Shellfish Free Basil-Pesto Beef Burgers
Juicy, herb-forward, and wrapped in crisp butter lettuce, these burgers deliver serious flavor without a single ingredient that could cause concern for anyone avoiding shellfish. The star of the show is a vibrant homemade basil pesto — built with fresh basil, garlic, lemon juice, and tiger nuts in place of the traditional pine nuts — that gets spooned generously over each patty right before serving. That bright, garlicky sauce soaking into a deeply browned beef patty is the kind of combination that makes people ask for the recipe before they've even finished eating. The 80/20 ground beef is seasoned simply with salt and ground ginger, then seared in coconut oil until the crust is dark and the center hits a safe 160°F — no guesswork, just great technique. Butter lettuce stands in for a bun, keeping things light and letting the beef and pesto do all the talking. Store-bought pesto can be a minefield of unexpected add-ins, so making your own here means you know exactly what's in every spoonful. These are the kind of burgers that feel like a treat but come together with straightforward ingredients and a single skillet.
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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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