Pepper Crusted Bacon Cheeseburgers

In my world there’s nothing better than a burger cooked on a super hot flat top griddle. Boy do I love that nice little char you get on the patties. These pepper crusted bacon cheeseburgers amp up that great flat top (though you can certainly grill them!) flavor even more.

Pepper Crusted Bacon Cheeseburgers

Nice And Peppery

The patties are loaded with sweet onion and lots of black pepper. Lots of black pepper. Crispy bacon, lettuce, smoky cheese and a fantastically garlicky aioli top it all off. Every bite of these pepper crusted bacon cheeseburgers is loaded with flavor.

Do not be shy with the black pepper when you roll the burger patties in it. You really want a good strong pepper flavor. I used smoked pepper but any good freshly cracked pepper will do. For extra smoky flavor used smoked garlic instead of regular raw garlic.

I like to use a burger press just about any time that I am making burgers. i just weigh out the meat (usually into 4 to 5 ounce-sized balls), then place onto the press. For easy cleanup I’ll put patty papers on the bottom and top of the press. Then I just press down and boom! A perfectly shaped burger patty appears!

Also try my spicy bacon burger!

Pepper Crusted Bacon Cheeseburgers
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5 from 1 vote

Pepper Crusted Bacon Cheeseburgers

In my world there’s nothing better than a burger cooked on a super hot flat top griddle. Boy do I love that nice little char you get on the patties. These pepper crusted bacon cheeseburgers amp up that great flat top (though you can certainly grill them!) flavor even more.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, burgers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 715kcal

Ingredients

For the garlic aioli

For the burgers

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 small sweet onion
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream you can omit this if you don’t have cream on hand
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 hamburger buns
  • green leaf lettuce
  • 8 slices cheddar cheese smokehouse cheddar is best!
  • 8 slices bacon cooked

Instructions

For the garlic aioli

  • Place garlic in a small bowl. Add the salt and mash with a fork until it becomes a paste.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined.
  • Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the burgers

  • Place beef into a large bowl.
  • Great 2 tablespoons of the onion into the beef. Slice the remaining onion thin.
  • Add cream, salt and pepper and mix well. Form into 8 1/4 pound patties.
  • Spread cracked black pepper out onto a plate. Lightly press each side of each patty into the pepper.
  • Cook patties as desired. I prefer them grilled on a flat-top griddle, but you can also cook them in a skillet.
  • Lightly toast the buns.
  • Assemble burgers by slathering buns with the garlic aioli. Add the lettuce, cooked patties, cheese and bacon and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 715kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 708mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 218IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 231mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Cheeseburger Gnocchi

Cheeseburger gnocchi reminds me of a childhood canned favorite, RavioliOs, but taken to a whole new level. Making this dish wasn’t a whole lot harder than just opening a can either. Grab a big bowl on a cold day and you’ll definitely forget the weather. Creamy, cheesy, tomato-y beefy stick-to-your-ribs total goodness.

Cheeseburger Gnocchi

The Perfect Cold Weather Dish

I can’t say I’d change much about this recipe for cheeseburger gnocchi. It really hit the spot after shoveling snow from the driveway. I might substitute spicy bulk Italian sausage for the beef for a little kick and Italian-inspired flavor.

This cheeseburger gnocchi has me jonesin’ for some cheeseburger soup now.

Cheeseburger Gnocchi
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5 from 1 vote

Cheeseburger Gnocchi

Cheeseburger gnocchi reminds me of a childhood canned favorite, RavioliOs, but taken to a whole new level. 
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers, cheese, potatoes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 313kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the onion. Season with salt and pepper and saute until just soft.
  • Add garlic and saute another minute.
  • Crumble in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  • Drain any excess fat.
  • Stir in the mustard, diced and crushed tomatoes and the beef broth.
  • Season with more salt and pepper as desired.
  • Bring to a simmer.
  • Stir in the gnocchi and cover.
  • Continue simmering about 5 minutes or until the gnocchi is tender.
  • Add the heavy cream and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.
  • Serve garnished with the green onions.

Nutrition

Calories: 313kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 353mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 381IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Hot Mess Cheeseburgers

These crazy-good Hot Mess Cheeseburgers remind me a bit of one our favorites, pimento cheeseburgers. This kicked-up version comes from Chris over at Nibble Me This, a fantastic blog to follow. I highly recommend you pay Chris a visit. You’ll find other wonderful dishes like this one. We devoured this yummy burgers in no time. The cheese topping is fantastic. It’s definitely the star of the show!

Hot Mess Cheeseburger

Pick Your Favorite Cheeses

I used a mix of whatever cheeses I had on hand to make Hot Mess cheeseburgers. You don’t have to get picky. No matter what you use these burgers will turn out fantastic. Lots of cheese, and a little heat.

I recently discovered McClure’s pickles, and they are just fantastic. You see some of their pickle spears in the pic. The spicy varieties have a really nice heat to them. They taste fresh, and homemade. Oh, and you have to try their dill pickle relish. It is unlike that mass-produced relish. Once you’ve had it, you’ll never go back, that’s for sure.

Hot Mess Cheeseburger
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5 from 1 vote

Hot Mess Cheeseburger

We used a mix of whatever cheeses we had on hand. You don’t have to get picky. No matter what you use these burgers will turn out fantastic. Lots of cheese, and a little heat.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 434kcal

Ingredients

For the burgers

For the cheese topping

  • 1 cup cheeses shredded. We used sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Mozzarella
  • 1 tablespoon chives chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons red onion minced
  • 2 tablespoons pimentos drained, chopped
  • hot sauce to taste

Instructions

  • Fire up your grill for direct cooking.
  • Salt and pepper the beef and place the patties onto the grill.
  • Meanwhile, stir together all of the cheese mix ingredients.
  • Flip burgers once the first side has pretty grill marks.
  • When the patties are just about done (about 15 degrees below where you want them), top with the cheese mix. Remove patties once the meat is done and the cheese is all ooey gooey.
  • Toast buns as desired.
  • Serve burgers topped with tomato, lettuce, onion, ketchup, mayo and mustard with a cold pickle spear on the side.

Nutrition

Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 297mg | Potassium: 563mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 541IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Cheeseburger Soup

This thick, creamy cheeseburger soup absolutely hit the spot on a really cold day here in Indianapolis. We’ve had temperatures well below zero for days now. Having a big batch of this soup on hand really helped warm us up!

Cheeseburger Soup

Nice And Creamy Good

I’ve seen a few variations on this recipe for cheeseburger soup around the web. We decided to make a few more changes of our own. In particular, we substituted extra sharp cheddar and Fontina cheeses for the usual Velveeta. The result is so creamy cheesy good. For even more creaminess, use half the milk specified and add in some heavy cream.

Instead of crumbling the burger into the soup we made tiny meatballs. This made for a little more snazzy appearance and a feel of that more like a cheeseburger. For more great cheeseburger flavor, make a big ole batch of my cheeseburger gnocchi.

This recipe is based on a recipe from The Spice Garden.

Cheeseburger Soup
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4 from 1 vote

Cheeseburger Soup

This thick, creamy cheeseburger soup absolutely hit the spot on a really cold day here in Indianapolis. We’ve had temperatures well below zero for days now. Having a big batch of this soup on hand really helped warm us up!
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers, cheese, soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 593kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
  • 1 medium carrot peeled and diced
  • 1 small sweet onion diced
  • ½ medium green bell pepper diced
  • 1 small jalapeno seeded and minced
  • 14 ounces beef broth
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper plus more
  • kosher salt
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon. butter
  • 4 ounces mushrooms sliced
  • 2 ½ cups milk divided
  • 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
  • 4 ounces Fontina cheese cubed

For garnish

  • 4 slices bacon cooked, crumbled
  • 1 green onion chopped

Instructions

  • Place the potatoes, carrot, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, broth and garlic into a large pot or Dutch oven.
  • Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and continue simmering until the potatoes are starting to soften, about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Form into small balls.
  • Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Add the meatballs to the soup.
  • Add the mushrooms to the skillet. Stir and cook until softened. Add to the soup.
  • Add 1 1/2 cups of the milk to the soup and return to a simmer.
  • Add remaining milk to a large cup or bowl. Stir in the remaining flour until smooth. Slowly add the mixture to the soup while stirring. Continue stirring until the soup thickens.
  • Add the cheese to the soup and melt, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve soup warm with crumbled bacon and green onion as garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 483mg | Potassium: 1047mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2320IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 406mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional values are approximate.