| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin beef
- 1 cup fresh or store-bought pesto, recipe follows
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- One 7 to 8-ounce ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices, patted dry with paper towels
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup fresh or store-bought pesto
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Eight 3-inch-square pieces of tomato or plain focaccia bread, halved, or 8 hamburger buns, halved
- 4 medium tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (16 slices)
- 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- For the burgers: Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Combine the beef, pesto, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Form the mixture into eight 4-inch-diameter patties, each about 3/4-inch thick. Grill for 5 minutes. Turn the burgers over and place a slice of mozzarella on top. Cook for about 5 minutes longer until the burgers are cooked through and the cheese is slightly melted. Allow the burgers to rest for 5 minutes.
- For the pesto mayonnaise: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and pesto until smooth.
- To assemble the burgers: Drizzle the cut side of the bread with olive oil and grill until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the pesto mayonnaise over the bottom halves of the grilled bread. Place the burgers on top and add 2 tomato slices. Add the top halves of the bread and serve.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until lightly toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely before using. Combine the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 889 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 154 mg |
| Sodium | 1051 mg |
Reviews
Delicious. Made with ground turkey and store bought pesto though I’m sure recipe pesto would be even better. Felt like a healthy, lighter, cleaner burger but still satisfied every craving
These were delicious. A different twist on a burger.
These were a huge hit at our house for the Super Bowl 2017. The Pesto was amazing and now I am making it on a weekly basis and put it one everything. The burgers were so amazing and juicy and flavorful. I cooked mine on my Weber grill and I had no problems with flare ups. To the people using store bought…..if you can find the time to make your own Pesto, do it! Also, I used a jalapeno cheddar faccacia…we like things spicy! We are having these again tonight and I can not wait. Thank you for such an great recipe and amazing pesto recipe!
These burgers were a big hit for us! We cooked them on George foreman style griddle the first time, but we are going to make on the gas grill next time. The pesto in the burgers went perfect with the tomato and mozzarella, add the pesto mayonnaise, and wow! We also made them with ground turkey and beef. Both great!! 5*****
Beware if you use store bought pesto and cook these burgers on your gas grill! They have so much oil in then that the drip pan caught on fire. My Weber grill was at 800 degrees in no time and I had to get the fire extinguisher and put out the flames. I tried this again on the stove and it worked better, but they are very oily as they cook. Flavor is good in the burger. Just be careful!