Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers

These Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers are absolute grilling decadence! Delicious as beef or turkey burgers, they're perfect for company and no one will believe they're 21 Day Fix approved and Weight Watchers friendly! 

Hey guys! How has everything been going? We're still getting ready for the big move and I might be super stressed but I'm also SO happy that it's finally getting nice here on the Cape!! 

I'm so ready for all of the grilling and warm-weather grub I can hardly stand it, so these glorious burgers have the most perfect timing - plus Memorial Day weekend is only a week away so there's that!

Oh, and I'll definitely be checking in with this list of Summer recipes for sides and such to fill out our meal! 

I've been making these burgers forever and I can't believe it took me this long to get them on the blog! This recipe is my take (and a lightened-up version) of a garlic burger recipe that I cut out of a Rachael Ray Magazine about a zillion years ago. We immediately fell in love with it, but it was pretty awful for you as written, so I gave it some 21 Day Fix love and I promise I didn't sacrifice any of the amazing flavor!

You guys, I don't even think I can properly explain in words how deliciously decadent these burgers are. First of all, I'm kind of obsessed with brie, I feel like it can turn just about anything into something truly special. And the combo of that creamy, melty brie with the sweet caramelized onions and the spicy garlic pesto - it's seriously everything!

Things I love about these brie, pesto and caramelized onion burgers:

• Grown-ups can have them with all of the fancy fixins, and the kiddos can have them plain or with some ketchup or however they like, so they're perfect for anyone at a summer get-together.
• They feel seriously special, so they'd even be perfect as a Father's Day dinner (and of course Memorial Day)!
• The pesto and caramelized onions can be made ahead for a super quick meal (you can also mix and form the burgers ahead, but I prefer to cook those the day of if I'm serving guests).
• They're great with lean beef or turkey, so sometimes I'll buy a pound of each if I'm having people over and guests can choose what they prefer.
• If you want to lighten them up even more, they'd also be great bunless, eaten with a knife and fork (I'm not even kidding!) or wrapped in lettuce the way these awesome burgers from my friend, Nancylynn are!
• Making extra garlick-y pesto to put on toast that I then top with runny eggs for an amazing breakfast - it's ridiculous!
• And last but most importantly, they taste so damn good! The combo of flavors in this burger is legit happy food, you guys. I seriously can't wait for you to make them.

Ok, let's do a little Q&A and then get on to the recipe!

Is brie 21 Day Fix approved?

While brie is not on the official 21 Day Fix or Ultimate Portion Fix food lists, it has similar stats to other cheeses that are (it's actually slightly lower ounce for ounce than cheddar cheese), so I think it works perfectly as a blue container food!  

That makes these super yum burgers 21 Day Fix approved and Weight Watchers friendly! I've included the 21DF counts and the WW points in the recipe card 🙂

Can these 21 Day Fix Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers be frozen?

Yes! The pesto and caramelized onions both freeze beautifully and the leftover burgers freeze well, too! Just freeze them all separately and you'll be good to go!

Can these turkey burgers be made ahead?

Yes! I love to make the caramelized onions ahead especially because they do take a while, but you can also make the pesto ahead of time and mix and form the burgers! I do prefer to grill the burgers the day of if I'm serving them to guests, but they're still great as leftovers 🙂

If you guys give this Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burger recipe a try, please let me know what you think!! You can leave a comment below or tag me on Insta @thefoodieandthefix. Or if you’re in my private Facebook group, I’d love to see a photo of your creation in there! I hope you enjoy ♥

Don’t forget to save this Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burger recipe to Pinterest! ⇓

How to make Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers:

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📖 Recipe

Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers

Yield: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

These brie, pesto and caramelized onion burgers are perfect for Memorial Day, Father's Day or any summer get-together because the grown-ups can have all of the fancy toppings and the kids can eat them plain or however they like!

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Ingredients

Caramelized Onions:

• 3 large white or sweet onions (usually the sweet onions are a bit smaller than the white, so I would probably use 4 of those), cut in half and sliced into half-rings
• 4 teaspoon butter
• ⅜ teaspoon salt

Pesto: 

• ½ cup packed fresh basil
• 2 Tbs pine nuts
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ⅛th teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 Tbs water

Burgers: 

• 2 lbs lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
• ½ cup onion, finely chopped (optional, but they help keep the burgers juicy and add great flavor!)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Remaining ingredients:

• 8 oz wheel of brie cheese, thinly sliced - I like to cut these to around the size of the burger, erring on the side of shorter, because if the pieces are much longer than the burger, they'll be messy when they melt. (btw, the rind is perfectly fine to eat, but you can always trim it if you prefer!)
• Whatever you'd like to serve your burger on - whole wheat bun, sandwich thin, English muffin, lettuce wrap, etc.. I didn't include this in counts so you could choose whatever you want!

Instructions

Make your caramelized onions (these can be made ahead):

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over med to med-low heat, add the sliced onions and cook until softened, add salt then cook, stirring occasionally at first (you'll want to stir more often towards the end) until brown and caramelized. Be sure to be scraping up any brown bits when you're stirring!

Make your pesto (this can also be made ahead):

1. Put all ingredients in a small food processor and process until it looks like pesto 🙂 

Make the burgers:

1. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat.
2. Gently mix together all ingredients and form into 8 burger patties. Make sure your grill is nice and hot before adding your burgers or they may stick. You can also cook these in a cast-iron skillet. Either way, using medium-high heat, they should take about 7 minutes on each side. Flip only once to get the juiciest burgers and if you're using turkey, cook until the burgers reach 165 degrees - or if you don't have a thermometer, until they're hot and no longer pink on the inside. If you're using beef, cook until you reach your desired doneness. 
3. I usually put the cheese on the burgers after I've pulled them off of the grill because brie melts so quickly and can get messy if you put it on the burgers while they're on the grill. 

To serve:

1. If using a bun I like to toast the cut side to keep the bun from getting soggy. Then I'll put 1 Tbs of pesto on the bottom bun, then the burger with the brie, then 2 ½ Tbs of caramelized onions, then the top bun. Enjoy!

Notes

21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: 1 Red, ½ Green, ½ Blue, 2 ½ teaspoon (plus whatever you serve them on!)

Weight Watchers Smart Points Link:

• Brie, Pesto and Caramelized Onion Burgers

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 burger, 1 Tbs pesto, 2-3 slices of brie and 2 ½ Tbs caramelized onions
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 28g