I enjoy preparing these savory goat cheese-stuffed lamb burgers, which are made with lamb. Since this recipe is so flexible, feel free to substitute your preferred herbs and spices in place of the basil and oregano that I use in mine. Serve with tzatziki sauce on pita or hamburger buns, or on their own with a Greek salad.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 burgers |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 1 egg
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 4 ounces soft goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Gently knead together onion, lamb, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Divide mixture into six parts and roll into balls, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Mix together goat cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, basil, and oregano until well combined; cover and chill for 5 minutes.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
- Working with one portion of meat at a time, make an indentation in the center of the ball with your thumb. Fill the indentation with a heaping tablespoon of goat cheese mixture. Gently pull and form the meat patty around the cheese filling, making a burger-shaped patty. Repeat with each ball of lamb mixture.
- Grill patties on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 130 degrees F (54 degrees C) for medium or 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) for well done.
- Using fresh rosemary in the goat cheese filling will give the burgers a real Greek flavor.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 484 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 147 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 34 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 2071 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 31 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The recipe was easy to follow and I did sustitute dry oregano and basil. I purchased organic ground lamb at our local CNY Regional Market and grilled the filled patty’s in my favorite cast iron grill pan. I toasted our rolls and added a fresh slice of tomato and organic ketchup from Portland. It was delicious, juicy and cooked to a nice 145° inside.
I think there was a typo – prepared exactly as recipe for 4 1/2 teaspoons of salt was way too much. Couldn’t eat but smelled amazing. I’ll try again with much less salt (0.5 tsp). I think the other flavors will shine through. As written, the recipe was inedible
We loved these. They were awesome.
Prepared exactly to recipe specifications. They were delicious
so amazing! and super quick to make. I made them with half beef half lamb. helloooo new summer favorite
Made these last night and everyone LOVED them! Definitely serve with tzatziki and caramelized onions and mushrooms….a winner. Based on other reviews will try less salt next time. I’ve tried several other recipes like this since we like lamb and this is definitely the best I’ve tried!
Good burger and nice change of pace from beef and not a complicated recipe. I can’t say I see a need to stuff the goat cheese in the burger. My goat cheese melted to an almost liquid state after grilling. I am a huge fan of goat cheese in flavor but also the creaminess which is lost once it melts that much. In this case, I think a nice slice of goat cheese on top would make me happier. Definitely recommend combining goat cheese with lamb though.
I have never reviewed a recipe before but after I made this I had to review it! It was absolutely AMAZING!! I made the recipe exactly as it was posted except I used ground beef instead of ground lamb. It was awesome! I love this recipe and will be making it again!
A huge hit. Brushed pitas with EVOO and toasted them on the grill for a minute or two while the burgers rested, and served with kettle chips, Chef John’s tsatziki, and thin slices of red onion and tomato. Will definitely make these again this summer, with half the breadcrumbs and a teaspoon or two of sambal.
I think I would make it again but I would use CONSIDERABLY less salt. The salt was way too much. I thought it might have been a typo and should have used my better judgement and used less. I ended up throwing the rest of the burgers after I tried one.
Delicious! I halved the recipe because it was for 2, but it still made 4 nice sized burgers. We used potatoes bread buns, yum!
These were really delicious. I halved the salt based on other reviews and I’m very glad I did. I also used rosemary and flat leaf parsley instead of the oregano and basil and it worked great! I also made little discs of the goat cheese and froze them before putting them in the patties as other reviewer suggested and it did the trick. Will keep and definitely make again.
Perfect way to introduce a picky eater to lamb meat!
Made per recipe and charcoal grilled. Very flavorful
I tweaked some minor things, based on my family’s tastes. we topped with cranberry sauce, for another twist to our fancy dinner. the complexity of flavors was outstanding! nice, juicy burger! I’m waiting for ground lamb to go back on sale!
Followed the recipe but made this as a meatloaf instead of burgers. Amazing! Will make again.
Made this for the first time tonight on my new grill and it was very flavorful. I didn’t have goat cheese so I used provolone instead and we loved it. Next time I will try the goat cheese. Really good!
We have done this recipe twice now. Prep is easy and it’s flavorful with spices and fresh herbs. My husband and I really love both key ingredients, lamb and goat cheese so we had to try this one. Very good with pita and homemade tzatziki sauce. Thanks for sharing LeeLeeCooks! It’s in the rotation now!
I made these last night for a diner party as meatballs instead of hamburgers. My guests LOVED them and devoured them. My husband wants to have another diner party just so I can make them again. The only change I made was I used 1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning instead of the fresh basil and oregano.
We LOVED these burgers!! We first had goat cheese lamb burgers at a great restaurant in Laguna Beach, CA (Sundried Tomato Cafe) and they are scrumptious. This recipe is pretty darn close and tasted amazing! We were a little worried using grocery store ground lamb (versus a nice butcher’s lamb) but it turned out phenomenal. The herbed goat cheese stuffing is fabulous, perfectly compliments it. We didn’t use any condiments at all! The only thing it is missing is a glass of merlot on the side!
These were DELICIOUS! I did cut back on the salt and I used finely crushed rice chex instead of the breadcrumbs to make it gluten free. Also, I made eight burgers and they were plenty big. I divided the meat mix into 8 portions, then cut each portion in half, flattened them out, put a disc of goat cheese in the middle and flattened another meat portion on top. I also used 1/2 T dried basil and oregano. I’m sure fresh would be even better but just didn’t have it in my garden yet! Again…these were amazing!