Hazelnut Free Basil-Pesto Beef Burgers
Juicy, herb-forward, and wrapped in crisp butter lettuce, these burgers deliver everything you want from a backyard classic with a bright, vibrant twist. The homemade pesto is the real star here — fresh basil, garlic, and a drizzle of good olive oil blitzed together into something deeply aromatic and spoonable. Instead of the traditional pine nuts, tiger nuts stand in as the pesto's base, giving it a pleasant texture and keeping the whole dish free from tree nut concerns without sacrificing that rich, nutty depth. Store-bought pestos are notoriously tricky territory when you're avoiding certain nuts, so making it from scratch puts you fully in control of every ingredient. The 80/20 ground beef gets a subtle warmth from ground ginger, and cooking the patties in coconut oil builds a seriously satisfying crust. Skipping the bun in favor of butter lettuce keeps things light and lets the pesto really shine. It's the kind of meal that feels special enough for company but easy enough to pull off on a weeknight.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ¼ cup tiger nuts, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
For the burgers
- 1 ½ lb ground beef (80/20)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
For serving
- 8 large butter lettuce leaves
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Make the pesto: combine the basil, tiger nuts, and garlic in a food processor and pulse 8–10 times until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream and process until the pesto is mostly smooth with a little texture remaining. Add the lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt, pulse once more to combine, then taste and adjust salt. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- 2
Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions (about 6 oz each). Gently form each into a patty roughly 3/4 inch thick, pressing a shallow dimple into the center of each with your thumb. Season both sides evenly with the 1/2 tsp salt and ground ginger.
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