Next time you grill up some burgers, take your guests to the mediterranean with this ultimate recipe for lamb burger with feta and garlic dill mayonnaise.
Lucky for us, May is National Burger Month. Although I don’t many burger recipes (I really need to change that!), I do love a fabulous burger! For me, homemade burgers are the BOMB!
I like them big, fat and juicy, requiring two hands to hold together. And of course, the very best burgers are grilled over fire, for a little touch of smoky goodness. Today I am sharing something my whole family enjoys, this fabulous Greek inspired lamb burger.
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Recipe highlights
- Family friendly: My kids are used to regular burgers but they were totally willing to try these lamb burgers. And yes, they went nuts for them and quickly asked me to make them again. It’s a great way to introduce lamb to someone who never had it before.
- Versatile: I share instructions on making these burgers on the grill as well as on the stove. I also share lots of topping options so you can customize the burgers to your liking, but still using vibrant ingredients.
- Flavor: OMG these burgers are so freaking good! They remind of lamb kabobs, but in burger form. The burgers are seasoned with onions, garlic, and coriander and served with fresh herbs, feta and cucumbers. All the flavors of the mediterranean in each bite!
Ingredients you need
Burger Ingredients
- Ground lamb: If you only want a little bit of lamb flavor, you can mix half ground lamb with half ground beef.
- Onions: Grating the onions help the flavor meld better with the meat. You can use regular brown, white or red onions.
- Garlic: I’m a huge fan of fresh garlic, but you can use garlic powder instead.
- Fresh oregano: Just like the garlic, I’m a huge fan of fresh but you can use dried oregano.
- Seasonings: Ground coriander, kosher salt and pepper
Garnish Ingredients
- Bread: These are burgers, so you will need hamburger buns. But we also like these kabob-style and use lavash or pita instead.
- Garlic mayonnaise: mayonnaise, fresh dill, lemon juice, lemon zest, chives and garlic
- Feta: I used crumbled feta but you can add a slice of feta. Greek feta is more dry then French or Bulgarian feta.
- More for your burgers: Persian cucumbers, tomato, red onion, arugula, pepperoncinis
Step-by-step directions
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- Make lamb mixture. Combine lamb, grated onions, garlic, coriander, oregano, salt and pepper. Let mixture sit for one hour for the flavors to meld together.
- Make garlic mayo. Mix together mayonnaise with lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, chopped dill and chives. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Form the patties. Divide meat into 6 equal portions and shape each into a patty that is ½-inch-thick and roughly ½-inch wider than the burger buns. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each burger patty. This prevents burgers from doming up in the center while it cooks.
- Grill. I personally prefer to cook my lamb burgers on the grill, with some hardwood lump coal or wood chips for smoky flavor.
- Prepare the burgers. To assemble the lamb burgers, place a patty inside a hamburger bun and spread garlic dill mayonnaise on top along with a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Add slices of pepperoncinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with a pile of arugula.
Recipe tips and FAQs
If you can’t grill then you can totally cook lamb burgers on the stove. I like to use my cast iron grill pan. The grill pan lets the lamb burger cook to perfection allowing the fat drippings to collect underneath, away from your burger and mimicking a grill.
And because it’s a cast iron pan, you get excellent even heat to cook your burger.
If you are low carbing it, feel free to omit the bread, wrap in butter lettuce leaves or use some cloud bread. My kids wanted french fries with their lamb burgers, so I topped them with feta and some more oregano to keep the Greek theme going.
You can also serve your lamb burger with cucumber tomato salad (Shirazi Salad) – another family favorite!
Lamb is one of the staple meats in Persian cuisine. We use lamb shanks in stews, marinate leg of lamb in yogurt and grill it, and use ground lamb for koobideh kabob.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover burgers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. The garlic mayo will last in the fridge for several weeks.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze burgers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
There is a great debate on how well cooked your burgers should be. When I enjoy steak, there’s no question to how done I like it: medium rare, baby! But with steaks, any harmful bacteria sits on the surface of cuts of meat. They are killed off by searing and cooking the meat, even when the center is left rare.
But burger meat is minced and mixed together, so the harmful bacteria is all over, including the center of the meat and can only be killed if cooked completely. This is the case whether you are using ground beef or ground lamb.
Cooking your lamb burger to medium heat internally doesn’t mean you are left with a dry burger. However you like to enjoy your burger, I give instructions for either doneness in the recipe below.
Lamb Burger with Feta and Garlic Dill Mayonnaise
Ingredients
New Group
- Burger Ingredients
- 2 lb ground lamb
- ½ cup grated onions
- 2 garlic cloves crushed (divided)
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- Topping Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- 2 Persian cucumbers sliced
- 1 large tomato sliced
- 1 red onion sliced
- ¾ cup arugula
- 6 pepperoncinis
- 6 hamburger buns
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine lamb, grated onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves, coriander, oregano, salt and pepper. Let mixture sit for one hour for the flavors to meld together.
- To make the mayonnaise, mix together mayonnaise with lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic, chopped dill and chives. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Divide meat into 6 equal portions and shape each into a patty that is ½-inch-thick and roughly ½-inch wider than the burger buns.
- Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each burger patty. This prevents burgers from doming up in the center while it cooks.
- Brush grate with oil then place hamburger patties on the grill indentation-side up.
- Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side (8 minutes total for medium-rare, 10 minutes total for medium). Let burgers rest 2-3 minutes.
- To assemble the lamb burgers, place a patty inside a hamburger bun and spread garlic dill mayonnaise on top along with a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Add slices of pepperoncinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with a pile of arugula.
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.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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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!
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Laura
I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this burger. It is the perfect combination of flavors!!
Greek flavors are a favorite of mine so I’ll definitely be making this burger! Thank you!
Look at all those layers of flavors! From the burger to the toppings and sauce. Everything about this burger is making me drool!
This burger looks and sounds incredible. I really love the garlic dill aioli. I’m in for anything with dill in it!
Love lamb burgers and this one looks as incredible as I’m sure it tastes! Thanks, too, for sharing about the doneness element of the cooking lamb side of things!
I always cook my burgers to medium doneness. You just can’t be too careful nowadays.
I have never tried a burger like this. I bet this is amazing. Amazing photos too.
Thank you, Sarah. It really is a delicious burger. My eldest just asked me to make it again!
I love everything Mediterranean and especially love lamb although I can rarely find it here! Your burger looks delicious.
Lamb is definitely not the easiest meat to find, especially ground lamb. So it is a treat when we get to cook with it!
Love lamb! Don’t often have a lamb burger, and when I do I wonder why I don’t have them all the time. They’re SO good. Your recipe looks terrific — thanks.
Love all the Mediterranean flavors in this! Yum!
That is one glorious burger! I grew up eating lamb on special occasions, but the “British version” which was basically cooked to death and served with mint jelly. I still like that combo because it’s nostalgic for me, but I am so into all the vibrant fresh flavors in your burger! Definitely going on the menu here soon, because I can get ground lamb at a few places around here!
Thank you, Jenni! I’ve honestly never had the British version of lamb (whew!). But I am curious about mint jelly and how it would taste with lamb.
I like it, but it’s also a nostalgic thing for me. It’s a little…odd…but good!