Skip to main content

Jazz up your next burger with these four, creative toppings

The warm weather is on its way out, so it’s the perfect time to savor the end of summer with a barbeque. Everyone puts pickles and mustard on theirs, but you can do better. From pear to pineapple, our handpicked burger toppings are sure to surprise even the most captious of your Instagram foodie friends.

Related: How to Grill the Ultimate Burger

Recommended Videos

Pear and blue cheese: The exact combination of flavors isn’t a new one considering the sweet juiciness of pears and the tangy bite of the cheese typically compliment one another out in roasted pear salads, usually with walnuts and mushrooms. The preparation is a little bit more involved with the pears, but the results are worth it. Cut the fruit into wedges about a ½-inch thick at the skin, or a little thinner than you’d cut tomato slices. Blue cheese is pretty crumbly to start with, which can be a little unwieldy on top of a burger.

Once the patties are on the grill and heating up, shake the container of blue cheese to reduce some of the larger chunks to a finer consistency. After flipping and when the paddies are almost ready, lightly sprinkle them with the cheese so that it melts on the top. At the same time, gently place the pear slices on the grill before closing the lid for a minute or two, or until the outside of the pear slices begin perspiring. Afterward, top each burger with a couple of pear slices while the blue cheese is still warm, and then pile it on a fresh whole wheat bun.

Sweet corn salsa: A messy — yet extremely fresh — topping for burgers on a hot day, sweet corns salsas can range from sweet-and-sour to molten hot. However spicy you like it, it’s a also a good idea to pair the salsa with sliced tomato and pepper jack cheese for a juicy pile of toppings that go great with tortilla chips and watermelon.  Moreover, you can even sprinkle the meat with lime before you cook it to give it a zesty pop.

Pineapple: Fruit on a burger? You bet. Pineapple is sweet and tangy, a fitting set of flavors for any burger. Before you get your patties going, slice up a pineapple and take off the brown skin on the outside, laying it on its side and cutting it into rings afterward. Then, lay the rings flat on the grill when you flip the burgers so as they get a nice sear and some light marks, flipping them once or twice off direct heat. Place a ring of pineapple squarely on the top of each patty where you’d normally add the cheese.

Close the lid of the grill to ensure the fruit gets some heat on it, thus allowing the rings to develop a nice carmelized edge to them. Heating up the pineapple takes away some of the tart edge, and balances really nicely with the savory flavors of the meat. If you want to throw an extra twist on this one, a dab of thicker teriyaki sauce spread on the bottom bun is a great alternative to traditional condiments.

Related: Grilling Season Gadgets

Green peppers and bacon: Despite your reservations, it doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that: green peppers sliced into crunchy strips, layered with crispy bacon. Raw peppers are easy to add after cheese as a tasty alternative to onion, or cooked underneath the cheese as a flavorful, melted mess. A little bit of savory bacon flavor and crunch will make those peppers taste even sweeter.

Got a great burger topping that you use to impress your friends? Share it in the comments below!

Topics
Brad Bourque
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad Bourque is a beer and sneaker writer, retired fantasy football commissioner, and devout Portland Timbers. On the…
Keep your drinks warm: Enjoy up to 20% off during the Ember Season Sale
The Ember Travel Mug on a desk.

Ember makes mugs, tumblers, baby bottles, and other drinkware with technology that keeps their contents at your preferred temperature. The brand's products don't come cheap though, which is why you wouldn't want to miss the Ember Season Sale. The event, which officially runs from October 17 to October 21, will roll out discounts of up to 20%. However, if you're subscribed to Ember, you'll get early VIP access to the deals starting October 15. Feel free to look at all the available offers or check out our recommendations below -- either way, you need to hurry with your purchase because the stocks that are up for sale are limited.

What to buy in the Ember Season Sale
Ember's patented technology uses precision sensors for accurate temperature control to ensure that beverages are kept at your desired temperature. The Ember Travel Mug is the perfect representation of the brand's technology, and we've identified it as the best for tech lovers in our list of the best travel coffee mugs. You can get its successor, the Ember Travel Mug 2, for instead of $200 for savings of $40, and the Ember Travel Mug 2+ that works with Apple's Find My network for the same price -- after a $40 discount on its sticker price of $200.

Read more
Pit Boss Prime Big Deal Days deals: Up to $70 off gas and pellet grills
The Pit Boss 850 Competition Series Pellet Grill being used in a yard.

Update 10/11/24: With Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days drawing to a close, most of the Pit Boss deals that we collected here have also ended. There are still a few offers on accessories and grills available though, so if you want to make a purchase, you've still got some options.

For those who love to cook food in their backyard, Pit Boss is one of the most popular and trusted brands. The brand's grills, griddles, and accessories offer topnotch quality, and if you want to enjoy savings when buying them but you missed the Prime Day deals in July, you'll love Prime Big Deal Days deals. Amazon's shopping event is over so you've already missed out on a lot, but there are still a few remaining bargains for you to shop. You're going to have to hurry though, as the offers aren't going to last long!
Pit Boss Ultimate Griddle Tool Kit -- $28 $40 30% off

Read more
The best Prime Big Deal Days grill deals: Roast your meat in style
Food cooking on grill

It's that time again when the Prime Day Big Deal Days discounts are flooding out, which means it's a great time to get yourself some outdoor gear, or whatever you've been deal-hunting for. Prime Day Men's grooming deals? Yep, there are plenty. Pit Boss Prime Day Big Deal Days deals? Yes, there are so many of those, too. At the same time, there are so many deals, including grill deals, there's a lot to sift through. So, to make things a little easier we've picked out a few of our favorites. Blackstone, Traeger, Grill Boss, Ninja, we've found our place. Whether you're a grillmaster who's an expert on the cooking ivories or you're looking to scoop up your first ever grill for your new home, this is the place to be.

 
Royal Gourmet 30-inch BBQ charcoal grill and offset smoker -- $119 $140 15% off

Read more