This Greek Burger recipe is Mediterranean-inspired with the seasoned burger patty and toppings, but what really makes this recipe amazing is the Saganaki Cheese. This is a Greek cheese that is usually pan-fried or flambeed tableside in Greece. It is typically extinguished with lemon, which really makes the flavor of this cheese next level. These burgers take your regular burger up a notch and are perfect for summer.

❤️ Why You’ll Love These Greek Burgers

• Quick Prep: These Greek Burgers can be prepped in only 20 minutes. Prep them in advance and have them ready to cook up when your guests arrive.
• Flavorful: These burgers are made with seasonings like tomato, onion and parsley to really make the patty bursting with flavor.
• Versatile: Top these Greek Burgers with whatever you want. You can even just make up the patties and serve them on their own.

🍲 Ingredients

Graviera Cheese – A popular hard Greek cheese that is sweet, nutty, and buttery in flavor. It’s usually made of sheep’s or cow’s milk and is highly versatile. You can have it grated over dishes, pan-fried for saganaki (like this recipe), or just served at the table.

Pretzel Buns – I love to use pretzel buns for these Greek Burgers as they pair so perfectly with the rest of the ingredients but you can totally use potato buns, or whatever burger buns you have on hand.

Ground Beef – Ground beef is a great source of protein, and I love making burgers myself because I can feel good about the ingredients that are being put in them. PLUS they are literally so easy to make. If you want, you can swap the ground beef for your favorite ground meat alternative like chicken, turkey, pork, or lamb.

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👩‍🍳 How to Make Greek Burgers

1. Prepare all of the burger toppings and set aside.
2. Prepare the saganaki cheese ingredients by slicing the cheese, measuring out the flour, olive oil, brandy or bourbon and setting aside.
3. Make the burger patties: In a mixing bowl combine the ground beef, grated onion, grated tomato and their juices, egg, breadcrumbs, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix together to fully combine. Divide the mixture into 10 portions and use your hands to form into balls.
4. Preheat the flat-top to medium-high heat.
5. When the flat top is ready, oil the flat top with a bit of olive oil if desired. Working with one ball of meat at a time, place on the grill and smash the ball flat with a spatula until all of the burgers are on the grill. Cook each smash burger for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook for 3-4 more. Remove the burgers from the grill and set aside.
6. After the burgers come off the grill, let them rest while you toast the buns on the grill.

Once the buns are toasted, make the saganaki cheese for the burgers –

1. Brush each side of one cheese slice with water or run quickly under water. Then, dredge in the flour, shaking off excess flour.
2. Place a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot and then turn the heat to medium. Pour in 1 tbsp olive oil.
3. Add cheese to the hot pan and cook until the cheese just begins to melt and a golden brown crust forms, about 2 minutes. Quickly flip the cheese and cook another 1-2 minutes until golden brown on the other side.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat immediately and place on a wooden cutting board. You can skip this next step if you’d like to serve right away.
5. Make sure you have a lot of space above the pan as the flame can get quite high. Pour 2 tbsp bourbon or brandy over the cheese in the skillet and then light the bourbon using a long lighter so you can stand as far away from the pan for safety. Squeeze some lemon juice over top after the flames extinguish (you can gently blow on the flame to help it extinguish).
6. Repeat until you have 4 melted cheese slices.
7. Assemble the burgers by slathering the bottom of each bun with tzatziki and then stacking as follows: lettuce, tomato slice, burger patty, burger patty, slice of saganaki cheese and round of onion.

🗒 Substitutions

One of the best parts about burgers is how incredibly versatile they are. There are definitely a few substitutions you can make for these Greek Burgers. Here are some suggestions:

• Ground Beef: Use ground lamb instead or any other preferred vegetarian or meat substitute.
• Toppings: Swap any of my suggested toppings for your go-to burger toppings.
• Parsley: If you prefer another herb, you can substitute the fresh parsley for whatever you have on hand. Mint can add an interesting flavor, or even oregano.
• Graviera Cheese: If you can’t find this cheese, or you want to make this recipe up in a shorter amount of time, you can skip the flaming Saganaki cheese and just melt regular cheese on your burger patties.

🗒 Best served with

• Greek Potatoes
• Black Eyed Peas Salad
• Vegan Potato Salad

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftover Greek Burgers in an airtight container in the fridge. Throw back on the grill to reheat. You can also freeze these raw patties or cooked. Then just thaw and cook/reheat to enjoy.

🤔 Common Questions

Greek Burger with Flaming Saganaki Cheese

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These easy and delicious Greek Burger patties are perfect for summer BBQ season. They are tasty, and are paired with flaming saganaki cheese to really elevate your BBQ.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Greek-Inspired

Servings 5 burgers

Calories 743 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 5 pretzel buns
• 1 red onion sliced
• 1 large heirloom tomato sliced
• Butter Lettuce or iceberg lettuce
• 1 Tzatziki
• Optional: french fries

For the saganaki

• 5 slices of Graviera cheese about ½ inch thickness
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 10 tbsp brandy or bourbon
• 1 lemon halved

For the burgers

• 450 grams lean ground beef
• 1/2 large white or yellow onions grated
• 1 small tomato grated
• 1 egg
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

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Instructions

 

• Prepare all of the burger toppings and set aside.
• Prepare the saganaki cheese ingredients by slicing the cheese, measuring out the flour, olive oil, brandy or bourbon and setting aside.
• Make the burger patties: In a mixing bowl combine the ground beef, grated onion, grated tomato and their juices, egg, breadcrumbs, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Mix together to fully combine. Divide the mixture into 10 portions and use your hands to form into balls.
• Preheat the flat-top to medium-high heat.
• When the flat top is ready, oil the flat top with a bit of olive oil if desired. Working with one ball of meat at a time, place on the grill and smash the ball flat with a spatula until all of the burgers are on the grill. Cook each smash burger for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook for 3-4 more. Remove the burgers from the grill and set aside.
• After the burgers come off the grill, let them rest while you toast the buns on the grill.

Once the buns are toasted, make the saganaki cheese for the burgers –

• Brush each side of one cheese slice with water or run quickly under water. Then, dredge in the flour, shaking off excess flour.
• Place a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot and then turn the heat to medium. Pour in 1 tbsp olive oil.
• Add cheese to the hot pan and cook until the cheese just begins to melt and a golden brown crust forms, about 2 minutes. Quickly flip the cheese and cook another 1-2 minutes until golden brown on the other side.
• Remove the skillet from the heat immediately and place on a wooden cutting board. You can skip this next step if you’d like to serve right away.
• Make sure you have a lot of space above the pan as the flame can get quite high. Pour 2 tbsp bourbon or brandy over the cheese in the skillet and then light the bourbon using a long lighter so you can stand as far away from the pan for safety. Squeeze some lemon juice over top after the flames extinguish (you can gently blow on the flame to help it extinguish).
• Repeat until you have 4 melted cheese slices.
• Assemble the burgers by slathering the bottom of each bun with tzatziki and then stacking as follows: lettuce, tomato slice, burger patty, burger patty, slice of saganaki cheese and round of onion.
• and enjoy!

Video

Notes

• While these burgers are pretty stacked, we love to add pickled jalapenos or banana pepper for some spice!
• Remember, this is just our favourite way to stack this burger – you can stack it as you see fit!
• You can be super extra and make this even more Greek by adding fries to the burgers too (or serve on the side)

Nutrition

Calories: 743kcal | Carbohydrates: 59.6g | Protein: 43.5g | Fat: 31.6g | Saturated Fat: 9.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15.7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 110.5mg | Sodium: 1297mg | Fiber: 3.6g

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