What happens when you blend two of America’s favorite foods together? You get the amazing, incredibly delicious Pizza Burger! The pizza burger takes traditional pepperoni & sausage pizza and turns it into a cheeseburger.
Mixing the Meat
To start the pizza burger off I’ve decided to mix 50/50 hamburger and Italian sausage. I chose to go with the ‘hot’ Italian sausage, which does have a decent amount of spice to it. If you’re not that into spiciness go with the regular Italian sausage. This combo is awesome! It’s like a giant meatball burger.
Then I mixed some pizza spices into the meat. These spices came in a spice jar called ‘pizza seasoning’ but if you don’t have that pre-mixed you can use oregano, basil, marjoram, and garlic to make the same thing.
Topping the Pizza Burger
Next up is picking some toppings. This is where you can go crazy with your favorite pizza toppings. Really, anything you’d put on a pizza could apply. You just have a little less space to work with, so choose wisely! For this first pizza burger attempt I’ve kept it simple.
I’ve started off with a slice of mozzarella cheese added just before the burgers are done. Then on top of that we’ve got some marinara sauce that I headed up in a pan and then spooned on top of the burger. Next, I added some pepperoni. You can heat these on some tinfoil on the grill or in a pan on the stove. Finally, I topped them off with a few shakes of parmesan cheese.
For an extra nice touch to the pizza burger, I recommend toasting the buns. This is really easy to do. Just add a bit of butter to each side and place on the grill for a couple minutes. It adds some extra texture and flavor, making it a little more pizza-like.
Once you’ve got the basic pizza burger mastered try switching up the ingredients. Try topping with: bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, bacon, asiago cheese, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, onions, spinach, or other cheeses. You can also check out this list of pizza varieties by country for more ideas.
Pizza Burger
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Ground Beef 80% lean / 20% fat
- 1 Lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 4 Hamburger Buns
- Marinara Sauce
- 4 Slices Mozzarella Cheese
- Pepperoni
- Parmesan Cheese optional
- Butter
- Pizza Seasoning
Instructions
- Get your grill/pan/etc hot for the burgers.
- Mix ground beef, Italian sausage, and pizza seasoning (oregano, basil, marjoram, garlic) together. Divide into 8oz (1/2 lb) portions (or you can use smaller 6oz portions). Flatten into patties that are about 1/2 inch larger than the buns.
- Put a thumbprint in the middle of the patty so it doesn’t puff up when cooking.
- Grill your burgers about 4min on the first side.
- While burgers are grilling, heat marinara sauce in a pan on med-low heat until warm. Heat pepperoni on a pan or on tinfoil on the grill for a couple minutes.
- Flip burgers and cook until you reach the correct temp (140F for medium), usually about 2 to 4 minutes. Top burger with sliced cheese about a minute before taking off the grill.
- Place buns face down on the grill for a minute or two to toast.
- Add burgers to buns, spoon on marinara, add pepperoni & sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
8 Comments
Rob
Looks awesome, nice pics!
Tracy | Baking Mischief
This is basically my new favorite burger. I can’t believe I’ve never seen anyone make a pizza burger before. It’s such a great idea!! And I love the sausage/hamburger combo, because sausage and pizza go so well together. Pinning!
Platter Talk
Good recipe for football watching half time or weekends hanging at home, doing chores. A real treat after working hard!
Julie
We grew up creating dishes like this. Very fun to make it your own.
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
Pizza burger? Oh yes, please! I love that you use a combo of beef and sausage. It makes it so much more flavorful. My kids would love this!
Shinee
Oh my gosh, seriously, that looks amazing! And what a fabulous idea to combine those 2 classics!! My husband would be happy when I make this.
Debbie
The toppings on those hamburgers look yummy can’t wait to try them all..
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