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Next time you’re craving burgers, kick them up with balsamic caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and peppery arugula for a burger recipe that’s as flavorful as it is easy. No worries if you don’t have an outdoor grill, these come out great on the stovetop too!
If you love a good burger, you’re in for a treat. These are a just a little bit different, but they feel special. With a touch of balsamic vinegar, the sweet and tangy flavor of rich, buttery caramelized onion completely elevates these burgers. Slightly nutty, gooey melted Swiss cheese and a sprinkling of fresh peppery arugula takes them over the top.
Caramelizing the onion is the part of this recipe that takes the most time. But once it’s made, caramelized onion keeps well in the fridge for about a week and it’s great on more than just burgers (add it to sandwiches, omelettes, cheese plates, etc.), so I usually make a double batch.
It might be an oxymoron, but these burgers almost feel fancy, lol!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Caramelized Onion Ingredients
- Butter – We use a little butter for richness and to help prevent the onions from sticking.
- Onion – My favorite type of onion to use to make caramelized onion is yellow onion, but white onion, red onion, and even sweet onion will all work.
- Water – When caramelizing onion, it’s helpful to add a splash of water if the onion starts to stick to the pan or starts to scorch instead of caramelize.
- Salt – To enhance the flavor.
- Balsamic vinegar – The sweet/tart fruity flavor of balsamic vinegar is the perfect offset to rich, sweet caramelized onion; the acid in the vinegar helps balance the flavor profile.
Burger Ingredients
- Ground chuck – Ground chuck is around 20% fat content with about 80% lean meat.
- Worcestershire sauce – Just a little bit of this robust condiment adds a ton of flavor.
- Garlic powder, salt, and black pepper – These simple pantry staple-ingredients season the burgers perfectly.
Other Ingredients
- Buns – Buns are optional; if you want to keep the carbs down and eat these burgers with a fork and knife (yes, sometimes I do that, lol), you really won’t miss them.
- Sliced Jarlsberg cheese – Or any Swiss cheese (or other cheese) that you like.
- Fresh arugula – This is optional, but the peppery bite of arugula pairs well with the richness of caramelized onion and the robust flavor of burgers.
How to Make Caramelized Onion Burgers
1: Make the Caramelized Onion
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion.
- Cook the onion until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick to the pan, or when it starts to get too dark. Adjust the heat down as necessary so the onion doesn’t burn. This is the onion after cooking 10 minutes.
- This is after cooking 20 minutes.
- This is at the 30-minute point. The onions are beautifully caramelized, and also nearly finished cooking. I’m adding a little water because they started sticking.
- Once caramelized to your liking, stir in the salt and balsamic and cook about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat.
2: Season and Shape the Burger Patties
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to combine. (TIP: Don’t over-mix the meat or you run the risk of tough burgers.)
- Shape the meat into 4 patties.
3: Grill the Burgers
- Preheat a grill to medium-high. Once hot, add the burgers.
- Grill the burgers for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on your desired level of doneness (the USDA recommends cooking burgers to an internal temperature of 160F for food safety reasons).
- Top with the cheese and let it melt.
- If you want to toast the buns, you can open them and grill until there are char marks (about 15 to 20 seconds).
Serve the burgers on the buns, topped with caramelized onion and fresh arugula. Enjoy!
Stovetop Instructions
No worries if you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can easily make these burgers on the stovetop. A heavy-bottomed skillet (such as cast-iron) works well, and you’ll want the pan pretty hot (about a medium-high heat level). For full directions, please see my recipe for cast iron burgers.
Storage
Store leftover burgers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days; make sure to refrigerate them within 2 hours after cooking. After cooling, store caramelized onion in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
What to Serve With Caramelized Onion Burgers
You can serve these gourmet burgers with any side dishes you’d serve with regular burgers! Here are a few ideas:
- Corn, such as microwave corn on the cob because it’s easy and comes out perfect every time.
- A simple garden salad, or something a little more interesting like roasted vegetable quinoa salad with feta and pine nuts.
- Pasta salad, such as BLT pasta salad or tortellini pasta salad, or potato salad like Russian salad olivier.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a matter of personal preference because just about any kind of cheese that you can slice that melts well is great for a burger. The only types of cheese I try to avoid for burgers are crumbly cheeses, because they don’t usually melt well, and it’s harder to get cheese crumbles to stay on top of burgers!
Here are a few cheeses that are great on burgers:
1. Swiss
2. Cheddar
3. American
4. Monterey Jack
5. Pepper Jack
6. Provolone
I like to use ground beef with a slightly higher fat ratio of 85/15 or 80/20 (usually ground chuck), instead of a leaner fat ratio of 90/10 or 93/7 (typically ground sirloin). This is because a higher percentage of fat yields a more juicy, flavorful burger. And quite a bit of the fat cooks off while the burgers are grilling anyway. However, you can absolutely use a ground beef with a lower fat content if that fits better into your lifestyle and eating!
You grill burgers at medium-high heat (around 375F) to high heat (approximately 400F). The length of time that it takes to grill burgers will depend on your desired level of doneness. I usually cook 1/3-pound hamburgers for about 4 minutes per side for medium-ish doneness. Note that the USDA recommends cooking burgers to an internal temperature of 160F for food safety reasons.
More Burger Recipes to Try
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Caramelized Onion Burger Recipe
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Ingredients
Caramelized Onions:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 extremely large onion (peeled and thinly sliced; about 5 cups sliced)
- 1/4 cup water (slightly more or less as needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Burgers:
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chuck (80/20 or 85/15 ground beef work well for burgers)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Other Ingredients:
- 4 good-quality buns (split and toasted)
- 4 ounces sliced Jarlsberg cheese (or any Swiss cheese you like)
- 2 cups fresh arugula
Instructions
For the Caramelized Onions:
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion. Cook the onion until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick to the pan, or when it starts to get too dark. Adjust the heat down as necessary so the onion doesn’t burn. Once caramelized, stir in the salt and balsamic and cook about 1 mintue, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.
For the Burgers:
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to combine. Shape the meat into 4 patties.Preheat a grill to medium-high. Grill the burgers for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on your desired level of doneness (the USDA recommends cooking burgers to an internal temperature of 160F for food safety reasons). Top with the cheese and let it melt.If you want to toast the buns, you can open them and grill until there are char marks (about 20 seconds).
To Serve:
- Serve the burgers on the buns, topped with caramelized onion and fresh arugula.
Notes
- Stovetop Instructions: No worries if you don’t have a grill, you can easily make these burgers on the stovetop. A heavy-bottomed skillet (such as cast-iron) works well, and you’ll want the pan pretty hot (about a medium-high heat level). For full directions, please see my recipe for cast iron burgers.
- Storage: Store leftover burgers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. After cooling, store caramelized onion in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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