Healthier Mediterranean Stuffed Burgers
by Amber Pankonin, Registered Dietitian, Lincoln, Nebraska
What happens when Registered Dietitian Amber Pankonin gets ahold of burgers? An RD intervention: A lighter, healthier version of the classic summer staple with a Mediterranean twist.
- 1 pound Certified Piedmontese 95% lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 8 teaspoons feta cheese, half reserved for serving
- 4 teaspoons sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 4 hamburger buns
- 8 basil leaves
- 8 tomato slices
- 8 cucumber slices
- 4 teaspoons black olives
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Using clean hands, combine the ground beef with garlic salt and onion powder and portion into 8 (2-ounce) portions and flatten.
Arrange one teaspoon of feta and one teaspoon of sundried tomatoes in the center of four of the patties. Enclose the stuffing for each burger inside a patty by covering each with a 2-ounce patty and pinching the edges together to form four, stuffed, 4-ounce burgers.
Cook the burgers on the preheated grill grate until desired doneness. Remove from grill and serve each burger topped with 2 basil leaves, 2 tomato slices, 2 cucumber slices, black olives, and a sprinkle of feta.