This Italian Burger has a meatball-inspired patty served up on garlic buttered bread with a tangy Balsamic Marinara Ketchup and plenty of cheese.
If you love this Italian twist on a burger, you should also try these Meatball Subs or Italian Beef Sandwiches.
There’s nothing quite like a good burger, and this Italian Burger is a great way to switch up burger night!
If you love Italian food, this burger will hit all the right spots. It’s basically like a big meatball turned into a hamburger patty. And that’s topped with an easy homemade balsamic marinara ketchup that takes only minutes to make. Top it all off with 2 kinds of cheese and you have a winner!
Substitutions
The burger consists of a mixture of ground beef and ground pork. You can use all ground beef, if desired.
You’ll want a good Italian bread for the “buns” – I like to use a loaf of French bread that has been sliced. You can also use regular hamburger buns.
The recipe calls for both mozzarella and provolone, but you can use one or the other, if desired.
Tips and Tricks
The balsamic marinara ketchup can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Make sure you squeeze all of the excess milk from the bread. You don’t want patties that are going to fall apart.
Just like with meatballs, you want to make sure you don’t over work the meat when you are forming it into patties.
You can grill the burgers or cook them on a grill pan. You can also use a skillet – I like to use a cast iron skillet.
More Burgers for Burger Night
Bacon and Egg Burger
Triple Pork Burgers
Seven Layer Sliders
Tex-Mex Bacon Cheeseburgers
Blue Cheese Burgers
Italian Burger
Ingredients
Balsamic Marinara Ketchup:
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- Torn basil leaves
Burgers:
- 2 slices of white bread crusts removed
- Milk for soaking bread
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons grated onion
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- Olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 slices of sturdy Italian-American bread sliced 3/4-inch thick
- 8 slices deli-cut mozzarella
- 8 slices deli-cut provolone
Instructions
make the ketchup:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the tomato paste, beef stock and garlic. Saute for about a minute, then add in the tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, oregano and red pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil then reduce the heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil.
make the burgers:
- Place the bread in a bowl and add enough milk to soak the bread. Allow the bread to sit for a few minutes, then squeeze all excess milk out of the bread.
- Place the bread in a large bowl and add the ground beef and ground pork. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the parsley, garlic, onion and Parmesan and gently mix, making sure to not overwork the meat.
- Form the mixture into 4 large patties.
- Heat a grill pan or an outdoor grill over medium high heat. Drizzle olive oil over the patties and then cook, turning once, until cooked, about 10 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and allow to cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
- Brush the outsides of each slice of bread with the garlic butter. Build four burgers, with the buttered sides facing out. Layer each with some of the balsamic marinara ketchup, a slice of mozzarella, a patty, a slice of provolone, and more ketchup. Place the burgers on the griddle and cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Ooooh. I want this tonight!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Oh this has my name written all over it!! Glorious 🙂
Joanne says
I say the hallmark of a good sandwich is when you have to eat it with a fork and knife! These sound awesome.
Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says
I haven’t had a traditional Patty Melt in ages and this version looks to die for! Oh, and I could probably drink that ketchup with a straw! PS: Hope you had fun camping!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
the sight of this makes me so hungry! it looks amazing!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts says
I haven’t stopped thinking about these since I saw them in the magazine this month. Now I really need to just make them, yours look so good!! Have a great weekend camping!
Chels R. says
Oh my gosh, Camden is crawling! I knew it was going to be soon! I can’t wait to hear how camping went. And these look so good! I can’t wait to try it!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Mouth-watering melts, I love the balsamic ketchup!
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
I love this! I made a grilled cheese out with meatballs that I made a while back and loved it. So fun!
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Have fun camping! And bring this ketchup. It would totally make hot dogs gourmet!
Karly says
Please don’t go camping. If you don’t survive, who will make all this delicious food for me to drool over?
Jackie l Food.Wine.Fashion says
I appreciate that you are taking blame for those mistakes lol! Don’t you just hate when you have a plan in your head and it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to? That’s especially frustrating when you’re planning on blogging about it 🙂
Have a great weekend lady!
xo Jackie
Tieghan says
Whoa! I love, love , love that balsamic ketchup! When I saw this in the mag I though it look pretty good, but yours looks incredible! So much better! Amazing job!
Colleen @ What's Baking in the Barbershop?! says
I am totally on board with these patty melts! I know the hubs would love ’em, as would I 🙂
Have so much fun camping!!!