Breakfast Burger
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Dig into the most amazing burgers for breakfast with this Breakfast Burger recipe! This incredibly delicious burger starts with ground beef and breakfast sausage patties, topped with cheese, fried eggs, bacon jam, and avocado, for an explosion of flavor!
Table of contents
These breakfast burgers are seriously the ultimate breakfast of champions! But they’re not just for breakfast, oh no, I’d eat these for lunch, brunch, dinner, or a midnight snack. Seriously, anytime these burgers were presented to me, I’d eat them because oh-my-gosh they are so delicious!
Some breakfast burgers just throw a fried egg on top of a regular burger and call it a “breakfast burger”, but not this one! I made this recipe with everything I love about breakfast in mind.
Salty, sweet bacon jam, creamy avocado, a runny egg yolk “sauce”, and melty cheddar cheese might just be the best combination of toppings on a burger ever. Now let’s talk about these burger patties, instead of just ground beef, I used a 50/50 combination of ground beef and breakfast pork sausage. This adds wonderful flavor to the patties, that are then topped with all of the best toppings!
I like to serve the burgers on a brioche bun, because it’s buttery, slightly sweet and so delicious paired with the ingredients in this breakfast burger. But you could also go all in with this breakfast sandwich, and serve it on a bagel. You can’t go wrong with either, because this burger is just oh-so-delicious, no matter what you put it on!
Ingredients
- Ground beef – I recommend a ground beef that’s 80/20, meaning 80% lean and 20% fat. This will give you the perfect amount of fat, when combined with the pork sausage, to make tender, juicy burgers!
- Pork sausage – you’ll want loose breakfast-style sausage for this recipe. I like to use “hot” for even more flavor, but feel free to use mild, regular, or maple syrup flavored sausage, for the burger patties.
- Salt – to season the burger patties.
- Vegetable oil – for toasting the buns.
- Cheddar cheese – I like to use sharp cheddar cheese for these burgers, but you could also use slices of American cheese, gouda, or muenster.
- Hamburger buns – I recommend brioche buns, as the buttery flavor is so delicious paired with these burgers. But any burger bun will work, or you can use your favorite bagel, or an English muffin, as the bun.
- Avocados – you’ll want two ripe avocados for this recipe. To tell if an avocado is ripe, give it a gentle squeeze, if it’s just slightly soft, it’s ripe and ready for these burgers. If the avocado is still hard as a rock, it’s not ripe yet and will need a couple of days on the counter to ripen. If you’re having trouble finding ripe avocados, you can also now buy packaged mashed avocado in the refrigerator section on the produce aisle at most grocery stores. Just make sure it’s only avocado, and not guacamole.
- Bacon jam – click the link for my homemade recipe. It can be made up to a week in advance of preparing these burgers and it’s SO GOOD! You can also purchase bacon jam online, or in some specialty food stores.
- Eggs – you’ll need 4 large eggs for this recipe.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
If you don’t already have bacon jam prepared, be sure to prepare the bacon jam before making the burgers following the link provided.
You can also purchase bacon jam online, or in some specialty food stores.
- Portion out the burger patties. Combine ground beef, pork sausage, and salt in a large bowl. Portion out the mixture into eight 2 ounce balls. (I recommend using a kitchen scale to get the precise measurement.)
- Prepare the buns. These burgers cook quickly because they’re so thin, so I always recommend toasting the buns first and assembling the toppings on the bun before cooking the burgers. To do this, heat a griddle, or flat top, over medium-high heat. Add oil to the griddle and place the buns face-down on the griddle. Toast the buns for approximately 1 minute, or until browned around the edges.
- Add the toppings. Spread the bacon jam on the bottom half of each bun, and smashed avocado on the top buns. Set aside and prepare the burgers.
- Fry the eggs. Crack four eggs onto the griddle, or flat top, and cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. Use a spatula to remove the eggs and set them aside on a clean cutting board or plate.
- Cook the burgers. Turn the heat on the griddle, or flat top, up to high. Spray the back of a large metal spatula with cooking spray. Place each of the balls of meat on the hot griddle. Use the back of the spatula to smash the balls of meat into flattened burger patties. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the cheese. Flip the burgers and place a piece of cheese on half of the burger patties. Place the other burger patties, not topped with cheese, on top of the cheese-topped burger patties. Add the fried eggs on top of the burgers. Cook for 30 seconds, then remove the burgers from the griddle and place them on the prepared buns. Serve immediately.
Optional toppings and variations
This breakfast burger is perfect as written. But if you want to switch up the bacon jam for slices of bacon, or add hollandaise sauce to the burgers, that would also be delicious!
Check out all of the optional variations and toppings below, and make the burger your own.
- Add shredded lettuce, spinach or arugula for some greens on the burger.
- Instead of bacon jam, you can simply add slices of cooked bacon to these burgers. Use my oven-baked bacon recipe to cook up some crispy bacon and add it the burgers.
- If you decide to omit the bacon jam (which contains caramelized onions), you can simply add caramelized onions to the burgers instead. You can make them ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to one week, or the freezer for 3 months. Click the link above for my easy step-by-step guide to caramelizing onions.
- Drizzle hollandaise sauce over the burgers for a cross between a Benedict and a burger!
- Make them with an all beef patty, or all sausage patties. I love the combination of fat and flavor with both the ground beef and pork sausage, but if you love the flavor of one over the other, you can make these burgers with just ground beef, or just loose sausage.
- Add sliced tomatoes for a juicy addition to the burgers.
Recipe tips
- Always prep the buns and toppings before cooking the burgers. These burgers literally cook in 2 minutes, so you want to make sure the buns are toasted and topped with the bacon jam, smashed avocado, and whatever toppings you’re adding to the burgers, before actually cooking the burgers.
- Always make sure the griddle is hot before adding the burgers. Adding burgers (or any food for that matter) to a hot surface is important for cooking safety. It will also give you a beautiful sear on the outside, while keeping the burgers super juicy on the inside. These breakfast burgers are a variation of smash burgers, which should always be cooked over high heat, between 400-450 degrees fahrenheit.
- If you don’t have a griddle, or flat top, you can make the burgers in a skillet. Depending on the size of your skillet, you’ll probably only be able to fit 2, or maybe 4, burger patties in the skillet at a time. I recommend a cast iron skillet, or cast iron griddle pan if you have one available. A cast iron skillet can be used on the stove, or on a grill, to make these burgers.
What to serve with them
Burgers and potatoes are a match made in heaven, so any kind of breakfast potatoes or hash browns would pair perfectly with these breakfast burgers. You can also go with a more traditional burger side of fries or tots.
Try any of these recipes for the perfect pairing!
More burger recipes
Burgers are a delicious, quick and easy option for meals throughout the week. Be sure to try all of these scrumptious burger recipes!
Breakfast Burger
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef, 80/20
- ½ pound pork breakfast sausage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 4 brioche buns
- ½ cup bacon jam, click link for the recipe
- 2 avocados, sliced in half, then smashed with a fork
- 4 large eggs
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, breakfast sausage and salt, then form the mixture into 8 two-ounce balls.
- Preheat a large skillet on the stove, griddle, or flat top, over medium-high heat.
- When hot, add the vegetable oil to the griddle and place the buns face-down on the griddle. Toast the hamburger buns for approximately 1 minute, or until browned around the edges.
- Remove the buns from the griddle, spread bacon jam on each of the bottom buns, and add half of a smashed avocado on the top bun.
- Crack four eggs onto the griddle and cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the whites are set. Use a spatula to remove the eggs and set them aside.
- Turn the heat on the griddle up to high.
- Spray the back of a large flat metal spatula with cooking spray.
- Place each of the balls of ground beef and sausage on the hot griddle. Use the back of the spatula to smash the ground beef into flattened burger patties. Cook for 1 minute.
- Flip the burgers and place a piece of cheese on half of the burger patties.
- Place the other burger patties, not topped with cheese, on top of the cheese-topped burger patties. Add one of the fried eggs on top of each burger.
- Cook for 30 seconds, then remove the burgers from the griddle and place them on the prepared buns.
Notes
- Instead of bacon jam, you can simply add slices of cooked bacon to these burgers. Use my oven-baked bacon recipe to cook up some crispy bacon and add it the burgers.
- Always prep the buns and toppings before cooking the burgers. These burgers literally cook in 2 minutes, so you want to make sure the buns are toasted and topped with the bacon jam, smashed avocado, and whatever toppings you’re adding to the burgers, before actually cooking the burgers.
- Always make sure the griddle is hot before adding the burgers. Adding burgers (or any food for that matter) to a hot surface is important for cooking safety. It will also give you a beautiful sear on the outside, while keeping the burgers super juicy on the inside. These breakfast burgers are a variation of smash burgers, which should always be cooked over high heat, between 400-450 degrees fahrenheit.
- If you don’t have a griddle, or flat top, you can make the burgers in a skillet. Depending on the size of your skillet, you’ll probably only be able to fit 2, or maybe 4, burger patties in the skillet at a time. I recommend a cast iron skillet, or cast iron griddle pan if you have one available. A cast iron skillet can be used on the stove, or on a grill, to make these burgers.
Nutrition Facts
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