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This grilled lamb burger is juicy, easy to make and ready in 20 minutes. It’s seasoned with Mediterranean spices and served with sumac onions and a tasty yogurt sauce.
Nothing beats grilling at home and I sure do have a tasty recipe for you today! This homemade lamb burger is packed with a lot of flavor and is so quick to make. Just like our spatchcock chicken, grilled steak sandwich and grilled steak, this recipe calls for a handful of ingredients and is full of flavor thanks to the combination of spices used to make the patties.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy: As easy as mix, shape and grill, these burgers are one of the simplest meals you’ll try.
- Quick: You only need 20 minutes to make this juicy lamb burgers: 10 minutes prep and 10 minutes grilling and assembling.
- Grill or pan: I have provided cooking instructions for outdoor grilling as well as using a pan if you’re going to make this recipe indoors.
Tips to make the best lamb burger
- Season generously: Similar to our grilled lamb chops, this recipe calls for a combination of spices. Use enough spices to flavor the meat, bland burgers are no good.
- Don’t overcook: Burgers can get dry and crumbly if cooked for too long.
- Avoid overmixing: No need to knead the meat when making burgers, just mix long enough for the ingredients to combine. Overmixing would make the burgers dry.
- Take it easy: Make sure the grill or the pan is hot, flip the burgers only once and you’ll have the best burgers.
Ingredients
- Ground lamb: You can find ground lamb at almost any supermarket now. It has a good amount of fat which will result in juicy burgers.
- Onion: Grated onion adds a lot of flavor to the burgers.
- Garlic: Make sure the garlic is minced well.
- Spices: A combination of Mediterranean spices such as allspice, cumin and coriander makes these burgers very delicious.
How to make lamb burgers
- In a large bowl mix the ground lamb with grated onion, garlic and spices. Mix until all is combined.
- Divide the mixture into 8 pieces and shape each piece into burgers. With your finger, press the middle to form an indentation.
- Preheat the grill to medium high, brush the grates with vegetable oil and place the burgers on the grill.
- Grill for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, flipping once. Make sure not to overcook the burgers.
- Assemble the burgers – brioche buns, cucumber, tomatoes, sumac onion and yogurt sauce. Serve immediately.
Variations
These lamb burgers are versatile and you can make them to your liking. Here are a few suggestions:
- Make them spicy by adding 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Use a combination of beef and lamb instead of only lamb.
- Add crumbled feta to the burger mixture.
Serving suggestions
I like serving these lamb burgers with sumac onion and homemade yogurt sauce, you can use use pickled cabbage, tahini sauce, tzatziki or even hummus. As for side dishes, try Greek baked fries, grilled vegetables or Mediterranean potato salad.
We also love having ezme, Mediterranean salad or shirazi salad on the side as it adds a lot of fresh flavors.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. If you don’t own a grill or prefer to make these burgers in the kitchen, you can use a grill pan or a cast iron skillet. Heat the pan over medium high heat and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Place the burgers in the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
Yes, you can make these with beef if you like. Make sure the beef is 80% to 90% lean. I don’t recommend using ground chicken or turkey.
You can make the burger mixture one day in advance and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to grill. I don’t recommend grilling the burgers in advance to serve later.
You can freeze uncooked burger patties. To do so, shape the burgers and place the on a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let the burgers freeze for 2 hours. Layer them in a freezer bag with parchment paper in between. Let the burgers thaw completely in the fridge before grilling.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, reheat them in the oven at 325 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Mediterranean Grilled Lamb Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground lamb
- 1 large onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Yogurt sauce
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 lemon , zest of
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Serve with
- 8 brioche buns, toasted
- 2 cups sumac onion
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced
- 1 Persian cucumber, sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix the ground lamb with the onion, garlic, allspice, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Mix the ingredients using your hands until combined.
- Divide the mixture into 8 pieces and shape each piece into a burger. Make an indentation in the middle of each burger using your finger.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat and brush the grates with vegetable oil. Place the burgers on the grates and grill for 5 minutes on each side, flipping once.
- Make the yogurt sauce by mixing the yogurt, sumac, salt, pepper, lemon zest, vinegar and parsley in a bowl.
- Assemble the burgers with buns, tomatoes, cucumbers, sumac onions and yogurt sauce.
Video
Notes
- You can use lamb, beef or a mixture of lamb and beef for the patties. The mixture should be 80% to 90% lean.
- You can make these lamb burgers on an outdoor grill or on a grill pan or a cast iron skillet on the stove. Make sue the pan is hot and brush it lightly with vegetable oil. Cook for 5 minutes on each side.
- Freezing instructions: You can freeze uncooked burger patties. To do so, shape the burgers and place the on a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let the burgers freeze for 2 hours. Layer them in a freezer bag with parchment paper in between. Let the burgers thaw completely in the fridge before grilling.
- Leftovers: Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- Don’t overmix the lamb mixture so it stays juicy and tender.
- Make sure not to overcook the patties on the grill. Overcooked burgers can get dry.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What magnificent flavors in this Mediterranean inspired grilled lamb burger. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into one of these. Yummy!
These lamb burgers were already incredible, but when you add that sauce? OMG so good.
We thoroughly enjoyed these lamb burgers for our lunch bbq today. Full of flavour and the sauce went so well with them too! Thanks for a great recipe!
These are crazy good. I love lamb, but I’ve never made burgers with it. The flavor is PERFECT with a charcoal grill, which is what I used.
I can’t wait to make this Mediterranean Grilled Lamb Burgers recipe, never tried it before so I am excited. Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing 🙂