French Onion Soup Burger With Caramelized Onions, Gruyere and Comte

By
MacKenzie Smith
MacKenzie Smith
Recipe developer, food stylist, author, and teacher with a passion for sandwiches. She's behind the popular blog Grilled Cheese Social.
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Updated on 02/5/23
French Onion Soup Cheeseburger
Grilled Cheese Social
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 75 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 burger
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1102 Calories
66g Fat
61g Carbs
67g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 1102
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 66g 85%
Saturated Fat 30g 150%
Cholesterol 196mg 65%
Sodium 1786mg 78%
Total Carbohydrate 61g 22%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 67g
Vitamin C 4mg 18%
Calcium 1044mg 80%
Iron 8mg 44%
Potassium 335mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This ultra cheesy burger is topped with caramelized onions, gruyere, and comte cheese and tastes a lot like French onion soup―hence the name.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced

  • 2 pinches salt

  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 1/3 pound grass-fed ground beef

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon sugar

  • 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 thick slice Comté cheese

  • 1 roasted garlic ciabatta bun

  • 2 thick slices Gruyere cheese

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Begin by caramelizing the onions. Add olive oil to a cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add the thinly sliced onions, salt, and red pepper flakes and stir. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so until they start to color.

  3. Then add the butter and repeat for another 15 minutes or until the onions have completely caramelized and are sweetened. Set aside. 

  4. Shape your burger into a patty, pressing down in the middle to create a dent, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and sugar.

  5. Add the seasoned beef patty to a greased medium-hot cast iron skillet and cook for a few minutes until halfway cooked, then flip and cook until it reaches your desired doneness.

  6. Once the burger is done, remove it from the heat and hit it with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Place 1 thick slice of Comte over the burger and place the lid on the skillet. 

  7. Meanwhile, turn your broiler to high and slice your roasted garlic ciabatta bun in half.

  8. Place one slice of gruyere on the interior side of both halves of the ciabatta and place under the broiler until cheese bubbles up and browns.

  9. Remove from the broiler and add the melted Comte burger along with the caramelized onions to the bun and serve. 

Glass Bakeware Warning

Do not use glass bakeware when broiling or when a recipe calls to add liquid to a hot pan, as glass may explode. Even if it states oven-safe or heat resistant, tempered glass products can, and do, break occasionally.

Tips

There are a few tricks to getting the best flavor out of this burger and they involve these three factors:

  • Be sure to splash the grass fed burger patty with Worcestershire sauce, to create an awesome umami flavor and brings out the meatiness of the beef.
  • Be sure to use really good cheeses like gruyere and comte - their caramel nuttiness is what makes this burger taste most like french onion soup. Can't find gruyere or comte? Try using Wisconsin Grand Cru or Swiss Cheese. 
  • Don't rush the caramelized onions! Patience is key for this ingredient. Cooking them slow and low while stirring often leads to a sweeter more flavorful caramelized onion with deep seated flavor that balances out the saltiness of the other ingredients. 

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