These gourmet burgers are beyond your average backyard BBQ fare. Soy-Glazed Mushroom Swiss Burgers with caramelized onions & rosemary aioli are a flavor wallop to the mouth in the best possible way!
If you love burgers as much as we do, be sure to try out our Red, White, and Blueberry Bacon Burger with Basil Aioli, Grilled Poblano Pepper Southwest Burger, and Bacon Jam Burger.
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When it comes to a really good burger – and I mean a REALLY good burger – it’s all about proper seasoning, cooking, and then topping it with amazing ingredients that go beyond your average leaf lettuce and slice of tomato, like these All-American Hamburger with Crispy Onion Strings & Burger Sauce.
I love those classic burgers too, but today we’re talking handcrafted artisan hamburgers, the kind that are restaurant-worthy and packed with incredible flavors.
Those words – handcrafted and artisan – get bandied about these days but I mean them in the truest senses of the words.
We’re shaping our patties by hand and being intentional with the combination of soy glaze and mushrooms to add major levels of umami to these savory, juicy burgers, topping them with melted swiss cheese, and then adding caramelized onions which add a natural element of sweetness that compliments that other flavors so well.
Then we are sandwiching everything onto high-quality, toasted challah buns rather than the cheap store-bought variety.
And instead of just plain ol’ mayo for a sauce, go ahead and make a super easy and wonderful rosemary aioli that literally takes all of about 4 minutes to throw together.
You will want to make your aioli and caramelized onions first so they are ready to go once the burgers are done, but both of those steps can be done well in advance to minimize the amount of actual cooking time the day you want to make these mushroom swiss burgers.
And if you love gourmet burgers like these soy glaze mushroom swiss burgers, be sure to check out my red, white, and blueberry bacon burger with basil aioli!
How to Make Soy-Glazed Mushroom Swiss Burgers
So I have this thing about burgers where I love to top them with ALL THE THINGS. Who’s with me? However, when you add all the things, burgers can quickly become unmanageable.
So what’s a girl to do when she wants mushrooms AND caramelized onions on a burger and both have a tendency to increase the slidey-ness of the bun?
The answer came to me when I was thinking about blending mushrooms with ground meat for the meaty mushroom chili that I shared a while back.
Why not just chop up the mushrooms and mix it in with the lean ground beef before shaping the hamburger patties so I could get all the mushroom flavor I love while simultaneously making a more manageable burger?!
And it totally works great! Plus, it has the added benefit of actually making a burger that is actually a bit better for your health.
You can grill these on your backyard grill just like you would a normal burger, or make them indoors in a cast-iron pan, which is the choice I made this time around. Check out my Burgers 101: How to Grill Burgers post for more helpful information!
The burgers only take a few minutes on each side to cook through, and they get brushed with a soy sauce glaze that adds a really wonderful to the burgers that make them stand-out from other burgers you might have had.
Then just top each burger with a slice of swiss cheese and cover the pan with foil until the cheese is completely melted and the burgers are cooked to your liking.
From there, it’s basic burger assembly, provided you have your caramelized onions and rosemary aioli ready to go.
Butter and toast those buns on a griddle or on the grills, then just stack the bottom bun, burger, caramelized onions, and top bun slathered with a generous amount of aioli.
How to Make Caramelized Onions
Caramelized onions are so great to add to everything from burgers to soup to dips. And they are so easy, albeit a little time-consuming, to make! The only tricks are to use lower heat and give them time so they cook slowly and evenly and don’t burn.
Here is a fantastic tutorial about how to caramelize onions if you need a step-by-step guide with videos for each step, but it’s pretty simple to make caramelized onions as described below:
- Chop two large onions into strings about 1/4″ wide. You don’t want them so thin that they melt into nothingness.
- Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions and toss them around with tongs or a wooden spoon just until they start to soften and turn translucent. This only takes a few minutes and your pan might seem really full, but the onions will cook down quickly.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, season with a little salt, and continue to cook the onions, stirring every few minutes to make sure they don’t stick to the pan or cook unevenly, for about 40-45 minutes. You may need to add a little water or chicken broth here and there to replace some of the water that evaporates out of the onions. You can also reduce the heat to low if you start seeing bare spots in the pan where the onions start sticking and the onions seem to be cooking too quickly around the edges.
- The onions will go from a pale yellow, to a golden yellow, to a deep, golden brown, which is when they are done and perfect for topping burgers (or grilled chicken or pork chops or whatever).
Looking for More Amazing Burger Recipes?
- Grilled Poblano Pepper Southwest Burgers
- All-American Hamburgers with Crispy Onion Strings and Burger Sauce
- Red, White, and Blueberry Bacon Burger with Basil Aioli
- Juicy Grilled Turkey Burgers
Soy-Glazed Mushroom Swiss Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Rosemary Aioli
Ingredients
Burgers
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 12 ounces white mushrooms chopped fine
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Soy Glaze
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Caramelized Onions
- 2 large onions
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- Pinch of salt
Assembly
- 4 challah buns
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 1/2 cup Rosemary aioli
Instructions
Soy Glaze
- Stir all of the glaze ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until reduced in volume by half, about 30 minutes. Let the glaze cool 30 minutes before using. It will thicken as it cools.⅓ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Caramelized Onions
- Chop the onions into 1/4" wide strips. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or pan over medium heat, then add the onions and stir just until they start to soften and turn translucent.2 large onions, 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, season with a little salt, and continue to cook the onions, stirring every few minutes to make sure they don't stick to the pan or cook unevenly, for about 40-45 minutes. You may need to add a little water or chicken broth here and there to replace some of the water that evaporates out of the onions. The onions will go from a pale yellow, to a golden yellow, to a deep, golden brown when done.Pinch of salt
Burgers
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with the finely chopped mushrooms, by hand, until incorporated. Shape into 4 large patties and season both sides generously with salt and pepper.1 pound lean ground beef, 12 ounces white mushrooms, Salt & pepper
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the patties and cook without moving for 3 to 4 minutes until nicely browned, before flipping to the other side. Immediately brush the burgers with the soy glaze and top each burger with a slice of swiss cheese. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil to help the cheese melt, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes on the second side until the cheese has melted and the burgers are done. Transfer to a plate.4 slices Swiss cheese, 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Butter both split sides of the hamburger buns and toast on a griddle, then assemble the burgers by placing a cooked patty on each toasted bun and topping with the caramelized onions. Spread the toasted side of each top bun with a generous amount of aioli and place on top, then serve.½ cup Rosemary aioli, 4 challah buns
caramelized rosemary and onion aioli sounds amazing! On my to try list!
Everything about this burger sounds so perfect! I need to make it for dinner this weekend!
Tried these burgers for dinner last night. That soy glaze was AMAZING. And this was the first time I’ve made homemade aioli and it was well worth it.
Only difference is that I only used two mushrooms worth of chopped mushrooms and the meat wouldn’t hold any more. Not sure if its because I used a different type of mushroom or what, but I was glad to have leftovers for another recipe. 🙂