Best Juicy Salsa Burgers Recipe

Incorporate salsa into the meat of your burger for a zesty, super juicy burger that everyone will fall in love with. Use spicy salsa for burgers with a kick or go mild for a less spicy option. Either way, every person at your summer BBQ will ask for this recipe!

What seems like a million years ago but was actually probably 20 years ago, a friend of mine had these killer parties where he would make a TON of food that the rest of us would devour. He had a few specialties, all of them spicy and one of them was this succulent salsa burger. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE raved over these things. We all thought he used some special secret ingredient or something because they were always SO juicy and perfect.

When he finally shared his recipe we were all blown away because it was so simple! Ground beef, salsa and jalapeno peppers. That’s it! My husband and I have made these burgers many many times over the years and they never get old. Sometimes we make them super spicy. If we’re having guests over we make a less spicy option for non-spicers. Every time they get devoured.

HOW TO MAKE SALSA BURGERS

STEP 1

Light an indoor or outdoor grill over medium heat. In a medium bowl, combine ground beef (approximately 1 pound, but this can be adjusted), 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup salsa, salt, pepper and 1-2 diced jalapenos (if using). Mix well using your hands, incorporating all ingredients together. Divide the meat into four equal sections. Using your hands, form a patty with one of the sections and repeat process with remaining patties.

STEP 2

Grill patties for 6 minutes. Flip and add top each patty with a slice of cheese (if using). Cook for another 4 minutes, or until the meat has reached desired level of doneness and the cheese melts. Place burgers onto bottom halves of buns and top with desired condiments and the top half of the bun.

RECIPE NOTES

• The topping options are endless for these delicious burgers. My favorite is extra salsa spooned over the top. Other options include avocado slices, guacamole, pickled jalapenos mixed with a tablespoon of sour cream, plain old ketchup and mustard or cooked bacon slices.

• A bit of garlic powder added to the meat mixture would taste amazing!

• You’ll want to make thick patties to avoid having the burger fall apart. Depending on how much salsa you add to the ground beef, it can make the burger less sturdy than most so starting out with a thick patty helps.

• Pepper jack cheese tastes SO GOOD with these burgers. Spice on spice!

• I recommend using a less chunky salsa to mix with the beef in order to avoid having a burger the falls apart. Save the chunkier salsas for topping your burger with! Some great chunky salsa options include Mango Jalapeno Salsa or fresh spicy salsa!

• To reduce heat in the burgers, omit jalapenos before you decrease the amount of salsa used.

• In order to keep your burgers extra juicy, I do not recommend using any type of ground meat aside from beef. Stick with ground beef!

PREPARING JALAPENOS

Chop the jalapeno in half and remove the seeds, then you can dice or slice your jalapeno. However if you want more heat, then you can leave some in. The heat from jalapenos is stored in the oil of the skin and the seeds so be sure to wear gloves!