Pizza Burger with Pepperoni
Skip takeout and make these Pizza Burgers topped with melty mozzarella, crispy tiny cup pepperoni, and homemade pizza sauce over a juicy burger sandwiched between toasted brioche buns.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 854kcal
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!
Video
Notes
Scroll up to view a visual walkthrough of the recipe.
If you love this pizza burger, try our Grilled Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki, Homemade Big Mac Recipe with Secret Sauce, or our BBQ Pork Parm Burgers with Basil Mayo + Tomato Sauce.
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 very hot before placing the patties to cook. You can either sprinkle a few drops of water on the pan, it should almost immediately evaporate, or wait until the skillet just begins to smoke.
Skillet size: If you don’t have a large enough skillet, or are making more than 2 burgers, then work in batches. Toast the buns in batches, setting them aside near the stove after toasting to keep warm. For step 4, cook the pepperoni first and set aside in a bowl, then cook the burgers 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, then 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 burger for this recipe along with the ease of using less pans, you can use the barbecue to cook the burgers. Simply barbecue the burgers to your liking and cook the pepperoni in a skillet in step 4, then continue with step 5.
Try these 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 burger with tomato sauce and mozzarella, then sprinkle with fresh basil during assembly.
Nutrition
Calories: 854kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 2511mg | Potassium: 896mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 957IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 411mg | Iron: 6mg