Spiced-Up Lamb Burgers with Feta
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Juicy ground lamb burgers seasoned with Middle-Eastern style spices, topped with feta cheese, tangy yogurt sauce and a crisp fennel slaw. These burgers are easy to make and so delicious!
This lamb burger recipe makes super-tasty, spiced-up burgers, Middle-Eastern-style. Every bite contains layers of flavor from the seasoning blend, crunchy toppings and creamy, tangy yogurt sauce. You’re going to love them!
Devouring a great lamb burger has to be the most satisfying way to eat a complete meal with your hands.
Everyone loves a recipe for a fantastic burger, whether it’s this black bean burger or an old-fashioned beef burger. It’s the iconic American sandwich!
I’m crazy about making and eating burgers because their construction — layers of ground meat, sauces, condiments, vegetables and hamburger buns — are open to so many creative variables beyond basic beef and ketchup.
Ground lamb meat makes fantastic burgers!
- Lamb’s earthy flavor pairs so well with seasonings like garlic cloves and red onions and all kinds of spices.
- If you’ve ever tasted Greek-style kabobs or Mediterranean grilled meat, you get an idea of what I’m talking about.
Lamb burger spices
Middle-Eastern fragrant spices are a natural partner with ground lamb burger patties, including shawarma spice blends that are associated with Eastern Mediterranean street cooking. They contain a range of spices that vary from mix to mix.
Many of those spices are “sweet” ones like allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, often associated with pastries and desserts in European culture.
I mix up a small batches of homemade shawarma-style spice blend to make these burgers, and it comes in handy to spice up other meats I like to cook on a charcoal or gas grill.
I highly recommend that you make a batch of my simple green sauce or basil pesto sauce to top them off, which makes them taste insanely delicious!
Spiced-Up Lamb Burgers with Feta
Ingredients
Spice mix:
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Yogurt sauce:
- ½ cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) Greek-style yogurt
Fennel slaw:
- 1 small fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced or shaved
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Burgers:
- 1 ½ pounds (680 g) ground lamb
- 1 small yellow or white onion
To serve:
- 4 burger buns or small pita, split and toasted
- Lettuce leaves and sprouts
- Thinly sliced cucumber
- Simple green sauce – recipe here , optional but delicious!
Instructions
Mix the spices
- Stir the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg together in a small bowl to blend.
Make the yogurt sauce
- Stir the feta and yogurt together in a bowl.
Mix the slaw
- Toss the fennel in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt.
Lamb burgers
- Preheat a grill to medium-high for direct grilling.
- Put the lamb in a large bowl. Grate the onion on a box grater and add to the lamb. Add the spice mix. Blend well with your hands or a large fork and form into 4 patties.
- Grill or broil the burgers until cooked to your liking, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- Serve the burgers on buns or pita, topped with some of the feta-yogurt sauce, fennel slaw, green sauce, lettuce, cucumber and sprouts.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The yogurt sauce and slaw can be prepped and refrigerated up to 6 hours ahead.
- Season the lamb and shape the burgers up to 6 hours ahead. Put them on a lightly oiled plate or baking sheet, cover and keep refrigerated. Bring them to room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.