Mediterranean Lamb Burger with Tzatziki
Lamb burger with oregano and cumin, cucumber tzatziki, crumbled feta, tomato, and arugula on pita or ciabatta.
- Prep
- 20min
- Cook
- 10min
- Total
- 30min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 840per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Make the tzatziki before anything else. While the lamb cooks, the garlic and dill soak into the yogurt and the sauce firms up in the fridge. Grate the cucumber and squeeze it hard in a clean towel first, or the sauce turns watery and slides off the bread.
The patties leave out garlic and use oregano with a little cumin instead, which pulls the lamb toward a warmer, earthier taste. Tzatziki goes on twice, under the arugula and again over the feta, so the cool sauce meets the hot patty from both sides.
Mediterranean Lamb Burger with Tzatziki
Prep 20 min, cook 10 min, total 30 min. About 840 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/mediterranean-lamb-burger-tzatziki
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Make tzatziki sauce: combine 1 cup Greek yogurt, grated cucumber, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 10 g fresh dill in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then refrigerate.
In a large bowl, mix ground lamb with 5 g dried oregano, 3 g ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 equal patties.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat and cook lamb patties for 4-5 minutes per side, until an instant-read thermometer in the center of a patty reads 160°F (71°C).
Warm pita breads or toast ciabatta buns until slightly golden.
Assemble burgers: spread tzatziki sauce generously on bottom breads, add arugula, place lamb patties, top with tomato slices, red onion, crumbled feta, and more tzatziki, then crown with top breads. Serve with extra tzatziki on the side.
Tips
- Salt the grated cucumber and let it sit for 5 minutes before squeezing. More water comes out, and the tzatziki stays thick.
- Use full-fat Greek yogurt. Lower-fat versions start thinner and go runny once the cucumber is in.
- At 170 g each, these patties are fairly thick. Press a shallow dimple into each center so they cook flat, and check for 160°F (71°C).
- Let the patties rest for 2 minutes before they go on the arugula, so the greens don't wilt into a damp layer.
Substitutions
- Mint instead of dill in the tzatziki: cooler and a little sweeter.
- Half lamb, half ground beef: milder, with the same cooking time and the same 160°F (71°C) target.
- Dairy-free: make the tzatziki with unsweetened plain coconut or oat yogurt and skip the feta.
- Baby spinach instead of arugula if you want less peppery bite.
Make ahead & storage
Tzatziki keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge; pour off any liquid that collects on top before using it. Cooked patties keep 3 to 4 days and reheat in a skillet to 165°F (74°C). Assemble just before eating, since arugula wilts quickly under a hot patty.
