Level up your next burger by stuffing it with cheese and topping with sweet, jammy caramelized onions. If you love blue cheese, you’ll love this burger. If you don’t love blue cheese, just stuff it with another cheese (love it with goat cheese)! Caramelized onions are a labor of love because they require time and attention, but the result is a deeply flavored, sweet, jammy topping that you can add to so many things.
Ingredient highlight
Beef! Is an extremely nutrient-dense meat with lots of iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium to name a few. Try to buy grass-fed organic (and local if that’s an option) beef when possible.
This is a great article to help you understand what to look for when buying grass-fed beef.
Servings 4
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs grass-fed ground beef
- 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola or other blue cheese*
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 4 burger buns
- Lettuce (optional)
- BBQ sauce (homemade or store bought)
Caramelized onions
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 large yellow onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced (about ¼-inch thick)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- *I also love these (and maybe prefer these) with goat cheese!
Instructions
For the caramelized onions:
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter. Once the butter is melted and starting to bubble, add the onions and toss to coat.
- Let cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes or so. If the onions begin to burn, lower the heat and continue to cook. If the onions start to dry out or they have burned too much, just add a splash of water to hydrate and scrape up the burnt bits. Once the onions are deeply golden brown, turn off the heat and add a splash of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and stir to coat, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan.
For the burgers:
- Preheat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes.
- Divide the ground beef into 4 equal (6 oz) portions on a flat surface, then divide each of those in half (so you should have 8, 3 oz portions). Use your hands to flatten each into a ¼-inch thick round patty.
- Place 2-4 tbsp of cheese in the center of 4 of the patties, then place the remaining 4 patties on top. Carefully press the edges together to seal in the cheese and carefully fold the edges in (watch the video). Sprinkle salt and pepper all over.
- Grill the burgers, covered, for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through, flipping halfway. Place your buns on the grill during the last few seconds to lightly toast them. It’s best to let your burgers rest for 10-15 minutes for the juices to redistribute.
- Assemble your burgers starting with lettuce (if using), burger patty, BBQ sauce, and caramelized onions. I recommend cutting the burgers in half before eating (some cheese may ooze out, but you can dip/wipe your burgers in it on your plate).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Halve lengthwise and thinly slice 2 large yellow onions (about ¼-inch thick)
- Make caramelized onions
- Stuff/form your burgers
Substitutions:
- For vegetarians, I suggest making a different recipe, like Sundried Tomato Lentil Burgers, Ultimate Black Bean Burgers, Sundried Tomato Quinoa Burgers with Avocado Mash.
- To make dairy-free, skip the cheese or use a vegan cheese. You could also stuff with a vegan pesto or anything else you can think of that might be good in there!
- To make gluten-free, use a gluten-free bun or enjoy it as a bowl/plate with roasted potatoes.
- Come up with your own toppings!
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Cooked burgers: up to 4 days in the fridge
- Caramelized onions: up to 7 days in the fridge
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftover burgers in the microwave until warmed through.
- Turn it into a bowl! Serve the burger (topping with BBQ sauce) on top of a bed of dressed grains or greens along with the caramelized onion and crumbled cheese.
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