Ten Favorite Toppings to Make a Burger Special

Dennis Weaver at The Prepared Pantry

We took a virtual tour of the U.S. checking out the burger menus at better restaurants. (It was an interesting tour.) We made a list of the toppings we found and took the list back to our test kitchen. Then we started cooking burgers, a mountain of burgers. As we cooked and experimented, we morphed the listing into burgers that appealed to us and our testers. Then we narrowed it down to ten. Today, we'll share these ten best toppings.

1. Russian Mushroom Burger
If you like burgers smothered in sautéed mushrooms, you’ll like this. The sour cream gives it richness and a little kick. It’s topped with sautéed mushrooms, provolone, and sour cream on a whole wheat bun.

2. The Athenian Burger
We can’t find much that is Grecian about this burger; it must have been named for the gods. This burger is topped with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber slices, and avocado.

3. Acapulco Burger
The salsa and fresh avocado make this a south-of-the-border delight. It’s topped with bacon, Monterey jack cheese, and of course--avocado and salsa.

4. The Mother Earth Burger
Any burger with sprouts reminds us of Mother Nature and should be a health food. This burger is topped with cheddar cheese, sprouts, tomato, and avocado on a whole wheat bun.

5. California Sunshine Burger
We can picture this burger being served at a restaurant in San Diego. It’s topped with Monterey jack cheese, slices of banana peppers, tomato, and bacon. The bun is spread with ranch dressing.

6. Besto Pesto Burger
We experimented with pesto on a burger. This one was excellent with mozzarella cheese and our own basil pesto.

7. “The Big Island” Burger
These burgers are riding big slices of pineapple. We splashed the burgers with our own Teriyaki Madness sauce (but you can use something else from the store) and topped it with grilled pineapple, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. The grilled pineapple balanced the kick from the teriyaki nicely.

8. Day Break Burger
This burger is dedicated to those who could eat a burger for breakfast. A fried egg atop a burger—that sounds like a breakfast food. In addition to the fried egg, this burger is topped with Colby cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.

9. Countryside Italian Burger
This burger just seems like it should have originated in the Italian countryside. It’s topped with pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, slices of tomatoes, red onions, lettuce, and basil-olive mayonnaise. We made the basil-olive mayonnaise with a half cup of mayo, a quarter cup of diced black olives, and a half tablespoon of dried basil. This sauce was a great discovery.

10. The Red Onion Burger
We went back to the caramelized onions that we like so much for this one. And yes, when you caramelize red onions, they’re still red. We caramelized the red onions in a mixture of butter, apricot jam, and apple cider vinegar. Along with the caramelized red onions, add mozzarella cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise to your burger.

Get a Burger Buddy for a Buck!
Save over 80%--it sells for $5.49 elsewhere. This nifty little burger press makes neat, uniform burgers just like at the restaurant. (Limit one please.)

Copyright 2008 by The Prepared Pantry and Dennis Weaver. Used by permission.

Dennis Weaver is the author of “How to Make a Great Hamburger”, a free e-book at The Prepared Pantry. The Prepared Pantry sells baking mixes, gourmet foods, and kitchen tools.