Meatball Burgers
I turned my fave meatball recipe into burgers y'all, and they were delish! Blended tomato sauce, melty mozz, garlicky grilled buns, and heaps of grana padano.
I happened to be making a sauce for another recipe as well so I shared the sauce recipe in case you want to do the same. Alternately, you could always open a jar of your fave store-bought brand to save time.
Ingredients
- 4 whole4 whole4 whole Hamburger Buns
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Extra Virgin Olive Oil, For grilling the buns

- 4 pieces4 pieces4 pieces Mozzarella, thick slices of pizza mozz from the ball
- 2 cloves2 cloves2 cloves Garlic, gently smashed & peeled

- 340 grams340 grams340 grams Plant-Based Ground Beef - Impossible
- 2 cloves2 cloves2 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced

- 0.5 whole0.5 whole0.5 whole Red Onion, finely diced
- 0.25 cup0.25 cup0.25 cup Parsley, finely chopped

- 1.5 Tbsp1.5 Tbsp1.5 Tbsp Basil, Fresh, chiffonade

- 0.25 cup0.25 cup0.25 cup Grana Padano Cheese, finely shredded + garnish
- 0.5 tsp0.5 tsp0.5 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

- 0.25 tsp0.25 tsp0.25 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, To Taste

- 0.25 cup0.25 cup0.25 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 3 cloves3 cloves3 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced

- 1 tsp1 tsp1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Yellow Onion, diced
- 2 whole2 whole2 whole Celery, diced
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Carrots, peeled & diced
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 Tbsp1 Tbsp1 Tbsp Tomato Paste

- 1 cup1 cup1 cup White Wine, I used Pinot Grigio
- 796 ml796 ml796 ml San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes, Canned, I had two 398ml cans of whole Italian tomatoes
- 5 pieces5 pieces5 pieces Basil, Fresh, small handful

- 0.5 tsp0.5 tsp0.5 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt, More To Taste

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, See Recipe

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Granulated White Sugar, If needed. See Recipe

Meatball Patties
Blended Sauce
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Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results
- SAUCE - Skip this step if you're using a jarred product! Start heating your EVOO, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large stainless skillet set to just below medium heat. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot, season with a good pinch of both salt & pepper, and let those veggies cook about 12 minutes, stirring as needed. Stir in the tomato paste and continue to cook another couple minutes. Pour in the wine & a good pinch of salt and let that simmer until reduced by 3/4. Pour in the whole tomatoes, rinse out the cans about 1/3 of the way with water and pour that into your skillet as well. Use a potato masher to bust up your whole tomatoes in the skillet. Once the sauce starts boiling, reduce to a simmer, add the handful of fresh basil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and cover for 30 minutes.
- Add the sauce to your Vitamix blender (or any vortex blender as long as it can safely blend hot liquids) and pulse the sauce several times. You're looking for a chunky blended sauce, not fully emulsified. Return to your skillet on low heat. Taste and adjust salt / add sugar if needed. Leave covered.
- MEATBALLS - Preheat your oven to 400 F. Mix all of the ingredients for the meatball patties in a mixing bowl until combined. Separate in to four equal sized portions and form in to patties. Place the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once the oven is ready, bake the patties for 10 minutes, flip, and continue for another 6 minutes. Remove the tray and set it on to wire cooling rack. Spoon some of the sauce on to each patty followed a piece of pizza mozz. Spoon more sauce on top and return the tray to the oven until melty.
- Heat a grill pan and brush your buns with EVOO. Grill the buns until golden and crisp. Brush the buns with the raw, gently smashed garlic after coming off the grill. Spoon some sauce on to the bottom of each bun and nestle your cheesy meatball burger on top. Generously garnish each burger and top bun with finely shredded grana padano. Close them up, serve, and ENJOY!
- Reserve remaining sauce in an airtight container. Fridge for 4 - 5 days, freeze for 2 ish months.
Notes
- I prepared the tomato sauce because I intended to use it for another recipe as well. You can do the same with the recipe provided, or, simply open a jar of your favourite Marinara / sauce and warm it up for service.
- I only add sugar at the end of the process after tasting. Sometimes, I don't find my sauce is acidic whatsoever, but if it is, I stir in a good sprinkle of sugar and taste until the acidity is balanced out.
Add a Note
My Notes:
About This Recipe
Show nutritional information
Entrées Nut Free Other Pescetarian Shellfish Free Sugar Alcohol Free| This is our estimate based on online research. | |
| Calories: | 596 |
| Fat: | 36 g |
| Carbohydrates: | 42 g |
| Protein: | 30 g |
| Cholesterol: | 41 g |
| Sodium: | 888 mg |
| Fiber: | 6 g |
| Sugars: | 15 g |
| Sugar Alcohol: | 0 g |
| Calculated per serving. | |




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