Grilled Pineapple Burgers | Grilling Recipes

Nothing beats a good burger on a summer day. If it’s grilled, even better! While traveling in Denver earlier this year, I discovered something amazing. Something I have never seen before. It was a shock when I first encountered it, something I couldn't believe I was seeing. Pineapples on burgers. You might be one of the many who think I’m crazy because apparently this is not such an uncommon thing. But to me, it was a life changer.

My first night in Denver, I went to a restaurant at Union Station called Next Door. The last time I ate was literally twelve hours earlier back in Chicago and I was starving. Thank you, time change. There are generally two things that I crave when I’m exponentially hungry: burgers or pasta. Occasionally soup. Lucky for me, they had a bomb burger menu. A burger menu that included a “Pineapple Express” burger which featured bacon, arugula, a few other things and...oh yeah, a pineapple. I asked the server what she thought about it and apparently this thing is super popular. So I figured why not. When in Denver? Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last moment I’d criticize pineapple appearing on anything ever again.

A few months later while writing recipes, I could not get this burger out of my head. Instead of drooling over the photos I had, I decided to recreate it. My version is nothing like the Pineapple Express. There’s no bacon, I use lettuce instead of arugula and instead of this sriracha goodness, I slap on barbecue sauce. But make no mistake, the pineapple is there and the burger is mind blowing.

If you are not sold yet, I insist you try this recipe. If you don’t like it, just take the pineapple off and eat your burger naked. I guarantee you will become a convert like me. I’m honestly terrified that I’m going to become a pineapple on pizza kind of person next. What’s wrong with me?!

Grilled Pineapple Burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Beef
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp. Onion Powder
¼ cup Parsley, chopped
¼ cup Breadcrumbs
4 Pineapple Slices
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Hamburger Buns
4 Tomato Slices
4 Lettuce Leaves
4 slices Provolone Cheese

Directions:
1 - Preheat the grill to medium-high. Spray with grill spray or brush with olive oil.

2 - Mix together the beef, garlic, onion powder, parsley and breadcrumbs. Form into four patties and create a well in the middle so they don’t get too puffy. Place on the grill and cook about 5-6 minutes per side (longer if you like no pink).

3 - When the burgers are almost done cooking, place a slice of cheese on top to melt. Brush each pineapple with olive oil on each side. Place on the grill while burgers finish for about 1-2 minutes per side until you see grill marks.

4 - Arrange the burgers on buns. Top with the pineapple, lettuce and tomato. Serve.

**Note: I also added barbecue sauce to mine and it was out of this world.