Switch up your hamburgers with these juicy grilled curry burgers. Using ground beef that’s seasoned with curry powder and other spices, they’re topped with sautéed onions, some mixed greens, and an easy curry mayo sauce to tie it all together. Serve on a bun (gluten-free or otherwise) and dinner is done!
I love a typical hamburger as much as the next person, and in fact it’s basically a staple in our house.
My kids request it burgers the time, whether it’s my paleo burger, my gluten-free burger with mushrooms and onions, or even my deconstructed burger bowl.
But sometimes you want something with a little extra oomph.
That’s where this curry burger comes in.
The burger itself is super easy to make – just add some spices to ground beef and shape them into patties.
But what really makes this burger great is the toppings.
Some simple sauteed onions, a few baby greens, and a super easy and creamy curry sauce that has only 3 ingredients.
And if you have any of the curry sauce left over, you can use it as a dip for your fries.
Now let’s get to it!
Grab these ingredients!
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
For the hamburger patty
- Ground beef: I typically use ground beef with an 85/15 beef-to-fat ratio for these burgers, but an 80/20 would also work. I wouldn’t recommend going lower than a 90/10 ratio as you want some fat as that will help keep the burgers juicy.
- Curry powder: You can use a sweet curry powder if you want a milder flavor or a spicy one if you want to turn up the heat. I used Penzy’s sweet curry powder in this recipe.
- Other seasonings: namely garlic powder, ground black pepper, and kosher salt. Make sure your spices are fresh as they can lose potency over time. For the salt, I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in this recipe. If you are using a different type of salt (kosher or otherwise), you’ll want to use this salt conversion chart from Epicurious to determine how much salt to use.
For the burger
- Onion: I like a yellow or sweet onion for this recipe as I think they sweeten more when sauteed.
- Oil: you want to use a mild oil here; I like to use avocado oil.
- Baby greens: the recipe calls for mixed baby greens, but you could also use baby spinach or spring greens.
- Buns: use gluten-free buns or wheat buns depending on your dietary preference.
For the sauce
- Mayonnaise: use whatever mayo you like. I used Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayonnaise in this recipe, which is a thick mayo. If your mayo is on the thin side you may want to add more of it or lessen the amount of lime juice used depending on how thick you want your curried mayonnaise to be.
- Curry powder: same notes as above – use a sweet curry powder for a more mild flavor and a spicier curry powder for more heat.
- Lime juice: either fresh or bottled lime juice works for the sauce, though the flavor will come through more with fresh lime juice.
How to make curry burgers
(Note: please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the complete written instructions.)
There are three main parts to making these burgers:
- Sauteing the onions
- Making the burger patties
- Putting the burgers together
Sauteing the onion
Making the burger patties
DO YOU NEED TO PUT A THUMBPRINT IN A BURGER?
I hardly ever put a thumbprint in my burgers, and as you can see from the pictures I didn’t for this recipe. I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure if it’s because the meat I use is typically frozen and compact, so it doesn’t have the chance to shrink up as much, or if it’s something else.
If you find that whenever you cook a burger it puffs up in the middle, then I would make a shallow indentation in the center of each patty with your thumb before you put your burgers on the grill.
RESIST THE URGE TO PRESS!
People seem to like to press their burgers down on the grill with their spatula. But don’t do this! It releases all the juices from the patty and you’re left with a compact, dry burger.
Put your burger on the grill and flip it only once. Other than that, leave it alone and let it do its thing.
Putting the burgers together
We LOVE our Thermoworks Thermapen ONE meat thermometer to quickly and easily check the internal temperatures of meats. We’ve used a Thermapen for years and they are AMAZING. Get one for yourself here.
Burger tips
- Place the uncooked patties on parchment paper (or wax paper) as you’re forming them. This serves two purposes – they’re easier to place on the grill and you don’t dirty the pan or platter you’ve set them on, which you can then use to place the cooked burgers on when they’re done. If you put the uncooked patties directly on the pan or platter they can be hard to get off and you’ll likely ruin the nice round shape you’ve made them into.
- You can easily double, or even triple, this recipe by doubling (or tripling) the ingredients. Just make sure to use a bigger pan to saute the mushrooms and a bigger bowl to combine the meat mixture together.
- To make this recipe ahead of time, make the mixture and form the patties. Pile them on a plate with plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper in between each patty so they don’t stick together. Wrap them all up with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’re ready to grill them.
What to serve with curry hamburgers
Of course, the pairing of burgers and fries is the standard, but there are plenty of other options too!
- Some crunchy slaw, like this purple cabbage slaw;
- A fun fruity salad, such as this watermelon basil salad;
- Grilled veggies, like grilled corn or zucchini; or
- A crisp green salad, such as this spring green salad.
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Juicy Curry Burgers with Easy Curry Sauce
Equipment
- A large nonstick pan
- A grilling spatula
Ingredients
Hamburger patties
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Burgers
- 14 oz onion
- ½ tbsp oil
- 8 oz mixed baby greens
- 4 hamburger buns gluten free or not
Curry sauce
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp lime juice
Instructions
- Start by sautéing the onions. Take out a large non-stick pan and place it on a stove top over low heat. Pour the oil into the pan to let it warm. Peel the outer layers of the onion then use a large sharp knife and a cutting board to cut the onion into thin slices. Place the slices in the pan and stir with a pair of tong then let cook, stirring occasionally, for 18-20 minutes, until completely softened. Remove the pan from the burner when that’s done, keeping the cooked onions in the pan until ready to serve.
- While the onions are cooking, assemble the burger patties. Add the ground beef into a medium-sized bowl. Measure out the spices and pour them into the bowl as well. Use your hands to combine everything together. You don’t want to work the meat too hard as it will make it spongey when you cook up your burgers, but you want to make sure the seasonings are fully incorporated with the ground beef.
- Separate the beef mixture into four equal portions in the bowl, then wash your hands and take out a sheet pan or platter that’s big enough to fit all four hamburgers on it. Place 4 pieces of parchment paper (or wax paper) big enough to fit the patties on them onto the sheet pan. Take one portion of the meat mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball, then gently start flattening it with your fingers, working your way around the sides and pressing where needed to get a round shape. Make your patty roughly ¼ inch thick, then place it on one of the pieces of parchment paper and repeat the process with the other three portions of meat, washing your hands after you’re done.
- Once all the patties are formed, heat up your grill to between 350 and 375 degrees F. Pick the patties up by the parchment paper and flip them over onto the grill. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes, then open the lid and use a spatula to flip the burgers over onto the other side. Cook for another 4 minutes, then check the internal temperature. Remove the hamburgers from the grill once they reach an internal temperature of 160F. Let them rest for 5 minutes before assembling the burger.
- While the burgers are resting, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking together until smooth.
- To assemble the curry burgers, place a cooked burger on top of the bottom half of each bun, then pile some greens on the burger, spoon some sauteed onions on top of the greens, then top it with a dollop or two of the sauce. Place the top bun on the burger and enjoy!
Notes
- Place the uncooked patties on parchment paper (or wax paper) as you’re forming them. This serves two purposes – they’re easier to place on the grill and you don’t dirty the pan or platter you’ve set them on, which you can then use to place the cooked burgers on when they’re done. If you put the uncooked patties directly on the pan or platter they can be hard to get off and you’ll likely ruin the nice round shape you’ve made them into.
- If you find that your burgers typically puff up in the middle, you can make a shallow indentation in the middle of each burger with your thumb to help keep them flat as they cook. – Don’t press into your burgers with your spatula when they’re on the grill! They lose their juices and you end up with a dry burger. Once you put them on, flip them once then leave them alone to do their thing!
- You can easily double, or even triple, this recipe by doubling (or tripling) the ingredients. Just make sure to use a bigger pan to saute the mushrooms and a bigger bowl to combine the meat mixture together.
- To make this recipe ahead of time, make the mixture and form the patties. Pile them on a plate with plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper in between each patty so they don’t stick together. Wrap them all up with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’re ready to grill them.
- Measure the temperature of your burgers with a meat thermometer! If you don’t have one, check out the Thermapen – it’s the one we’ve used and loved for years!
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