Greek Lamb Burgers + Tzatziki Sauce

I love Greek food. A lot. For the longest time I’ve wanted to travel to Greece and have the opportunity to experience the local cuisine, but I haven’t been able to make the trip yet [the key word being “yet”]. So in the meantime I’ll just make my own Greek food and pretend I’m in Greece. That’s close enough to the real thing for now.

These lamb burgers are super easy to put together, along with the other components of the dish [the sauce and salad]. I like to eat my burgers “naked” or without a bun. Sometimes I will do a lettuce wrap so I can eat my burger with my hands, but this time I just ate it with a fork. And I didn’t miss the bun at all.

The flavors in these burgers are refreshing, vibrant and uniquely Greek. Yum! And look at those colors. This meal almost looks too good to eat…almost. Keep on reading for my recipes + directions. This post contains four recipes: [1] Greek lamb burgers [2] tzatziki sauce [3] Greek salad [4] Greek salad dressing. And a lot of ingredients in this dish overlap, so it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients at first, but most of them you use twice. I can’t wait for you to try this recipe! Read on.

[plated and ready to eat.]

Greek Lamb Burgers + Tzatziki Sauce

Servings: 4 burgers [4 oz. each]

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground grass-fed lamb [I was able to find this at my local Safeway]
• ¼ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup feta
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp stone ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp olive oil [for cooking]

[raw burger patties.]

 Directions

Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl [except olive oil]. Using your hands combine all ingredients well. Form mixture into 4 patties [about 4 oz. each]. Heat olive oil in a large pan/skillet on medium-high heat. Once oil it hot, add patties to pan [they should sizzle when added to the pan]. Cook patties for 7-9 minutes on each side, flipping only once if possible.

Tzatziki sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
• ½ small English cucumber diced finely or grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• Juice from 1 small lemon
• pinch sea salt + black pepper

[tzatziki sauce.]

Directions

Combine all ingredients. Mix well. I like making the sauce a few hours or even a day ahead of time to let the flavors marinate together. Store in the fridge.

Greek Salad + Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Salad [servings: about 4]

• 4 cups mixed greens/romaine lettuce
• 1-2 tomatoes diced [or ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved]
• ½ English cucumber, chopped
• ¼ yellow or red onion, sliced thinly
• ¼ cup feta
• pinch sea salt + black pepper

[mixing up the salad greens, veggies + feta.]

Salad Dressing 

• ½ cup high quality olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced finely or grated
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

[dressing the salad.]

Directions

Add all dressing ingredients to mason jar, secure lid and shake to combine all ingredients well. This dressing can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the fridge. The olive oil will solidify in fridge, so remove dressing about an hour before serving or run jar under warm water to liquify. Immediately before serving, dress salad with desired about of dressing and store the rest in the fridge. Will last 1-2 weeks.

To serve, plate a burger and add a large dollop of tzatziki sauce. Serve along side your Greek salad.

[ready to dig in.]

Optional serving suggestion [my husband’s fave]: add burger, tzatziki sauce and Greek salad into whole wheat pita. Enjoy!

[optional: all wrapped up in a whole wheat pita.]