Juicy Ground Pork Burgers

Have you ever had Pork Burgers? If not, you're in for a treat. These Juicy Ground Pork Burgers are super flavorful and are ready in about 15 minutes for a quick tasty dinner.

I'll show you how to make pork burgers and you'll see why we like pork burgers better than traditional burger recipes!

Why pork burgers?

We absolutely LOVE pork burgers and cooking with ground pork. Here are a few reasons why:

• Ground pork tastes much better than ground beef (yep! At least I think so!)
• Ground pork works really well with many different seasonings and makes for really flavorful burgers
• Ground pork is cheaper than ground beef (by the way, check out this post on How to Stretch the Meat Budget)
• Ground pork burgers reheat better than beef burgers without getting tough or dry
• My son has food allergies and is allergic to beef

In short, I'm a big fan of ground pork and use it anytime most people use ground beef. (Psst, check out my pork meatloaf, ground pork tacos or this sweet and sour cabbage ground pork stir fry recipe!).

How to make burgers from ground pork

Cooking ground pork burgers is just as easy as cooking any other burgers. You can do it simply by adding salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like, forming burger patties, and cooking them. 

But I like to add a couple of extra ingredients to give these pork burgers a really great flavor and texture, and to make them really juicy, even when reheated.

The two ingredients are:

1. Oats
2. Egg

Why do I add oats and eggs to burgers??

Here's why:

You know when you cook burgers there's sometimes weird this weird pink gelatinous stuff that oozes out of them? And  at the same time too much liquid comes out, resulting in dry burgers on the inside that steam in their own juices instead of juicy burgers that get nice and browned on the outside?

Yea, I don't like that either. 

Oats absorb the extra juices from the ground pork as it cooks, and ensures that the juices stay inside the burger. 

Egg ensures that there is no funky stuff oozing out of the burger, since the egg solidifies as it cooks and also solidifies anything else inside the burger.

This mixture results in the perfect burger. I use oats every time I make turkey burgers and chicken burgers, and I use egg in my venison burgers.

Don't worry, you can't taste or feel the oats. They just make everything work together nicely. It's how people add breadcrumbs to burgers, but I think oats make a better texture. Plus they are a little healthier than bread crumbs.

Another ground pork recipe to try: Steamed Pork Dumplings

Seasonings for burgers

To make these burgers extra flavorful, I add a teaspoon of garlic powder and two teaspoons of dried oregano to the ground pork mixture along with the egg and oats.

I also add a teaspoon of salt. Yes, it's a lot, but salty burgers just taste so good, don't they?

You can also add onion powder if you like, or other dried herbs (such as Italian seasoning or dried parsley and/or basil).

I am usually all for freshly minced garlic and fresh herbs, but dried herbs and granulated garlic powder is actually better for some recipes! I like how the dried seasoning spread evenly throughout the ground meat, giving every single bite lots of flavor.

Make sure you mix the seasonings well to really incorporate them into the ground pork. 

Pan-fried burgers

These burgers are pan-fried and cook REALLY fast - about 5 minutes per side over medium-low heat. Five minutes per side is enough to brown the burgers nicely on each side and to fully cook the inside of the burger.

Remember, ground pork needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160F. 

Always a use an instant-read meat thermometer to test the inside temperature of your burgers to be sure. You don't want to cut into a burger before it's cooked and lose all the delicious juices inside!

This is the thermometer I have. It's inexpensive and makes sure your burgers and steaks come out perfect. Definitely a worthwhile investment. 

Burgers are actually a GREAT weeknight meal because they are super quick to cook and don't require babysitting. Just put them on a skillet, set a timer, flip, set a timer. Check the temperature, DONE.

How many burgers does this recipe make?

Using 1 lb of ground pork, this recipe makes 4 really large burgers, or 6 smaller burgers. As you can see in the pictures, the burgers are really tall if you make 4 burgers. Keep in mind that even though you're using only 1 lb of ground pork, you're adding oats and eggs, bulking up these burgers quite a lot.

So if you're trying to stretch the meat budget or are on a diet, I recommend dividing the ground pork mixture into 6 patties to make 6 burgers instead of 4.

Reheating burgers

I find it best to reheat these pork burgers in the oven. Just preheat the oven to 350F and reheat for 5-10 minutes. This is a good opportunity to put a slice of cheese on the burger and let it melt all over the patty.

I love using my Cuisinart Oven and Air Fryer Combo to reheat food because it doesn't neat to be preheated, so it saves us a few minutes when we're hungry and hangry. It also doesn't heat up the whole kitchen which is nice in the summer.  

Toppings for pork burgers

Pork burgers can be served with your favorite burger toppings just like any other burgers:

• Lettuce, tomato, onion
• Cheese
• Ketchup, mayo
• Pickles
• Hot sauce
• Fried egg
• Guacamole (like in my Turkey Burgers with Guacamole recipe)
• My awesome spicy sriracha ketchup mayo sauce (keep reading!)

Spicy sriracha ketchup mayo sauce for burgers

As much as I love cheese, I actually preferred these pork burgers with a generous smear of this super easy Spicy Sriracha Ketchup Mayo.... which not surprisingly, consists of those exact 3 ingredients: Sriracha, Ketchup, and Mayo. 🙂

You can mix them in any ratio that you like, there's no wrong way to make this sauce, but I used the following amounts:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoons sriracha

This sauce makes the BEST burger sauce, so I hope you try it! And of course, you can make it spicier by adding more sriracha, or switch things up by using gochujang.

By the way, this sauce is also amazing with my other burgers, such as Instant Pot burgers, venison burgers, chicken burgers, turkey burgers, taco burgers, or vegetarian chickpea sweet potato burgers!

What to serve with pork burgers

Here are a few of my favorite sides for burgers. OKAY OKAY, if I'm being honest, my favorite sides for burgers are fries. But in an effort to have a slightly more balanced meal, here are a few healthier side dishes for burgers:

• Coleslaw orzo salad
• Spiralized zucchini salad with feta and lemon garlic dressing
• No-mayo potato salad with feta and olives
• Carrot and daikon salad with sesame ginger dressing
• Sauteed bell pepper salad
• Beet and blue cheese salad with citrus vinaigrette dressing
• Yellow squash tots
• Thyme roasted carrots
• Roasted young potatoes with crispy skin
• Roasted jerusalem artichoke
• Crispy sunchoke chips
• Parmesan truffle potato wedges

If you make these pork burgers (and you really REALLY should!), please take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations! 

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

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