“If life were predictable it would cease to be life,
and be without flavor.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Mix It Up
On a healing diet, I cook a LOT of burgers, so to keep from getting bored, I like to mix up the flavors a bit. Mickey at Autoimmune Wellness gave me the idea with her herb burgers. The herb version below is a variation on hers, using dried herbs instead of fresh (sadly, I have no herb garden). She eats her burgers for breakfast, but they’re delicious any time of day, and would make a perfect addition to your Fourth of July BBQ. In my Paleo Road Trip article, I mentioned that I also pack these for the road, because they taste great cold and make a filling course for your roadside picnic.
In addition to the herb version, I created two more: Italian and Garlic/Onion. Feel free to experiment with other combinations. Just because we sacrifice the bun, doesn’t mean we sacrifice the flavor!
Flavor Burgers 3 Ways (Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Wahls, Whole30)
- Total Time: 15-45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Herb Burgers:
- 1 lb. ground beef/bison
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Italian Spice Burgers:
- 1 lb. ground beef/bison
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp. dried basil
Onion & Garlic Burgers:
- 1 lb. ground beef/bison
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup finely diced fresh onion
- 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
Instructions
- If you have a KitchenAid mixer, you can use it at low speed to blend the spices into the meat. Otherwise, put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and blend with your hands.
- Shape into 3 or 4 patties, depending on how big you like your burgers. If you have time to let them sit for 30 minutes before cooking, they’ll be even more flavorful.
- You can cook these in a skillet over medium heat (5-8 minutes per side), or on a gas grill over medium heat (3-5 minutes per side). If you cook them on the grill, just be sure to preheat your grill, and poke a small hole in the center of each patty to ensure they cook evenly (no raw centers).
- You can also freeze the patties, to cook later.
- Prep Time: 5-30 minutes
- Cook Time: 6-16 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Method: Stovetop, Grill
More Flavor Variations
Update: As the paleo AIP community has grown, store-bought spice blends and condiments are now available. Convenience food on the autoimmune protocol is a true gift!
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Credit: recipe photograph taken by Christina Feindel
Eileen, you are fabulous! This recipe looks so delightful! Can you tell me how to prepare what appears to be fried plantains as your side dish? They look DELICIOUS!!!!
Thanks for letting me know the link that recipe in the introduction was broken. I just updated it, but here it is for easy reference: https://paleoflourish.com/fried-sweet-plantains/
Thank you, Eileen! You are one of my heroes! I thank you so much for sharing your broad knowledge of healing and natural ways with us. And I truly wish and pray for you to be healed from the RA and are completely healed and restored to perfect health!
Eileen’s own recipe combo of salt, sage, thyme and ginger (aip, skip the pepper) that she uses in her breakfast pork sausage is also a fantastic meatloaf or flavor burger.
Turmeric and coconut aminos are also tasty, not only in burgers but also braised Brussels sprouts, kale and other veggies. Coconut aminos are great to spark plain vinegar and oil salad dressing, creamy avocado dressing, well, maybe a dash of coconut aminos is good on just about anything. While awaiting testing for SIBO, I continue to follow FODMAP so I am always looking for substitutes for garlic and onion flavorings. Discovering Eileen’s pork sausage profile has added so much to many of my meals.
Thanks so much for sharing, Barbara. Those are great variations!
Just made the italian herb and the garlic onion burgers for my family. They were a huge hit! Served on lettuce with baked sweet potato fries. Absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Yay! I’m so glad, Kacy. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I made the Italian Spice burgers and they ROCKED! It’s so awesome that the recipe is so simple yet so delicious. If you’re curious, I posted a picture of mine on my food blog. 🙂
I’m so glad you love the recipe. Thanks for reporting back!
Yum! You’ve given me some great ideas on how to spice up burgers.
Thanks!
My pleasure. 🙂
Thank you!!! We are grilling out today and everyone else is having pre-seasoned burgers. I am about to season my own and this post makes me so happy! I am excited to use my poor kitchen aid that doesn’t get used much since starting paleo.
I know! My kitchenaid is now used almost exclusively for making meatloaf and meat patties. I hope you enjoyed your burgers!
I have enjoyed reading your blog and about your progress in healing. The red meat is confusing to me. I keep being told to limit red meat as it is inflammatory. And yet it is being used in the AI protocol by those writing about it. I was just at my Dr. last week to check my lab work & he was reminding me once again to stay away from grains and red meat. I have several AI issues. Can you explain when the difference in opinions changed? BTW, he is a D.O. and N. D.
Hi Saundra. Thanks for writing. It can be confusing, getting conflicting advice. In a nutshell, a lot of myths surrounding food (like red meat being harmful) is due to bad science. A study is done poorly which claims to prove something that isn’t true. That claim is then reported in the media as fact and it soon becomes a common belief throughout the culture. Chris Kresser has done an excellent job separating fact from fiction. Read his series on red meat for all the details: http://chriskresser.com/the-truth-about-red-meat .
I never tried putting spices right into the meat of a burger. Sounds like a great idea. 🙂
You are so right, changing up the spices helps to make things more interesting — good list of choices too. Thanks for sharing on Hearth & Soul Hop. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this with Simple Meals Friday! It is one of our features this week!
Yay!
Hi Eileen, Thanks for posting these ideas! I love ground beef and bison but I needed inspiration–it IS easy to get bored on a limited diet. Delicious flavors make all the difference.
Burgers are just SOOOO GOOD! I am craving one right now 😉
Thanks for linking up to Simple Meals Friday! I shared your photo on facebook!
Thanks, Katie!
Thanks Eileen 🙂 That Italian spice one looks great! Do you find there’s much difference in taste if you use bison?
It’s a subtle difference. Bison tastes very similar to beef, but better (in my opinion). It has just a little bit more flavor.
Thanks – I’ll have to try it!
These sound wonderful – THANK YOU!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for this. I love all your recipes. I have never much loved cooking, but the your recipes you’ve posted are simple enough to motivate me!
Awesome!
Thank you so much for sharing these recipes for burgers! I can’t wait to try them! I so appreciate all you write about and all you have taught me!!
Thank you, Maria. Your appreciation means a lot.