Lamb Burgers

These easy lamb burgers are so tender, juicy, delicious and such a fun way to mix up your next burger night. With flavour-packed ingredients (like garlic, fresh herbs and feta cheese), after one bite of these homemade lamb burgers you’ll be craving another!

Burgers, especially homemade burgers, are one thing I could never tire of. Just like sandwiches, pizza and homemade soup I could enjoy it every day. I love them, and the possibilities are pretty much endless when it comes to toppings, so it’s easy to mix things up.

Generally speaking, ground lamb can be a tad more expensive than, say, ground beef, so it’s always a treat when we have these homemade lamb burgers. They’re perfect for burger night when you’re craving something different, yet special enough if you’re entertaining family and friends.

Fan of homemade burgers too? Check out this prosciutto and blue cheese burger!

Ingredients

• Ground lamb: Of course, ground lamb is the star of this homemade burger recipe! Ground lamb can often be found alongside other ground meats in the grocery store, though it’s not quite as readily available as, say, ground beef or ground pork.
• Veggies: Garlic and red onion add a tremendous amount of flavour.
• Fresh bread crumbs: You can usually find packages of fresh bread crumbs in the grocery store alongside loaves of bread. Alternatively, you can make some yourself by processing a slice or two of sandwich bread in a food processor or blender until you have fine crumbs.
• Feta cheese: I used a plain, regular feta cheese. If you want to add another element of flavour to your burger, use a seasoned variety. You can often get feta cheese flavoured with herbs, such as oregano.
• Fresh herbs: Which includes parsley and dill. Both add plenty of herbaceous flavour and a pop of colour to the burger patties.
• Seasoning: The seasoning itself uses some pretty simple pantry ingredients (salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes).
• Olive oil: Used for pan frying the burgers.
• Lemon dill yogurt sauce: This homemade sauce takes minutes to make and is a great addition to these lamb burgers. I always love to add a generous amount to my burgers because it’s so yummy.
• Hamburger buns: Brioche buns are my go-to burger buns. Feel free to use whatever variety you enjoy best.
• Optional burger toppings: Baby spinach, red onion, tomato, cucumber and feta cheese are great additions.

How To Make Lamb Burgers

Here is an overview of how to make feta lamb burgers (full details are in the recipe card below):

1. Add the lamb burger ingredients (except the lemon dill yogurt sauce, olive oil and hamburger buns, of course), to a large bowl, and then mix to combine.
2. Form the lamb mixture into burger patties, and then make a little indentation in the centre of each patty.
3. Pan fry the lamb burgers until cooked through.
4. Assemble the burgers onto buns with the yogurt sauce and optional burger toppings.

When Are They Cooked?

When cooking these ground lamb burgers, they should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. An instant-read food thermometer is a great tool to use to make sure you get perfect results every time.

Topping Ideas

Like pretty much any homemade burger, they pair well with toppings. These lamb burgers go great with any of these optional burger topping ideas:

• Sliced tomato
• Baby spinach or baby arugula
• Sliced red onion
• Sliced cucumber
• Crumbled feta cheese (though there is feta cheese actually inside the lamb patties, I love to add more when assembling the burgers, it’s so good!)

What To Serve With Lamb Burgers

Some of my favourite sides to serve with these lamb burgers are:

• Pita chips and hummus
• Greek salad
• Creamy Greek pasta salad
• Crispy potato wedges
• Greek lemon potatoes
• Tabouli salad (or Tabbouleh salad)
• Lemon chicken orzo soup with spinach

Tips

• Make the patties in advance: It’s soon summer, and there will surely be lots of get togethers with family and friends. If you want to prep the burger patties a day ahead, you can totally do that. What you’ll want to do is make the patties and then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The next day when you are ready to cook them, take them out of the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking (just to get the chill off) and proceed with the recipe. Easy!
• Burger size: The lamb patties were about 3.5 inches in diameter. When forming the burger patties, it’s a great idea to make them a tad larger than the hamburger buns you are going to use as the burgers shrink a bit as they cook.
• Even patties: Making a little indentation in the centre of each lamb burger patty with your thumb or a spoon before cooking helps to keep the patties from swelling up in the centre as they cook. That way, you’ll end up with a nice, even patty.
• Grill: If you want to grill your lamb burgers instead of pan frying them, go for it! Just preheat your grill to about 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side or until they’re cooked through (the internal temperature of the burgers reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Don’t press down: Don’t press down on the burger patties with a spatula as they are cooking. You don’t want to squish out all their tasty juices and flavour. You want to keep that goodness in the burger patties, not in your pan.

Burger Variations

• Burger sauce: If you don’t want to use the homemade lemon dill yogurt sauce, another fantastic sauce/condiment for these lamb burgers is Tzatziki (it’s a match made in heaven).
• Switch up the protein: If you like the flavours of this lamb burger recipe, but aren’t quite sure if you are a fan of ground lamb (or simply can’t get your hands on some), you can substitute with ground beef or ground bison. Of course, it won’t quite be the same end result but will still taste yummy.
• Nix the bun: I love serving burgers on brioche buns, but for a fun twist try serving the burgers in pita bread, in a flour tortilla or on large lettuce leaves (like Boston lettuce).

More Homemade Burger Recipes

• Moose Burger
• Mushroom Swiss Burger
• Buffalo Chicken Burger

If you try this recipe for lamb burgers with feta, be sure to leave a comment below!