These Middle Eastern Burgers are known as “ima burgers” in our home. With a flavor reminiscent of kebab, these slider-sized burgers get their flavor from a traditional combination of typical Middle Eastern ingredients and spices – cumin, onion, garlic, cayenne and fresh herbs. Throughout the years I have added my own touches to the original recipe, like turmeric and smoked paprika, for even more flavor.
Growing up, my husband used to watch his ima (the Hebrew word for mom) in her Israeli kitchen while she made these Middle Eastern-style burgers, studying the way she would chop the herbs and spice the meat. Her method of soaking a slice of bread in oil, then shredding it and stirring it into to the meat, adds moisture. Bread stretches the amount of servings per pound of beef. It also adds moisture, meaning you can use a leaner cut of meat and still get a very juicy burger. Nowadays I tend to omit the bread (which makes the burgers gluten free), but you can add it using the optional recipe note below.
We don’t eat beef very often, reserving it for special occasions, but once in a while we all crave this recipe. I am more than happy to oblige if we have organic grass fed meat on hand. They are so easy to make! Cook the burgers by pan-frying or grilling them for that smoky char-grilled flavor.
We usually serve these Middle Eastern Burgers with a side salad and no bun to cut down on calories. The recipe amounts below create slider-sized burgers, which is the way we make them, but you can also make larger burgers if you prefer. Serve alongside some Middle Eastern mezze for a healthy and delicious meal. Top them with spicy sriracha mayo for a really zesty flavor.
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Middle Eastern Burgers
Ingredients
Burger Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons onion, very finely minced
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)
- 1 slice white bread (optional - see note below)
- Olive oil (optional, for pan frying - can also be grilled)
Sriracha Mayo Sauce Ingredients (optional)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
NOTES
Instructions
Middle Eastern Burgers
- Place ground beef in a medium mixing bowl. Add the parsley or cilantro, onion, egg, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and turmeric. Cayenne is very spicy - the amount here will give the burgers a slight kick, but won't add a lot of heat. If spice sensitive, adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste - I usually add about 1/2 tsp each of salt and black pepper.
- Omit bread if keeping recipe gluten free or keto. If adding bread, cut the crust off of your piece of bread. Pour 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil onto a small plate. Soak the crustless bread in the olive oil, turning the slice once, until all the oil is soaked up by the bread. Shred and crumble the oil-soaked bread into tiny pieces and add it to the other burger ingredients.
- Stir all ingredients with a fork and/or clean hands until the spices and herbs are well blended with the meat.
- Gather the meat mixture in 1/4 cupfuls and make small thick patties (they will shrink up during cooking).
- Cook the patties. If grilling, grease the preheated grill before you start cooking. Grill for 15-20 minutes until cooked through to desired doneness. Cooking times may vary by grill type. Brush the burgers with olive oil periodically as they grill to keep them nice and moist.
- If you prefer not to grill the burgers, you can cook them in a skillet using 1/4 cup of olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Fry the burgers for 10-15 minutes, flipping occasionally, until cooked through to desired doneness.
Aliza says
Just made it!!! sooooo good….:)
Isabelle @ Crumb says
There’s nothing like a good juicy burger in the summertime. Yum!
Love Ima’s trick of soaking white bread in a little oil for moisture, too… so clever! Sounds like a kosher-friendly twist on the Italian trick of soaking the bread in milk or cream. 🙂
Daniel M. says
Loved these. Great recipe, toda motek
Ruthie says
Try these with cornflake crumbs instead of white bread, it gives those meatballs a very different dimension.
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
I am making similar often for my kids too..they are full of flavor and very delicious! Great pictures..and thanks for sharing story behind these little yummy burgers:))
Lenore says
These burgers look like they are just insane with flavor! I had never thought about how to spell “Ima” out in English before, so every time I read it I first think “I’m a burgers”…but I LOVE the cute name and the story behind it.
CM Hummel says
what is sriracha
Tori Avey says
CM, sriracha sauce is a hot chili garlic sauce that can be found in the Asian section of the market– it’s red and usually comes in a bottle.
Liz says
I had to find out what Ima burgers were! What spicy little wonders 🙂 They sound fabulous~
Art Simon says
Looks good! We don’t buy white bread. Can you use wheat bread?
Tori Avey says
Hi Art, you can use wheat bread as long as it’s not really grainy/mealy or rougher in texture (like whole grain or sprouted grain). Regular whole wheat bread should work fine! 🙂
Kim Beaulieu says
Tori, these just look so amazing. I am in awe. Would you mind if I try my hand at these this week? I’ve been wanting to give you a big shout out in my blog and this would be the perfect recipe to do it with. I’m grilling pretty much every day here as it is so hot. I could go for an Ima burger. By the way, your grill is so clean. Mine is never that clean and it’s brand spanking new. Lol! I have to figure out how to get better lighting in my kitchen soon, my pics never look as good as yours or others. Old house, bad lighting.
Tori Avey says
Of course I wouldn’t mind Kim, I’d be honored! 🙂 I think your pics look great. Hope you enjoy the burgers!
Bubby Dinkmeyer says
My Mom and Grandmother made similar burgers. I now use the same recipe to make ground chicken burgers. I get the ground chicken at the International Markert in our neighborhood. REALLLLLLY Yummy.
Tori Avey says
Bubby I bet those are delicious! Sometimes when I’m watching our cholesterol intake I use half ground beef and half chicken, that also works well.
Tina@flourtrader says
In reveiwing the ingredients and method here, I would say these are a winner. I like the olive oil bread method as well as all the add ins. Thanks for sharing the recipe for these tasty burgers!
Greatwriter says
If you don’t want any ‘hot and spicy’ condiments in this burger and sauce, can you suggest flavorful substitutes?
Tori Avey says
Yes! First of all, cut the cayenne in the burger mix, as it will add some spice. Sub 1/2 tsp of mild chili powder and squeeze in a little lemon juice (about a tablespoon). For a less spicy sauce, mix the mayonnaise with 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley, 1 tsp lemon zest, and lemon juice to taste. Let me know how you like it!
GreatWriter says
Thanks for the feedback, but you mentioned mild chilli powder. Doesn’t that bring ‘heat’ to the recipe? I can’t stand even mild ‘heat,’ in anything, so I’m looking for substitutes that will bring great flavor without the presence of any heat.
Tori Avey says
Mild chili powder doesn’t really have any heat (to my tastebuds, at least), it adds more flavor than heat. But if you’re super sensitive to heat, add the lemon juice and throw in some fresh chopped thyme leaves (about 2 tbsp). You can also experiment with other herbs and spices that you enjoy, these burgers are pretty adaptable. Good luck!
Jackie says
This look so lovely, and I love the story. Sriracha mayonnaise is brilliant! Great to see you yesterday, so fun =)
Tori Avey says
So fun! My shoulders totally got sunburned, haha. Let’s try a farmer’s market next time! 🙂
Ann says
These look incredible! I want an Ima Burger, too! I’ve never heard of soaking bread in olive oil, but I can see where that would be a great alternative to using a higher fat beef!
RavieNomNoms says
Very cute name! I don’t eat very often either, but I definitely could splurge and have one of these Ima Burgers! Love the name
Matthias says
I guess, you could also use Sambal Oelek instead of Sriracha and add some garlic by yourself?
Tori Avey says
Matthias- yes, but the texture won’t be as smooth because Samai Oelek is chunkier than sriracha. But it will taste great!
Catherine Marks says
I have been wanting a burger recently ( I don’t eat much meat)…These look fabulous….I’m going to try them!
Amy Baxter says
WOW. The seasonings are perfection. And sriracha mayo puts it over the top. Girl can cook!
margie says
what is the recipe for sriracha sauce U give the recipe for the Burgers but not the sauce,
Tori Avey says
Margie, sriracha sauce is purchased pre-made in the Asian section of the market– it’s red and usually comes in a bottle. Just mix 2 tsp with 1/3 cup of mayo as the recipe instructs. There are kosher certified brands out there as well. Hope that helps!
Gilly Martin says
These look so good! I just printed the recipe, grilling them this weekend. Can’t wait!
Tori Avey says
Yay! Let me know how they turn out for you Gilly! 🙂