Caramelized Onion Burgers with Garlic Aioli (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

These caramelized onion burgers are incredibly juicy and flavorful! They even include a simple, yet delicious garlic aioli that will blow your socks off. Make these caramelized onion burgers for your next date night-in or dinner party – this restaurant-quality recipe is a total crowd-favorite!

It took me a while to realize that I didn’t hate all onions. Well it took me until the day that I discovered caramelized onions, to be exact. To me, onions are much too tangy and almost spicy to eat raw. However, when you slowly cook onions in (dairy-free) butter, they release their natural sugars, becoming sweet and delicious! Caramelized is one of the few ways that I’ll even eat onions. They’re super soft, tender, and simply add the BEST flavor to these burgers.

Garlic aioli was introduced to these caramelized onion burgers when I realized how often I seek anything garlic aioli when I’m out to eat, but have yet to make it myself at home?? Which was kind of crazy because aioli is SUPER easy to make at home! It literally consists of a small handful of ingredients that I almost always have on-hand. Mayo, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper – that’s all you’ll need to make this restaurant-style spread! It’s creamy, tangy, and has just the right amount of garlic. Altogether, these caramelized onion burgers with garlic aioli are exploding with incredible flavor!

What You Need To Make Caramelized Onion Burgers with Garlic Aioli

Onions – I prefer yellow onions for their higher sugar content, thus making them all the more sweeter once caramelized. However, you can use white onion if you’d like! Prepare your onions for this recipe by removing the paper-like skin, slicing them once down the center, then lay the cut side-down on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice the onion into 1/4-1/8 inch half moon slices. Either prepare to cry while you slice your onions, or throw on a pair of goggles like me! I look crazy, but three onions and no tears later, it’s SO worth it.

Ground Beef – The key to a super juicy and tender caramelized onion burger is 80% to 85% lean ground beef. I used 80% ground beef, which means that my beef consisted of 20% fat. This may seem like a lot, but much of the fat in the ground beef is rendered and cooked off while the burgers cook. Though the little bit of fat that gets left behind makes these burgers a whole lot more tender and flavorful!

Gluten-Free Buns – I’m not going to lie, gluten-free hamburger buns can be pretty hard to come by. I use and recommend the Canyon Bakehouse Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns which I find in the freezer section at my local Whole Foods. Though feel free to use your favorite/whichever gluten-free buns you can find. And if you’re not gluten-free, use regular hamburger buns instead!

Adjust This Recipe To Your Diet

• Make it Vegan: Use your favorite ground beef substitute for the ground beef in this recipe, and use vegan mayo instead of regular mayo.
• Add Cheese: A slice or two of melty gruyere or provolone cheese would taste delicious for all my dairy-tolerant friends!
• Make it A Salad: One of my favorite ways to eat this recipe is actually over a salad! I start with a bed of arugula, add some fresh sliced cucumber and tomatoes, then place the cooked burger patty and a hefty scoop of caramelized onions on top. Last, but definitely not least, I drizzle that delicious garlic aioli over the top as the dressing and enjoy!

Caramelized Onion Burgers with Garlic Aioli

3 from 19 votes

Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: MainCuisine: American

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

These caramelized onion burgers are incredibly juicy and flavorful! They even include a simple, yet delicious garlic aioli that will blow your socks off. Make these caramelized onion burgers for your next date night-in or dinner party – this restaurant-quality recipe is a total crowd-favorite!

Ingredients

• For the caramelized onions:

• 2 onions, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons butter (I used dairy-free)

• Salt, to taste

• For the burgers:

• 1 pound ground beef, see Notes

• 1-2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• For the garlic aioli:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• For serving:

• 4 gluten-free buns, toasted

• Arugula

Directions

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat then add in the onions and sprinkle with salt.
• Cook until translucent then reduce to medium-low heat and cook until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Stir onions every 5 minutes or so and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
• Gently form the ground beef into burger patties then season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, once very hot place in the burgers. Cook for 2-5 minutes per side, depending on your preference.
• Make the garlic aioli by adding all ingredients to a bowl and mixing together to combine.
• Slather garlic aioli on the bottom half of each bun, top with a handful or arugula, then a cooked burger patty, and caramelized onions before finishing off with the top bun.

Recipe Video

Notes

• Ground Beef: Purchase a ground beef that is somewhere between 80% to 85% lean, and aim for nothing higher than 90% lean.

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