Italian herb burgers are the ultimate comfort food and so easy to make. These Italian burgers are cooked in cast iron until juicy and the sauce that is made from the burgers cooking in the pan is added to egg noodles for a complete and absolutely delicious meal. Make this tonight and you won't regret it!
About the recipe:
These Italian burgers are really easy to make. These burgers are full of Italian herbs and seasoning along with some tomato paste and they are so juicy and delicious.
I actually came up with this recipe when I didn't want to grill but had a craving for good juicy burgers. You can make really good skillet burgers when you have the right amount of fat and seasoning.
The spices and flavor for these burgers are all the classic flavors of Italian cooking (tomato, oregano, basil, thyme, etc.) and the egg noodles were thrown in to make use of those delicious pan juices that the burgers make.
Here is what you need to make these Italian burgers:
- Ground beef. 80/20 is what you want to use to keep them moist and because you want those pan drippings.
- Tomato paste.
- Garlic.
- Olive oil.
- Oregano (dried or fresh).
- Basil (dried or fresh).
- Thyme (dried or fresh).
- Red pepper flakes.
- Parmesan. (good quality!)
- Extra wide egg noodles
- Fresh baby spinach.
You can use fresh or dry herbs for these burgers:
I have made this recipe with both fresh and dried herbs and they both work really well. I have included both in the recipe below depending on which type of herbs you are using.
As I mentioned above, these Italian herb burgers are total comfort food but I'd rather eat this then go out to a restaurant. These burgers are surprisingly light and not heavy at all. You will feel less full eating this dish than eating a regular hamburger with a bun.
Steps to make these Italian burgers:
This dish comes together pretty quickly. The burgers are made smaller so they will cook faster. I also like to to serve two of these Italian burgers per person.
The baby spinach is tossed in at the end and will wilt with the heat of the pasta and from the pan drippings from the burgers.
Here is what all of the steps look like when making these burgers:
These Italian skillet burgers are really delicious and we look forward to making this dish in our house as often as possible. These burgers are easy enough to make during the work week and something to look forward to after a long day.
About the pan drippings from the burgers:
The best part of this dish for me is the egg noodles that are covered in pan drippings from the burgers. Because we load the burgers up with lots of herbs, garlic, tomato paste and cheese, that is the flavor that comes out into the pan drippings too.
It makes the most delicious sauce for the egg noodles. This is why it is important to try to use a 80/20 ground beef mix which will give you more pan drippings. I really love that there is no extra sauce that needs to be made.
What type of pan to use for these burgers?
I use a cast iron pan coated in enamel for this recipe. The heavy bottom pan gives me good heat distribution and the enamel portion keeps the pan drippings from soaking in to the pan (regular cast iron would soak up too much of the drippings.)
If you do not have enamel cast iron you can use a heavy bottom stainless steel pan. You will just add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan first.
Italian Burgers with Egg Noddles
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20
- 16 ounces egg noodles Extra wide
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- ¾ cup Tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoon olive oil plus more for the pan.
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
- ¼ Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- In a large bowl add your garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, olive oil, tomato paste and salt. Mix it all together.
- Add your ground beef to the bowl and mix it into the herb blend well making sure all of the meat is coated.
- Make 8 small burger patties and set aside.
- Pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat (for your burgers).
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil (for your pasta)
- Once your skillet is pre-heated, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and place the burgers in the pan.
- Cook the burgers for 5 minutes.
- Flip them and cook for another 5 minutes. They should have a nice crust on the outside with lots of drippings coming out into the pan.
- When the burgers are cooked, remove the burgers from the pan on to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to stay warm.
- When your pasta water is boiling, add a heaping tablespoon of salt and your egg noodles and cook according to the manufacturers instructions.
- When cooked, reserve 1 cup of pasta water in case you need it for the sauce later then drain your pasta.
- Add your egg noodles to the pan the burgers cooked in.
- Turn the pan on to low heat.
- Toss your egg noodles in the pan drippings.
- If you do not have enough pan drippings, add a little of the pasta water and toss the noodles again.
- Now add your baby spinach to the noodles and toss well.
- Now add your burgers back into your pan with the egg noodles and spinach and serve family style. I like to serve 2 small burgers per person.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Bethany says
Definitely making this!