browned and crispy. Remove and reserve.
- Drain off all but a teaspoon of the bacon fat, then return the pan to the stove.
- Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.
- Add the red wine and balsamic and simmer until the liquid begins to cling to the vegetables. Fold in the reserved bacon. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Preheat a grill, grill pan, or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
- Gently form the sirloin into 4 equal patties.
- Season the patties on both sides with salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes, until nicely charred on the bottoms.
- Flip, immediately cover with the cheese, and continue cooking for another 4 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the burgers are firm but gently yielding to the touch.
- Place a handful of arugula on the bottom of each bun and top with a burger.
- Divide the mushroom mixture among the 4 burgers and top with the bun tops.
2. Vegetarian Mushroom Burger With Mozzarella Cheese
We don’t mess around with fake patties in this mushroom burger recipe. Instead, we go straight for a meaty portobello cap, rubbed in olive oil and balsamic, and topped with a crown of melted mozz. Even if you’re a beef buff, we think you’ll like this meatless burger.
Veggie burgers may seem like safe havens for nonmeat eaters and calorie counters alike, but the shocking truth we discovered after years of analyzing restaurant nutritional information is that vegetarian burgers offer little to no refuge from the onslaught of calories, fat, and sodium found in beef burgers. We don’t mess around with fake patties in this mushroom burger recipe either; instead, we go straight for a meaty portobello cap, rubbed in olive oil and balsamic, and topped with a crown of melted mozz. Even if you’re a beef buff, we think you’ll like this meatless burger.
NUTRITION: 370 calories, 16 g fat (4 g saturated), 540 mg sodium
SERVES 4
YOU’LL NEED
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
4 large portobello caps, stems removed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
1⁄2 cup shredded mozzarella
4 slices red onion
4 potato rolls or whole-grain buns
A few handfuls of mixed greens, arugula, or other lettuce
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Heat a grill or grill pan.
- Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, red peppers, and garlic. (For a uniformly red mayo, puree in a food processor.)
- Rub the mushrooms with the olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.
- Grill, top side down, for 2 to 3 minutes, flip, and immediately add the cheese.
- Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the mushrooms are fully cooked. While the mushrooms are cooking, grill the onions until browned and toast the buns.
- Top each bun with greens, grilled onions, mushrooms, and the red pepper mayo.
