Skip takeout and make this Pizza Burger recipe instead! Topped with melty mozzarella, crispy tiny cup pepperoni, and homemade pizza sauce layered between a toasted garlic brioche bun, this fun and unique recipe is made quickly in 20 minutes!
Jump to:
What do you get when you combine a pepperoni pizza with a burger? You get the most unique recipe ever! And sure, anything pizza-related like our Big Mac Pizza or burger-related like our Homemade Big Mac are high on the list, but this Pizza Burger recipe may be our most unique fusion recipe yet.
Why You’ll Love This Burger Recipe
- It's quick to make: while it may not look or taste like it, this pizza burger comes together in 20 minutes and requires just two pans – less time than it takes to order!
- It’s big on flavor: salty, cheesy, and buttery, this pizza burger is essentially a meat lover's pizza on a bun. With stringy mozzarella cheese over homemade pizza sauce, it's loaded with crispy tiny cup pepperoni and sandwiched between a brioche bun fried in garlic butter.
- It's a crowd-pleaser: the perfect Friday night recipe, Super Bowl recipe, or moments when you can't decide on pizza or burgers, this incredible mashup is an adult and kid-friendly recipe sure to have you never picking sides again.
Serve our Pizza Burger recipe with our Oven Baked Fries, House Salad, or Burrata Caprese Salad as the perfect accompaniment.
Ingredient List
- Buns: brioche or potato buns are our favorite buns for hamburgers, but feel free to use whatever your favorite hamburger bun is.
- Butter: salted butter is what we use in all of our recipes.
- Olive oil: we use extra virgin olive oil for cooking, if you prefer, you can use a lighter oil.
- Garlic: fresh garlic is best for this recipe. The clove is used to flavor the buns and the sauce.
- Red pepper flakes: used to add heat to the sauce. Use more or less depending on your heat preference.
- Tomato sauce: we use passata, which is pureed, strained uncooked tomatoes. Alternatively, we use whole canned tomatoes and crush them ourselves.
- Basil: fresh basil for flavoring the sauce.
- Salt: sea salt or kosher salt.
- Ground beef: regular ground beef, the best quality available.
- Pepperoni: small pizzeria-style or tiny cup pepperoni. It crisps up nicely and curls when you fry it, making for amazing texture and saltiness.
- Mozzarella Cheese: standard dry pizza mozzarella is best for melting. Fresh can work but can be a little watery.
- Parmesan: Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated. A little goes a long way so we prefer the real deal in all our recipes.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Hawaiian: Instead of frying pepperoni in step 4, cook small cubes of ham and pineapple, and continue with step 5 as per the recipe.
- Deluxe/supreme: Add thinly sliced red onions and bell peppers to the pepperoni when frying in step 4.
- Margherita: Skip the pepperoni and top the pizza burger patties with tomato sauce and mozzarella, then sprinkle with fresh basil during assembly.
Recipe Steps: How to Make a Pizza Burger
1. Heat the garlic butter.
Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, until the butter is fully melted and the garlic and pepper flakes begin to sizzle. Then remove from the heat.
2. Toast the brioche buns.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Quickly dip the cut sides of the buns in the butter, ensuring they are completely coated, then place on the skillet to toast until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Make homemade pizza sauce.
While the buns are toasting, return the garlic butter to medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, basil, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.
4. Cook the burger patties and pepperoni.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Shape the beef into ½-inch thick patties and season generously with salt. Place on the skillet and press them down firmly with a spatula so that the meat just begins to spread. Arrange the pepperoni in the open spaces of the pan, to fry until crisp. Cook the pizza burger patties and pepperoni for 6-8 minutes, tossing the pepperoni occasionally and flipping the burgers halfway through.
5. Top the burger like a pizza.
With the burgers still on the skillet, spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce on each hamburger, then top with a small handful of cheese. Top with equal portions of the cooked pepperoni.
6. Assemble the pizza burger.
Spread a tablespoon of tomato sauce onto the bottom bun. Use a spatula to transfer a burger to the bun. Top with any pepperoni that fell off while cooking then sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.
Chef's Tips
Cooking the perfect burger on a skillet: Use cold meat; this causes the fat to render out slower vs less cold meat, which allows the meat to get brown and crisp. When cooking burgers on the skillet, ensure that the skillet is scorching before placing the beef patties to cook. You can either sprinkle a few drops of water on the pan, which should almost immediately evaporate, or wait until the skillet smokes.
Skillet size: If you don’t have a large enough skillet, work in batches if you are making more than four burgers. For step 4, cook the pepperoni first and set aside in a bowl, then cook the burger patties as instructed, then continue with step 5.
Melting the cheese: The heat from the pepperoni and the sauce should melt the cheese quickly. If it is not melting, place an inverted frying pan over the skillet to trap the heat and melt the cheese.
Cooking a pizza burger on the barbecue: While we prefer the texture of a skillet-cooked smash burger for this recipe, you can use the barbecue to cook the burgers. Barbecue the beef patties to your liking and cook the pepperoni in a skillet in step 4, then continue with step 5.
Recipe FAQs
No. The pizza burger recipe from the 70’s was a popular school lunch found in cafeterias across the country. Featuring cooked ground beef that was broken up and mixed with pizza sauce and spices, this version was topped with mozzarella cheese and served on a bun also, but closer to a sloppy joe.
Yes, and if making pizza burgers for a crowd, we find it best to make these pizza burgers ahead of time. To do so, shape the ground beef into 4oz balls and store in a large container or on a baking sheet, loosely wrapped in plastic wrap. Make the pizza sauce as per the recipe, and cool to room temperature. Finally, pre-grate the mozzarella and parmesan and place in separate containers.
Store everything in the fridge for up to 36 hours. To make the burgers, follow the instructions as per the recipe, but butter the buns with softened butter before toasting instead of dipping in garlic butter.
Leftover pizza burgers will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. After cooking, place on a baking sheet to cool then transfer to the fridge. Reheat in the oven on a baking sheet at 350° F for 12-15 minutes.
Tiny cup pepperoni is unlike traditional pepperoni. Thicker yet smaller coins that curl as they cook into a bowl shape housing greasy goodness, tiny cup pepperoni have super crispy and crunchy edges with a subtle spiciness.
Did you make this Pizza Burger recipe? Please leave a ⭐️ star rating and let us know your thoughts in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for cooking with us!
And don't forget to sign up for our email newsletter so you don't miss any recipes.
Recipe Card
Pizza Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 hamburger buns brioche or potato
- 2 tablespoon butter salted
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups tomato sauce passata or pizza sauce
- 2 tablespoon basil fresh chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 lb ground beef medium
- 6 oz pepperoni pizzeria style, thinly sliced (see notes)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese grated
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, until the butter is fully melted and the garlic and pepper flakes begin to sizzle. Then remove from the heat.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Quickly dip the cut sides of the buns in the butter, ensuring they are completely coated, then place on the skillet to toast until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- While the buns are toasting, return the garlic butter to medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, basil, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Shape the beef into ½-inch thick patties and season generously with salt. Place on the skillet and press them down firmly with a spatula so that the meat just begins to spread. Arrange the pepperoni in the open spaces of the pan, to fry until crisp. Cook the burgers and pepperoni for 6-8 minutes, tossing the pepperoni occasionally and flipping the burgers halfway through.
- With the burgers still on the skillet, spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce on each hamburger, then top with a small handful of cheese. Top with equal portions of the cooked pepperoni.
- Spread a tablespoon of tomato sauce onto the bottom bun. Use a spatula to transfer a burger to the bun. Top with any pepperoni that fell off while cooking then sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese. Give it a squeeze and eat your heart out!
Steph Steiner says
Best fusion you’ve done! My two favourite foods combined.
Philip Lago and Mystique Mattai says
Thanks friend 🙂
Ryan Howell says
This was the best burger I've ever had in my life!
Philip Lago and Mystique Mattai says
Can't disagree with you there 😉