Sandwich and Burger Recipes & Ideas

House Beautiful is just about to launch their Kitchen of the Year down at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. (Last year’s Kitchen of the Year was a recreation of Ina Garten’s country kitchen; here are some ideas we picked up from that oneHouse BeautifulThis year’s kitchen is designed by Jeff Lewis of Bravo’s Flipping Out.

Just because we’re eating a little lighter this month, doesn’t mean we don’t have the craving for a fat, tasty burger. This meatless version is flavorful enough, you don’t even miss your usual source of proteins. A quick and tasty, homemade option for sure!A weeknight burger is usually a quick fix. Patty and cook, that’s all it takes for your family to be eating in a hurry, but to our surprise, this recipe was just as quick.

This is has become one of our new favorite ways to pack a big salad for the times when we have to eat on the runLook for the biggest tortillas you can find for this recipe. The bigger, the better. We also prefer flour tortillas as they tend to stay a little softer and not crack as easily. Roll it up exactly as you would a burrito, by tucking in the two side-flaps and then rolling it right up.

And it’s indicative of the playful and welcoming tone of this latest cookbook from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage farm. These are the kinds of recipes I want to cook all the time: fresh flavors, simple to make, and tummy-rubbing good. This recipe for spicy lamb burgers on the grill is the perfect example.River Cottage Every Day can really be seen as a family cookbook.

Let’s get this out of the way: This Trader Joe’s-inspired recipe won’t save you time. If you’re accustomed to running into TJ’s and grabbing their prepackaged Spicy Lentil Wrap (with Spicy Tahini Sauce!), then the chopping, boiling, and whisking required to make it at home might seem like more than you care to take on. But it’s such a worthy endeavor.

There’s something so simplistic about a plain old turkey wrap dunked in homemade honey mustard. Still, these lowly sandwiches got me through college, and they even made an appearance at my recent engagement party. (What can I say, I know what I like.) For some reason, they never get old. I always have the ingredients for turkey wraps on hand when I need a quick lunch, but that’s not saying they haven’t pulled their weight as dinner.

Summer brings us outdoors more and more. For most of us, that means occasional (or frequent) grilling and picnicking. While burgers and hot dogs are a given, for vegetarians or for folks just looking to mix it up this year, homemade veggie burgers are the way to go.I was a vegetarian for many, many years and for most of that I lived on those soy-based fake meat products in the grocery stores. While easy and tasty, they’re overly processed, a bit expensive, and often not that nutritious.

A trip to the Korean market is always fun when I’m getting ready to entertain or simply preparing a weeknight meal. We love Korean food at our house, and pork belly lettuce wraps are always a fun and active way to serve delicious, flavorful food, no matter the occasion. These lettuce wraps celebrate the popular Korean dish Samgyeopsal Gui, which simply means grilled pork belly. Koreans traditionally eat Samgyeopsal while grilling the meat themselves at the table.

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but Atlanta seems to be the epicenter of a giant burger boom. Everywhere you turn, there is a new chef-owned burger joint promising the best beefy bite between buns you’ve ever tasted. But are those $20 burgers really worth it? Perhaps once you try these Beef and Bacon Burgers you won’t think so. I love a good burger as much as the rest of the American (meat-eating) population, maybe even more.

Our farm is overflowing with summer produce right now, and my husband and I could not be more thrilled. Our hard work is finally paying off and some of our favorite summertime treats are starting to make their seasonal debut. Tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn, cilantro, and of course, one of my favorite leafy greens: swiss chard! Put those together and you have these healthy, no-fuss swiss chard taco wraps, perfect for a breezy summer meal.

Ah, autumn, when crisp mornings make me forget about chilled overnight oats and smoothies, and instead push hot breakfasts to the front of my mind. The only challenge is finding warm breakfasts that are still quick enough to make on busy fall mornings. Enter these freezer-friendly breakfast wraps. Following these tips for freezing burritos, I made vegetarian wraps filled with eggs, tomatoes, spinach, and feta that are ready to microwave in the morning.

We’re a few weeks into grilling season, and that means it’s time to stretch beyond the basic burger and start getting creative with toppings. An unusual favorite of mine that’s perfect for summer? Grilled pineapple! Brushed with whiskey glaze and accompanied by sliced jalapeños, these burgers are a little steakhouse, a little Hawaiian vacation, and a lot delicious.

In my small Alabama hometown, a restaurant lives and dies by its chicken salad recipe. Heaven help the one that decides not to include the Southern staple on its menu. For the local “ladies who lunch” crowd, it is practically a food group, and it should not to be taken lightly. There are as many different ways to make chicken salad as there are cooks, but I seem to like them all.

The Juicy Lucy — a thin burger with an oozing cheese filling — is beloved in Minneapolis, where two rival bars claim to have “invented” it. They are ideally suited to be made with lean ground turkey, because a Juicy Lucy is always served well-done. Just be sure to serve it with plenty of napkins! When using reduced-fat cheese, it is important to use a brand that melts well. My favorite is Kerrygold. Serve with classic condiments: ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.

I’ve always loved collard greens, but usually in a stewed, completely cooked-down form, with lots of broth flavored with smoky meat. But eating the greens raw never occurred to me until recently, when they were suggested as a sandwich bread substitute. Turns out they’re a great, light alternative when you’re looking for something other than bread. I always assumed raw collard greens would be tough, fibrous, and have an unpleasant vegetal taste.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m a big fan of breakfast burritos, but I like the harder-to-find breakfast quesadilla even more. It just has that perfect ratio of crispy, browned tortilla, melty cheese, and eggs. Here’s one that you can have pre-made in the freezer, so any weekday morning can start with a quesadilla. While quesadillas are great hand-held foods, you do have to watch for dripping cheese and escaping filling when they’re cut into wedges.

A sweet, rich onion topping enhances the umami, or savory flavor, of these burgers. Look for 93% lean ground beef, which is enough fat to keep the burgers moist and tender, and lean enough to keep them healthy. Work the burgers as little as possible to prevent them from becoming dry. Form them into nice even patties that hold together, but try not to compact the meat too much. Also, indent the top with your thumb.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to love these hearty, flavorful meatless burgers. (You can, however, give them even more savory meatiness by adding chopped sautéed shiitake or cremini mushrooms to the mixture before forming the burgers). And by all means, make a double batch of the ketchup — you’ll find a million uses for it, and it keeps well in the refrigerator for a week.

This is unimaginably better than a burger merely topped with guacamole. In this love child of a burger and guacamole, the guac is mixed right in with the ground chicken, making its presence felt in every bite. Serve the burgers with shredded lettuce for a little crunch, a thin slice of ripe summer tomato, and a little smear of canola mayonnaise on the roll. Want to take it to the next level? Gild the lily by topping the burger with extra avocado slices.

You’ve probably heard of cauliflower as a stand-in for steak or rice by now, but what about chicken? In this recipe, roasted cauliflower florets are doused in buffalo wing sauce and wrapped up in crunchy lettuce leaves for a vegetarian take on buffalo wings. After small cauliflower florets are roasted in a hot oven until crisp, they’re tossed with the traditional hot sauce-butter mixture.

Ditch the pre-made, frozen veggie burgers in favor of these smoky, spicy homemade ones — you won’t regret it. They’re a snap to make (even if you don’t have a food processor) and are absolutely packed with flavor. I’ve never been a meat fiend,so regular burgers just don’t provoke that much excitement from me. But since I started making bean burgers at university,they’ve become a staple.

I have a thing for pinwheel sandwiches; they’re just so pretty and such perfect finger foods. What if you could skip the tortilla or traditional wrap and use protein-loaded eggs instead? These wraps take the trifecta of breakfast foods — ham, eggs, and cheese — and turn them into portable bites that can work as breakfast or lunch.

My husband, Dan, would eat a cheeseburger pretty much every day of the week if I let him. This is not conjecture; it’s an established fact. It’s his desert-island food, and should we ever be stuck on a magical cheeseburger-filled desert island, he’s free to eat as many as he wants, as often as he wants. It’s also true that Dan works in Manhattan, which is in fact an island with no shortage of great burgers.

On our recent trip to Minnesota, we ate wild rice every chance we could get, savoring the chewy texture and rich, nutty flavor of this Great Lakes specialty. Some of our most memorable meals were the meat-free, wild rice burgers served at restaurants like Fitger’s Brewhouse, Black Woods, and Grandma’s in Duluth.

Need a dinner recipe that’s sure to get everyone to the table? We’re calling on a homemade ranch to get the job done. In 15 minutes you’ll have a fresh home-cooked meal so good you might even call it a miracle. What makes this recipe stand out from the crowd is that it bypasses the bottles of store-bought ranch dressing for a super-quick homemade version.

People wax nostalgic about White Castle sliders, with their little square patties of ground beef steamed directly on piles of white onions. All served up in a soft bun next to a stack of crinkle-cut french fries, it’s a meal to really get excited about. They are the inspiration behind what is now one of our favorite ways to make burgers and fries for dinner. We’re packing big onion flavor into these beefy burgers, and doing it all on a sheet pan.

For starters, ditch the jelly and the sliced bread.

Our new favorite way to eat summer's best sandwich.

It's guaranteed to please even the most stalwart meat eater. I should know: My fiancé is a total convert.

Yes, juicy turkey burgers are possible!

It only takes a few ingredients to give a classic burger a flavorful makeover, and this recipe proves just that. It relies on a simple slaw, store-bought teriyaki sauce, and thinly sliced jalapeño for a tangy twist on the all-American hamburger. A few smart steps take this from an average burger into a crave-worthy one. First, you’ll toss the cabbage with just a bit of mayonnaise — enough to coat the leaves and add a bit of richness, while keeping the slaw fresh and crisp.

The easiest way to make this street food favorite at home.

When we hear the word “cheeseburger,” a juicy beef patty with melty American or Cheddar cheese typically comes to mind. But with the incredible variety of cheeses available at the supermarket, why limit ourselves to the classics? This smart recipe takes advantage of Roquefort, a sheep’s milk cheese from the south of France — and the results are mouthwatering.

We love classic burger condiments as much as the next person. But what if we told you that you could spread your burger bun with baba ghanoush, top the burger patties with sun-dried tomatoes, and opt for goat cheese instead of cheddar? That’s exactly what happens in these juicy chicken burgers, which are a leaner alternative to the classic cheeseburgers. Use this recipe as inspiration, then consider all the delicious flavor combinations you could create.

I love taking the flavors and ingredients from foods I’ve eaten while traveling and pulling them into my weekly meals. This veggie burger takes inspiration from around the world — green curry paste, fresh cilantro, creamy black beans, and crunchy walnuts — and puts them into traditional patty form. This burger with its spicy kick is perfect for your next picnic or backyard barbecue.I’ve been around the block when it comes to low carb, meat-free burgers.

Hearty is the name of the game when it comes to the taste, but easy is what this one-sheet-pan-wonder is really all about. Warm up the earthy-sweet flavor of beets with caraway, the seeds that make rye bread taste like rye bread, and serve them alongside juicy brats. With the swipe of one flavor, you’ll feel like your vegetables could be in the Black Forest. Bratwurst is a German sausage made from beef, pork, or veal, and they are often available precooked or uncooked.

I dub thee Sausage in a Snuggie!

You know who brings mummy hot dogs to the Halloween party? A Halloween hero, that's who.

I have to apologize. See, I got so excited about the idea of homemade hamburger buns that….well, I forgot the burger. When you make these, be sure you don’t do that because these soft and oh-so-fluffy buns deserve to be crowned with some mighty fine burgers.These buns are pillow soft but with just enough chewiness to make them interesting. They taste yeasty and just slightly sweet.

I’m a total meatball fiend, whether they’re of Swedish, Italian, or Southern descent. (Grape jelly ring a bell?) In a sloppy sandwich, meatballs become even more appealing — and doubly so when in “small-bite” slider form. Take my spin on chicken Parmesan. Chicken meatballs are stuffed with cubes of mozzarella, doused in marinara, and finished off with a generous dusting of Parmesan. Think it sounds like too much hassle for lunch? Check your freezer first.

I have a soft spot for warm, toasty sandwiches. Just the simple act of heating something up suddenly makes lunch that much more exciting and satisfying, which is why one of my favorite hearty lunches is a classic chicken Parmesan sandwich. In this meat-free twist on the Italian-American favorite, a seasoned tempeh patty stands in for the usual breaded piece of chicken. Tempeh really is a blank canvas that you can season to your liking.

You just need four ingredients and a sheet pan.

Regional foods are the heart of American cuisine, but there’s one problem with them: When you move, you crave them. Take Italian beef sandwiches. As someone who grew up in New York, I’d never heard of this meaty sandwich until I moved to the Midwest. During day trips to Chicago, I’d see signs for Italian beef. Well, I am Italian. I like beef. Clearly this was a sandwich I needed to try. The first bite won me over.

What makes a perfect breakfast sandwich in my book? The right ratio of warm bread to tender egg, and always plenty of cheese. Bonus points if vegetables find their way inside too! Well, to make the perfect sandwich even more perfect, how about one that can be frozen so that a portable breakfast is ready to eat after just a few minutes in the microwave? Say good morning to the frittata breakfast sandwich.

This is everything you love about a classic breakfast burrito, layered into an egg casserole.

Fajitas taste best when the meat and veggies come straight off the grill, no question. But don’t let that stop you when it comes to getting your fajita fix. I make this recipe entirely on the stovetop, where the spicy chicken picks up a touch of char from the grill pan and the peppers cook until they are completely tender. Add a dollop of creamy black bean spread and we have dinner.

As the weather gets warmer, I like to do everything I can with cucumbers — including using up the peel. Like any good Southerner, I often make marinated cucumbers, or “refrigerator pickles.” This quick mix of thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers, vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili flakes is a fail-proof and delicious side salad, but it always leaves me with a heaping pile of peels I hate to throw away.

This sweet and spicy sandwich is the ultimate flavor bomb.

They're a total lifesaver on busy weeknights.

It may look like a simple cheese panini, but braaibroodjie is more than meets the eye both culturally and taste-wise. Traditionally served at the end of a South African barbecue — braai in Afrikaans — these sandwiches are usually cooked over open coals and include and unusual combination of flavors: sharp cheddar cheese, tomato, onion and a layer of fruit chutney. My twist swaps out the raw onion for smoky grilled scallions and can be made on a grill pan or outdoor grill.

And it's super easy to make at home.

September always feels like a busy time of year. School is back in session, and the busyness of fall replaces the more leisurely pace of summer. We’re always looking for some good quick meals this time of year. So we are going to focus on fast, easy, and healthy weeknight meals all month. In fact, we have a contest coming up with some serious prizes to be won — stay tuned for details! And for right now, here’s a favorite fast weeknight meal of our own.

Lean ground beef or turkey can stand in for the beans in these burritos — season it with salt and pepper and brown it in a skillet, and drain and cool slightly on a plate lined with paper towel before combining it with the chipotle sour cream. Also, pump up the nutrient power by adding sautéed chopped bell peppers, zucchini, or leftover cooked vegetables such as cauliflower. Make your own salsa in just minutes, if you prefer.

For this burrito-inspired dinner bowl, I ditched the tortilla and layered everything into a big bowl. Tender brown rice, garlicky black beans, spicy roasted corn, fresh cherry tomatoes, avocado chunks, and the most delicious cilantro-lime dressing drizzled over the top — each bite is perfect!

The secret to successful stress-free mornings is a stash of these freezer-friendly breakfast burritos.

These breakfast burritos were created with busy weekday mornings in mind, fulfilling the egg, cheese, meat, and carb foursome that’s guaranteed to deliver a hearty morning meal. Gone are the days when breakfast burritos were reserved for weekends. Most of us surely don’t have time to cook breakfast during the week, but reheating a frozen burrito in the oven while we shower and get ready for the day is a different story.

I’m a huge supporter of using store-bought ingredients and making them special. As if using two waffles as your breakfast sandwich bread wasn’t awesome enough, this super-impressive spicy maple butter will knock this meal out of the park. Whipping up a special butter right after you’ve crawled out of bed may seem to you like climbing Mount Everest with one leg, but you can make it ahead, and I promise you it is so worth it.

This is your classic ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich reimagined into a freezer-friendly quesadilla. Creamy scrambled eggs are piled between slices of deli ham, along with a layer of mild, nutty Gruyère and a swipe of Dijon, for a hot, make-ahead breakfast that will get you excited for the morning meal. To make these breakfast quesadillas freezer-friendly, we ditched the classic wedge cut for a technique that keeps all the ingredients nestled in a fully closed tortilla.

Not only will you love pulling this make-ahead sandwich out of the freezer on weekday mornings, but it will also totally change the way you think about egg whites.

For a vegan breakfast sandwich that will power you through the morning, look to this pita pocket stuffed with a blend of spiced chickpeas and sautéed veggies. It’s prepared in advance, then stashed in the freezer, ready to be reheated in the oven while you buzz through your morning routine.

Egg boats are the breakfast sandwich you wish you’ve been eating all along. This new take on the classic sausage, egg, and cheese mixes the trio into a custardy filling that’s baked together in a hollowed-out mini-baguette. Think of these boats as breakfast sandwich meets quiche. It’s a combination that delivers the best of both worlds: the convenience and portability of a sandwich, plus the creamy egg filling that makes quiche such a treat.

If you’ve been limiting your slider consumption to just burgers, I encourage you to broaden your horizons. Grab a muffin pan, a carton of eggs, and a tube of biscuit dough — it’s time to bring these bite-sized sandwiches to breakfast. With all the ingredients baked in a single muffin pan, this may be the easiest sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich you’ll ever make. The individual portions also mean you can cook the eggs to satisfy everyone’s yolk preference.

When we got a basketful of nectarines from our CSA, we initially thought of turning them into a dessert … but the fruits were so juicy and sweet in their own right that it seemed a crime to cover them up with sugar! Thus, we came up with the nectarine tartine. Not only is it fun to say but it has all the qualities of our favorite kind of summer dish – light, fresh, little or no heat required, and taking full advantage of the season’s produce.

You’re either an egg yolk person or you’re not. If you’re the latter, drippy egg yolks are confusing and repulsive — and this recipe is not for you. If you’re among the former, welcome! You have come to a place where egg yolk oozes over garlicky kale, crispy bacon, and a toasty bun, pooling on the plate for extra dipping as you eat. Ready to start your day off right?

Let’s face it, the grilled cheese is already a super indulgent sandwich. There’s no need to pile on a bunch of sweet potato fries in between all of that melted cheddar and jack cheese. But I did it anyway. Oh, and I also added a fried egg. Just because I could. If you were to say this breakfast sandwich is over the top, I wouldn’t disagree. This is the kind of meal I make when I’m eating alone, where no one can judge me.

To make a breakfast sandwich fit to feed a crowd, you’re going to need your Bundt cake pan. That’s right — the dome-shaped cake pan is the key to baking the bread, which gets cut in half to sandwich a sausage and cheese frittata. Better yet, this whole sandwich requires just five ingredients. Here’s how to do it. If you have a bundt cake pan hidden in the depths of your baking cabinet, now is the time to dig it out.

A few weeks ago, I opened my great grandmother’s church cookbook This is nostalgia at its finest, at least for this Midwestern-raised girl. The savory hamburger takes center stage, as it should, though thinly sliced mushrooms and a handful of onions bulk up the mix and help to slip some veggies into the meal. The sauce has a deep tomato flavor and a slight sweetness that I love. A splash of cider vinegar is the final touch to bringing out all the flavors in each chewy bite.

When you’re ready to take your new sourdough starter for a spin, I have just the recipe. Consider this beginner loaf a bridge between regular white sandwich bread and Tartine-style artisan loaves. It uses a few cups of your bubbly sourdough starter along with commercial yeast to add some extra insurance as you’re getting used to working with sourdough. This makes a soft and subtly tangy loaf that’s perfect for tuna fish sandwiches and jam-smeared toast alike.

Although we’ve been in our current house here in Seattle over a year now, I’m still unpacking a few stray boxes from the basement. Last weekend, I unpacked an old, beloved friend: my panini press. And I got right to work preparing this heavenly new sandwich that marries tart marmalade, spicy arugula, creamy brie and little-bit-salty ham. I am not a big appliance gal.

These mini sandwiches are built on Hawaiian rolls. Need we say more?