Fire up your grill with these bold and juicy queso stuffed burgers, filled with smoky chiles and melty cheese. Each bite delivers big flavor with a gooey, spicy center that takes your cookout to the next level.
Whether you are hosting a barbecue at home or grilling by the lake, there is something amazing about the the classic burger. But that doesn’t stop me from experimenting and introducing new recipes and flavors to my family.
Last year they loved my twist making the Persian kabab burger, so I decided to fuse another culture to make another great tasting burger. Inspired by an American classic, the Juicy Lucy, I stuffed my burgers with cheese as well as the bold Mexican flavors we love!
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Recipe highlights
- Custom Heat Level: From mild to fiery, you can choose your favorite heat level to match your spice comfort zone.
- Easy to Make: Don’t let the “stuffed” part scare you—these burgers come together with simple steps and big flavor.
- Bold & Cheesy: The patties are seasoned and filled with melty, smoky chile cheese that delivers serious flavor in every bite.
- Crowd-Pleaser: Whether it’s a family dinner or backyard BBQ, these oozy, juicy burgers are always a smash hit.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: You can prep the patties in advance and keep them chilled until you’re ready to fire up the grill—perfect for parties or weeknight dinners.
Ingredients you need
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- Ground beef: When grilling burgers, you want the fat. It keeps the meat juicy and full of flavor. So use 80/20 ground beef for these burgers.
- Spices: Paprika, chile powder (mild or spicy), garlic powder, onion powder and sea salt
- Monterey Jack cheese: This is great melty cheese and is very common in Mexican food. You could swap it with mozzarella. Both are mild white cheese that melt well.
- Cream cheese: By adding a soft cheese like cream cheese to the mix, you end up with a soft melty cheesy goodness inside your burgers.
- Hatch chiles: Depending on personal preference you can use mild or spicy green chiles. You can roast your own or use canned.
- Shallots: Shallots off a bit of garlicky onion flavor. You can substitute with red onions.
- Chipotle in adobo: Besides heat, this adds some terrific smokiness to the queso filling.
- Serve with burger buns, fresh cilantro, avocados and fresh tomatoes.
Step-by-step directions
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- Make beef mixture. Combine beef with spices and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Make stuffing. In a small bowl combine cheeses, chiles and shallots until smooth.
- Prep burger patties. Divide meat into 6 even portions and form into thin patties. Add some cheese stuffing onto center of one patty then lay a second patty over it, pressing the edges together to seal. Flatten the centers so that the burgers are even.
- Cook. If grilling, lightly oil grate and grill the burgers over a hot fire, turning once. If cooking indoors, cook on the stove using a cast iron over high heat, turning once.
Recipe tips and FAQs
It’s not rocket science, but you do need to take the time to seal your burger or else all that cheesy goodness will come spilling out while you cook it, making an awful mess. Some burgers will bust open a seam, and that’s okay. As you can see in my picture on top, the burger still holds its shape even when this happens.
You can serve up your burgers with a number of great sides, besides the obvious french fries! Try my grilled potato salad, mango coleslaw, or my orzo pasta salad.
If you want more delicious sandwich recipes, you should also try my Baked Brats in the Oven or Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover burgers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Because ground beef is minced and mixed together, the harmful bacteria is all over the mixture. The only way to completely kill off this bacteria is to cook it completely with no pink in the center. When you have a stuffed burger, you are just cooking two thin patties of meat so they don’t take long to cook, leaving the burger center to be ooey, gooey and cheesy.
Be sure to seal the edges of the patties tightly and chill them before cooking. Avoid pressing down on the burgers while grilling to keep the cheesy goodness inside.
Absolutely. Use a heavy skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Make sure the burgers cook evenly and reach a safe internal temperature of 160ºF.
Chile and Queso Stuffed Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoon shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 tablespoon cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon diced roasted Hatch chiles mild or spicy
- 2 tablespoon diced shallots
- 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo
- 6 burger buns
- 1 bunch of cilantro stems removed
- 2 avocados sliced
- 2 tomatoes sliced
Instructions
- Mix beef with spices and let it sit for 30 minutes for flavors to meld together.
- In a small bowl combine cheeses, chiles and shallots until creamy and smooth.
- Divide meat mixture into 6 even portions. A food scale is perfect for this!
- For each burger portion, divide in half and press into thin patties of meat on parchment paper squares.
- On one thin patty add about 2 ½ tablespoon of cheese stuffing onto center of the patty.
- Lay second thin patty over the stuffing, pressing the edges together to seal. Flatten the centers so that the burgers are even.
- Do this with the 5 other portions of beef so you have a total of 6 burgers.
- If grilling, lightly oil grate and grill the burgers over a hot fire, turning once, about 7 minutes. Brush burger buns with olive oil and toast on the grill.
- You can prepare the burgers indoors using a cast iron over high heat, turning once, about 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare.
- Serve on toasted buns and top with cilantro, avocado, tomato and red onions slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
I’ve done those frozen burgers. No more — making your own burger patties is more satisfying, and the burgers certainly taste better. I love what you’ve done here — such terrific flavor. Thanks!
It’s smokey, spicy and cheesy! Perfect for burgers!