Today I have for you my ultimate grilled Greek burgers! Creamy yogurt sauce, acidic marinated cucumbers, and a spiced beef patty come together on a toasted potato bun for an amazing summer dinner.
Hello! We are winding down summer vacation here and getting all ready for school. I know other parts of the country the kids are back already, but here in the Northeast we start end of August/beginning of September. Time to do a little clothes shopping with my 13 year old daughter (can’t believe she’s already a teenager!) and get in a few last fun days.
And time to fit in a few more grilling evenings!
While I have all sorts of yummy fall recipes on my list, we still can have one more hurrah, yes?
Though I’ll admit that I cranked up my air conditioning and did some baking this week. However, my zucchini feta pie and my plum crostata were totally worth it! You are seriously going to want to make those once the weather gets cooler.
Onto today’s recipe… Greek burgers are one of those recipes which took a journey. I started with the idea of a lamb kebab and then it was a lamb sliders on a pita, but I kept getting ehs from the family. Basically the ground lamb we have gets too strong on the grill. Even half and half didn’t work. Even I didn’t love it and I love lamb.
Once I switched to beef and took a traditional approach (potato rolls FTW!), then the recipe came together and I’ve been making them all summer. It just took until now for us to pause long enough before eating them so I could take photos and share these awesome, juicy, garlicky Mediterranean-style burgers with you!
How to Make Greek Burgers
My Greek burgers start with ground beef mixed with herbs and spices, which is shaped into patties and grilled until browned on the outside and juicy on the inside. Then add a creamy sauce and vinegary cucumber salad and you have the ultimate Greek burger.
- Mix the ground beef with spices and let it rest.
- Make the yogurt feta sauce.
- Put together the cucumber red onion salad.
- Grill the burgers.
- Layer all the ingredients on toasted potato buns.
Making the Yogurt Feta Sauce
Take out a bowl and fill it with thick plain yogurt, crumbled feta, and a glug of olive oil. Then grate (or finely mince) some garlic into the bowl. Mix it all together until fully combined.
To finish it off, add some fresh ground black pepper and some thinly sliced mint. You can make the sauce right before serving or let it rest in the fridge for a few hours to a few days.
Making Cucumber Onion Salad
Thinly slice 2-3 small cucumbers (I love the thin skinned seedless variety) and about half of a red onion. You can do this with a sharp knife, in your food processor, or with a mandoline.
Tip: I have a GSD mandoline with snap in blades which is easy to use and to clean.
Then whisk up the vinaigrette and toss with the sliced veggies. This is best left to sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Making the Greek Burgers
To keep the Mediterranean flavors going all the way through the recipe, I mix the ground beef with garlic, cumin, and oregano along with an egg, breadcrumbs, and salt. Let it rest long enough to hydrate the breadcrumbs, then form the meat into 4 patties.
Now, heat up the grill, cook the burgers, and toast the buns.
Once everything is done, it’s time to eat! Layer a bun with cucumber salad, one burger, a tomato slice if you want and then top with yogurt feta sauce. Yum!
What to Serve with Greek Burgers
Now that you have a recipe for my kickass Greek burgers, what are you going to serve with them? Not sure? Luckily, I have some great ideas and recipes on the site.
First up: Israeli hummus. You got to make hummus. We dip the burgers right in the hummus and the flavors are just perfect together.
Next up: a salad. I have so many salads here that would be great with the burgers! You can scroll through my salad category, or check out my top three picks for this recipe.
For a pasta salad option, I love my Greek Orzo Salad with Feta and Peas. Or you can go traditional with my Chopped Greek Salad. If you want to move away from Greek salads, and toward potato salad, my Potato Salad with Olives and Capers is a great Mediterranean choice.
Other Greek Dinner Recipes
Here are a few of my other Greek influenced weeknight dinner recipes.
- Greek Lamb Meatballs and Rice
- Grilled Eggplant and Halloumi Sandwich
- Greek Pasta with Shrimp Feta and Olives
- Greek Chicken Stifado
If you try my recipe for Grilled Greek Burgers, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Grilling, Annemarie
Grilled Greek Burgers with Yogurt Feta Sauce
Ingredients
Greek Burgers
- 1 1/4 lb ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs, or 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Feta Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2% or whole milk
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta, about 2 oz
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Cucumber Onion Salad
- 3 small thin skinned cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp honey
Extras
- 4 hamburger buns, potato buns preferably
- 1 large tomato, sliced
Instructions
Greek Burgers
- In a large bowl, mix together all the burger ingredients. Let the mixture rest for 1 hour.
- Preheat the grill. While it's heating, shape the meat into 4 patties. Press down on the middle of each patty just a little to make a depression. This will keep the burgers flatter as they cook.
- Grill the burgers over high heat with the grill open for 3 minutes. Then flip and grill them until they reach 165F, which is well done with no pink.
- While the grill is hot put the buns on the grill and grill them for 1-2 minutes per side, or until you see some grill marks.
- Once the burgers and buns are done, set them out along with the yogurt feta sauce, the cucumber onion salad, and the sliced tomatoes. Let everyone make their burgers.
Yogurt Feta Sauce
- Make the sauce while the ground beef mix is resting.
- Add the yogurt, feta, olive oil, garlic, mint, and some salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk to mix well. Set aside.
Cucumber Onion Salad
- Also while the meat resting, make the cucumber salad.
- Put the sliced cucumbers and onions in a medium bowl. In a cup mix together the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and honey until combined. Pour the dressing over the cucumbers and toss to combine.
Notes
BitofBaconHQ Pet Corner
I’ve done this from time to time and I think I should do it a little more. We have three cats, a dog, and a turtle. And they should get a little love here. 🙂
Today’s love is for Starbuck. She is an adorable cat who loves to snuggle on her terms. She is also the hero of the week. A couple of nights ago, just before I was off to bed (around midnight – night owl here), she was yowling on the stairs. Because she caught a mouse! EEK! She hadn’t killed it, so I got the daughter up (another night owl) and we trapped the mouse and released it down the road a bit. Starbuck deserves all the tuna. Neither of the boy cats did a thing to help.
Amanda says
What a burger! I can’t stop staring at that luscious Feta sauce in your lead shot. Beautifully done! I love artisan burgers like these and it sounds like you really knocked it out of the park with the flavors, from the seasoned burgers themselves, to the sauce, and the bright cucumber salad. We’re making burgers for the Labor Day weekend and I think this one will definitely have to be on my plate!
Marguerita Currier says
I plan to make the Greek Burgers next week. I may use ground lamb, or ground sirloin. The Yogurt Feta Sauce and the Cucumber Salad sound amazing.
Tell Starbuck that Noni is proud of her.
Marge A.K.A. Mom
PS. I am giving this recipe a 5 Star Rating on Anticipation…
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks, mom! And I told Starbuck. 🙂 She seemed happy you were proud.
Marisa Franca says
Your Greek burgers have me drooling. The yogurt feta sauce sounds perfect for that Mediterranean taste. The meat looks so juicy and flavorful. In fact, these would be perfect for our Labor Day celebration.
Dana says
Greek-style burgers are one of my absolute favorites! I’ve been meaning to make them and I just keep forgetting. Now that I’ve stumbled upon this, I’m thinking it’s a sign. I need to get on that. You’ve built this one perfectly with everything I love to use <3
Jennifer Bigler says
What a fun burger! I love anything greek and this really takes your burger to another level. I love the idea of serving some of the salad recipes with it. The Feta Yogurt sauce brings a light a refreshing layer to it.
Sean@Diversivore says
If there’s one thing I like more than a good homemade burger it’s a good homemade burger with a theme. Don’t get me wrong, a basic burger with your favourite condiments is always nice, but I’ve really come to love when the burger is a whole meal, with specific flavours considered and presented all-together. So that’s my way of saying that I’d be all over one of these. Or maybe two. Thanks for trying out lamb for me – I probably would have tried it too. Haha. I can see how it might be a bit strong tasting though. But the feta, and yogurt, and that awesome salad topping? Oh man I could just jump right in. Fantastic recipe!
Julia says
I love recipes that people actually enjoy over and over again! It means that they are truly perfect! The flavours of this burger are totally amazing! I bet I could eat anything with that Feta Yogurt sauce! And the cucumber salad! Amazing! Only a few more days left before the school starts so I hope you get to enjoy one or two more bbqs
Tracy Koslicki says
Wow this is my kind of burger! I kind of want to put that feta yogurt sauce on EVERYTHING. Love how the recipe evolved from lamb to ground beef – those are the best!! And that cucumber salad ON the burger? Genius!
justalittlebitofbacon says
It is fun to see where a recipe takes me while I’m testing it. It’s often several degrees different and better than where I started. 🙂
Debra says
So many great flavors there! Your photos are gorgeous and make me want a burger. I absolutely love the crunch from the cucumbers on a burger. Great idea.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! And the cucumbers are great with the burgers. They’re like fresh pickles.
Lisa says
It is nearly the end of August and I just realized we haven’t made burgers at all this summer. That’s practically un-American. These Greek burgers are absolutely mouthwatering. Love the feta cheese in the dressing and that paper thin cucumber-onion pickled combo. There is just a mountain of flavor in this burger! I’m gonna get my hubby to fire up the grill this weekend. Can’t wait!
justalittlebitofbacon says
No? I must live with burger fanatics then. 🙂 It’s hard to go a week in the summer without at least a request for burgers.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I’m a little sad that summer is coming to an end. The fact that it is getting darker earlier is quite noticeable. I’d love to sink my teeth into this burger! I love how hefty it looks, and the oozing yogurt feta sauce looks divine!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
It is bittersweet! But the cooler weather lately has me energized there’s that. 🙂 And we loved the feta sauce. It would be great on so many things.
Gloria says
These sound amazing. We love Greek food in our house. I think I might swap out the beef for lamb. I know these would be perfect for the weekend….with a nice glass of wine to go along with it.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Feel free to switch to lamb! That is where I started and I think they could be great that way.
Carmy says
I love a good Greek burger and I am obsessed with your yogurt feta sauce. If there’s feta then I am IN. I need that sauce on everything. Props to Starbuck for being such a hero haha.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! Starbuck got plenty of tuna for her work! 🙂