Caprese Burgers are smothered with a red pesto, fresh mozzarella and basil all on a flame-grilled burger. The best gourmet burger out there!
And a good one… well a good one you will dream about for days, maybe even weeks. Some will argue that a good burger doesn’t need to be dressed.
Caprese burgers are simple, yet sophisticated and easy to prepare. So easy, you can set these items out on the fixing tray at any BBQ and elevate the occasion from casual to “fancy burger time”.
I argue that while it doesn’t need to be, why not? I mean I don’t need to accent my lovely outfit with jewelry, but I do! My Caprese Burger is a go-to in my house.
During the summer months, I lose the bun and go for a fork and knife. The tomato portion of the “caprese” is actually a blend of sun dried tomatoes and roasted red pepper, with fresh basil and mozzarella cheese.
Why You’ll Love These Caprese Burgers
What’s not to love about a juicy, gourmet burger like this one?
- Perfect summer burger – I love munching on caprese salads during summer, and even better when I can put those flavors on a burger.
- Easy to throw together – Despite this burger being gourmet, it’s really a cinch to make and put together.
- Change from traditional – Never have ho-hum boring burgers again after you try this delightful masterpiece.
Ingredients
You will easily find all of these caprese burgers ingredients at your local grocery store.
- Ground beef – I like to use an 80/20 mix. Using too lean of beef can dry out your burgers, and no one likes a dry burger!
- Sun dried tomatoes – Make sure these are drained if in oil. This will act as the “tomato” for our caprese, and be the base for the pesto.
- Roasted red pepper – You will want these to be drained if jarred. This is the other component of the pesto.
- Fine sea salt – Just a pinch of salt really helps to bring out the flavors of these gourmet burgers.
- Fresh basil leaves – We put these right on the burger in place of the lettuce, if you will. It really brings the caprese flavor together.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese – Sliced cheese is the way to go here. Shredded mozzarella tends to fall off, while a slice gets nice and melty.
- Kaiser rolls – You could really use any type of buns here, but kaiser rolls are nice and big to help soak up the juices.
Variations
There are plenty of ways you can make these caprese burgers your own. Here are a few ideas.
- Tomatoes – In place of the tomato slices in a traditional caprese salad, we use a sundried tomato pesto. But feel free to add in some tomato slices if desired.
- Beef – We use an 80/20 ground beef mix, but feel free to use ground sirloin or even ground chuck if that’s what you have on hand.
- Meat – If you’d like something a little leaner, try using ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef to form your patties.
- Buns – We used kaiser rolls, but regular hamburger buns are great too. Take things up a notch by brushing melted butter and garlic powder or clove garlic on the top bun.
- Balsamic – For an added kick, drizzle with a balsamic reduction, a few slices of red or caramelized onion or even add garlic to the sun dried tomato pesto. You can even just use a few dashes of balsamic vinegar if you don’t feel like making the reduction.
How to Make Caprese Burgers
Before you get started, making sure you have read my tips for making the best burger patty!
- Form patties and freeze. Divide ground beef into 4 equal parts and form hamburger patties. Stack into a tower (separated by wax paper) or put on a plate in a single layer and put into the freezer. Freezing will congeal the beef together and give you less probability of patty breakage.
- Make pesto. While they congeal, place sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and a dash of fine sea salt into a mini food processor and blend until a paste forms.
- Season burger patties. Remove hamburger patties from the freezer and season with salt and pepper. Do not over season with salt. It can dry up the natural juices resulting in dry patties.
- Cook burger patties. Heat the grill grates to medium-high heat. Grill the burgers for a few minutes on each side, then move them off the direct heat of the grill. Cook to desired temperature. Remove and allow to rest before assembling.
- Toast buns. Toast Kaiser rolls in the over or toaster if desired.
- Assemble your gigantic burger! Take one patty, slather it with the sun dried tomato paste, a few leaves of basil and a slice of mozzarella cheese, top it off with the other side of the bun!
How to Serve Caprese Burgers
You can serve these burgers with just about any side you can think of. The typical burger side would be fries, but try mixing things up with Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Potato Fries.
A green, leafy side salad with homemade Creamy Italian Dressing, PF Chang’s Spicy Green Beans or even Crunchy Baked Broccoli (secret ingredient for the hint of spice!) for a bit of green.
Storage and Freezing
How to Store Leftover Burgers
Burgers are a hard thing to reheat after being assembled, so I highly encourage you to finish the meal, but should you have leftovers, store the burgers separately and off the bun.
Can I Freeze Caprese Burgers?
You can store uncooked burgers in the freezer for up to three months as long as they are packaged correctly.
More Delicious Burgers
If you know me, you know I love a good burger. Here are a few of my favorites that I know you’ll love too.
Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers
Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers
Caprese Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef mix
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes drained if in oil
- 1/2 cup roasted red pepper drained if jarred
- Fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves loosely packed
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- 4 large kaiser rolls
Instructions
- Divide ground beef into 4 equal parts and form hamburger patties, make sure to read my “tips for a better burger“. Stack into a tower (separated by wax paper) or put on a plate in a single layer and put into the freezer. Freezing will congeal the beef together and give you less probability of patty breakage (sounds official, huh?).
- While they congeal, place sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and a dash of fine sea salt into a mini food processor and blend until a paste forms. If you are using sun dried tomatoes that were not packed in oil, you may need a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to create the right consistency.
- Remove hamburger patties from the freezer and season with salt and pepper. Do not over season with salt. It can dry up the natural juices resulting in dry patties.
- Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Grill the burgers for 2 minutes on each side, then move them to a lower-heat area of the grill. Cook another 2-3 minutes for medium-rare burgers, 3-4 minutes for medium, or 5-6 minutes for well-done burgers. Remove and allow to rest for 3-4 minutes before assembling.
- Toast Kaiser rolls in the over or toaster if desired.
- Assemble your gigantic burger! Take one patty, slather it with the sun dried tomato paste, a few leaves of basil and a slice of mozzarella cheese, top it off with the other side of the bun!
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Notes
Nutrition
This is my new favorite burger! I love the caprese flavors and iy turned out so juicy and delicious! Great recipe!
These are simple but so delicious. We love the fresh flavors and will definitely be making these again soon! So yummy!
Yay! Thanks for stopping by to let us know! We love them too!