Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce Burger
Italian-inspired burger with a roasted garlic Parmesan cream sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and arugula on toasted ciabatta.
- Prep
- 20min
- Cook
- 30min
- Total
- 50min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 920per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Roasting the garlic first lets this sauce use six cloves without tasting harsh. Twenty minutes wrapped in foil in a hot oven turns them soft and sweet enough to mash straight into the butter, and the cream and Parmesan finish the sauce in about 5 minutes. Think of it as a small batch of garlic Alfredo.
A sauce this rich needs a thick patty under it and ciabatta, whose open crumb catches it without collapsing. Sautéed mushrooms add an earthy layer, and arugula's bitterness keeps the whole thing from tasting like pasta on a bun. Serve it hot; the sauce sets as it cools.
Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce Burger
Prep 20 min, cook 30 min, total 50 min. About 920 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/garlic-parmesan-cream-sauce-burger
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Roast garlic: Wrap 6 cloves garlic in foil with a drizzle of 1 tbsp olive oil and roast at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes until soft and golden. Mash into a paste.
Make the cream sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 oz butter. Add roasted garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. Pour in ½ cup heavy cream and simmer for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in 2 oz Parmesan cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté 7 oz sliced mushrooms until golden and tender, about 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Form ground beef into 4 equal patties, about ¾ inch thick. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes per side until an instant-read thermometer in the center of a patty reads 160°F (71°C).
Toast ciabatta buns cut-side down in the same skillet until golden.
Assemble burgers: Spread garlic Parmesan cream sauce on both bun halves. Place beef patties on bottom buns, top with sautéed mushrooms, fresh arugula, and an extra drizzle of cream sauce, then garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Crown with top buns.
Tips
- Squeeze the roasted cloves out of their skins while they're still warm. Once cold, they cling to the papery skins.
- Turn the heat to low before adding the Parmesan and stir just until it melts. Boiling cream with cheese in it can turn grainy.
- Salt the mushrooms only after they've browned. Salting early draws out water, and they steam instead of searing.
- If the sauce thickens while it waits, whisk in a spoonful of cream or water over low heat.
Substitutions
- Half-and-half instead of heavy cream: thinner and more likely to curdle, so keep it below a simmer and let it reduce a little longer.
- Short on time: cook 2 minced raw cloves in the butter for 1 minute instead of roasting. The sauce will be sharper.
- Cremini or shiitake mushrooms instead of white: a deeper, meatier topping.
- Gluten-free: the sauce is already gluten-free, so just use a gluten-free bun.
Make ahead & storage
Roast the garlic up to 3 days ahead and keep the paste chilled. The cream sauce keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge but sets firm; rewarm it gently with a splash of cream or milk. Cooked patties keep 3 to 4 days; reheat to 165°F (74°C). Assembled burgers don't hold, since the sauce soaks into the bread.
