May 12, 2020

Jalapeño Popper Burger

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
In this recipe, ground beef patties are seasoned simply with salt and pepper, grilled to medium-rare and served with a spicy twist of jalapeño cream cheese, strips of bacon and crispy onions piled on a brioche bun.
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This recipe is sponsored by ALDI.

It’s time to fire up the grill! Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and it’s the perfect time to sit outside, enjoy the sunshine and make some jalapeño popper burgers inspired by the delicious appetizer.

In this recipe, ground beef patties are seasoned simply with salt and pepper, grilled to medium-rare and served with a spicy twist of jalapeño cream cheese, strips of bacon and crispy onions piled on a brioche bun. I picked up all my fresh ingredients from my local ALDI – they offer a wide selection of high-quality ingredients at an affordable price to keep you grilling all summer long!

Jalapeño Popper Burger

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Ground Beef

I love using Simply Nature Organic 100% Grass Fed Ground Beef from ALDI – it’s food you can feel good about! You can also always substitute ground beef with whatever you have in your fridge or freezer like ground turkey, or a meat alternative option from the Earth Grown line at ALDI.

Bacon

Cooking the bacon in the oven helps to cut down on clean up. I line the baking sheet with aluminum foil so when the bacon is done cooking the fat can cool and easily be thrown in the garbage without mess. When it’s cooked in the oven the bacon cooks flat to easily be added to sandwiches or burgers.

Onions

The crispy onions complement the flavorful burgers made from organic meat. I toss thinly sliced onions in a bit of salt and pepper seasoned flour and fry in a neutral oil until crispy.

Cream Cheese

Cream cheese replaces slices of cheese for a smooth topping with just the right amount of spice.

Jalapeños

I remove the membrane and seeds from the jalapeños before finely dicing them and adding them into the cream cheese. This cuts down on some of the spice, leaving you with a great jalapeño flavor.

Jalapeño Popper Burger Aldi Memorial Day-11.jpg

How to Make Jalapeño Popper Burgers

  1. Heat oven. Preheat oven to 400ºF (190ºC).
  2. Heat grill. Preheat outdoor grill to high (about 450ºF/ 230ºC).
  3. Make the jalapeño cream cheese. In a small bowl stir together the cream cheese and jalapeños until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  4. Bake the bacon. Arrange bacon in a single layer on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 16 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and set aside.
  5. Fry the onions. In a medium cast-iron pan over medium heat, heat enough avocado oil to fill about a half inch up the pan. Heat the oil to 350°F. Toss the sliced onions in the flour working a handful of onions at a time, add to the hot oil and fry until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and repeat with the remaining onions.
  6. Shape burger patties. Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each) and flatten into patties. Lay out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
  7. Grill the burgers. Place the burger patties on the grill in a single layer. Cook until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until grill marks appear on the other side, about an additional 2 to 3 minutes for medium-rare.
  8. Toast the buns. During the last minute of cooking add the buns, cut side down to toast them.
  9. Assemble burgers. To assemble the burgers, place a patty on the bottom half of the bun, top with a spoonful of the jalapeño cream cheese mixture followed by 2 strips of bacon and a handful of crispy onions. Close the burgers and serve.
jalapeño cream cheese mixture

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

Shaping the Patties

Always shape your burger patties 25% larger than you will need them for the size of the buns – as they cook the patties will shrink up! This way you have the perfect burger to bun ratio.

Cooking the patties in a cast iron pan

If you don’t have a grill or want to make these in winter, I recommend cooking the burgers in a cast iron pan. It conducts the heat well and gets hotter than an aluminum sauté pan.

Follow my steps below for cooking burgers in cast iron:

  1. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat through.
  2. Working two at a time, add the patties to the pan and cook until the burgers are golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 minutes.
  3. Flip the burgers and cook for an additional 4 minutes for medium-rare. Repeat with the remaining oil and burger patties.

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this jalapeño popper burger recipe, I recommend checking out these:

Jalapeño Popper Burger

Print Pin
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 (8-ounce) package Happy Farms Cream Cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 medium jalapeños, seeded and diced
  • 1 pound Appleton Farms Thick-Cut Bacon
  • Simply Nature 100% Pure Avocado Oil, as needed, for frying
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Salt, as needed
  • Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
  • pounds Simply Nature Organic 100% Grass Fed Ground Beef
  • 4 Specially Selected Brioche Buns, split

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF (190ºC).
  • Preheat outdoor grill to high (about 450ºF/ 230ºC).
  • In a small bowl stir together the cream cheese and jalapeños until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Arrange bacon in a single layer on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 16 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and set aside.
  • In a medium cast-iron pan over medium heat, heat enough avocado oil to fill about a half inch up the pan. Heat the oil to 350°F. Toss the sliced onions in the flour working a handful of onions at a time, add to the hot oil and fry until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and repeat with the remaining onions.
  • Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each) and flatten into patties. Lay out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Place the burger patties on the grill in a single layer. Cook until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until grill marks appear on the other side, about an additional 2 to 3 minutes for medium-rare.
  • During the last minute of cooking add the buns, cut side down to toast them.
  • To assemble the burgers, place a patty on the bottom half of the bun, top with a spoonful of the jalapeño cream cheese mixture followed by 2 strips of bacon and a handful of crispy onions. Close the burgers and serve.

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  1. absolutely delicious!!!! thank you for yet another amazing recipe! how far in advance do you think i could make the onions? i would love to make it for a party but don’t want the onion smell in the house

    • Thank you so much Olga! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! I think you could make the onions a day in advance and store them in resealable bags or containers and store on the countertop overnight. I totally get wanting to get rid of the onion smell before hosting – I have that problem all the time!