Italian Meatball Burgers

Name: Italian Meatball Burgers
Total time: 29 min
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 burger)
Ingredients: 6 (1.5-ounce) frozen ciabatta rolls with rosemary and olive oil; 8 ounces sweet turkey Italian sausage; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano; 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 pound ground sirloin; Cooking spray; 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese; 6 large basil leaves; 6 tablespoons lower-sodium marinara sauce

16 Reviews

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Becky Luigart-Stayner

Hands-on Time

24 Mins

Total Time

29 Mins

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 burger)

These saucy, family-friendly burgers might be best eaten with a knife and fork. If you'd like to go bunless, serve over spaghetti with extra sauce. We enjoyed these with a side of macaroni salad.

Ingredients

6 (1.5-ounce) frozen ciabatta rolls with rosemary and olive oil
8 ounces sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground sirloin
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
6 large basil leaves
6 tablespoons lower-sodium marinara sauce

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Step 2

Bake rolls according to package directions. Split rolls.

Step 3

Remove casings from sausage. Combine sausage, chopped basil, and next 5 ingredients (through ground sirloin) in a medium bowl. Divide beef mixture into 6 equal portions with moist hands, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Press thumb in center of each patty, leaving a nickel-sized indentation.

Step 4

Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes. Turn patties over; grill 2 minutes. Sprinkle cheese evenly over patties, and grill 6 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

Step 5

Place 1 basil leaf on bottom half of each roll; top each with 1 patty, 1 tablespoon marinara sauce, and roll top.

Chef's Notes

This updated version of Italian Meatball Burgers is based on a recipe that originally ran in Cooking Light, August 2007. The recipe was retested and updated for Cooking Light Crave!, Oxmoor House, 2013.

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Ratings & Reviews

JennHalt's Review

2013-09-03T20:14:04-04:00 JessicaLuu

Oh, baby. I have been making this for years now. I pulled up the recipe again on-line though to make them again recently. I have made this burger countless time for special occasions. Everyone always asks for the recipe. Recently, I made the burger mixture but made the meat into meatballs and added them to the "Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce" Cooking Light recipe (also available on-line). My family adored me :)!

EDB123's Review

2012-10-26T15:40:13-04:00 LauraLeigh8

Loved this burger, used spicey Italian turkey sausage instead of sweet, and used ground turkey instead of sirloin. Also added extra garlic powder. Great burger, will make again.

gchang55's Review

2012-09-17T06:09:53-04:00 JessieSalem0423

great for sunday grilling. used 96/4 sirloin to make it a little healthier. still very good. made it with tomato stack salad, went great together

JessieSalem0423's Review

2012-09-03T13:57:21-04:00 ShannonBischel

Amazing! I used ground turkey instead of beef and they were awesome. I made them for a neighborhood party and everyone LOVED them.

ShannonBischel's Review

2012-07-03T15:30:09-04:00 EDB123

N/A

aryzek's Review

2011-11-05T16:03:19-04:00 lovetotry

N/A

mezwiz's Review

2011-07-11T07:26:23-04:00 JasonM

This is one of my hubby's favorite burger recipes and it's super easy and quick to make! I've made this for company as well as for a couple that just had a baby and I always get rave reviews and requests for the recipe. Also, instead of using the jarred pasta sauce, I use CL's recipe for homemade marinara. I make up a big batch of it and portion it out then freeze the portions for future use.

JessicaLuu's Review

2010-07-12T03:45:45-04:00 3sacharm

After taking my first bite I knew I would be making this again and again. I love the combination of meats, and I am now a huge fan of Italian sausage and fennel. I didn't feel like opening a huge jar of tomato sauce for like 2 tablespoons, so I used leftover pesto, and it was awesome.

lwallb's Review

2010-06-25T22:43:10-04:00 lwallb

Delicious! I was a bit heavy-handed with my fresh mozzarella and also topped the burgers w/ fresh basil leaves and thinly sliced red onion. I opted for ciabatta rolls, as well. Definitely something I'll make again...maybe even try to lean up the meat a bit more.

LauraLeigh8's Review

2010-05-16T18:17:28-04:00 JennHalt

A very tasty burger I will definitely make again. I couldn't find sweet Italian turkey sausage so I substituted the regular (pork). Also, I broiled instead of grilling because I don't have a BBQ. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. As for the cheese, I bought a good quality fresh mozzarella (not part-skim) as per the recipe, and found that to be plenty of cheese. Next time I think I'd like to try it open-faced on a slice of toasted french bread. Yum!

Italian Meatball Burgers

Ingredients

How to Make It

Chef's Notes

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Ratings & Reviews

JennHalt's Review

EDB123's Review

gchang55's Review

JessieSalem0423's Review

ShannonBischel's Review

aryzek's Review

mezwiz's Review

JessicaLuu's Review

lwallb's Review

LauraLeigh8's Review

Italian Meatball Burgers

Ingredients

Nutritional Information

How to Make It

Chef's Notes

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Build-a-Meal

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