Spiced Lamb Pita Burgers are a fresh take on everybody’s favorite grill grub — the lamb is mixed with Middle Eastern spices, onions, and fresh mint, then spread inside a pita and grilled — these are crisp, juicy, and fabulous!
This is such an interesting change from a plain old burger, I think you’re going to love it. I mixed ground lamb with fragrant coriander, cinnamon, and cumin, along with some very finely minced sweet onion, and fresh mint, then spread it inside a split pita round. The meat cooks inside the pita, and as it grills the juices from the lamb sink into the pita and the whole thing comes out crispy and wonderful. The yogurt mint sauce adds a cooling tangy layer to every bite. It’s burger meets quesadilla meets panini and the result is lovely!
These Spiced Lamb Pita Burgers definitely outshine regular burgers in texture and flavor, my husband and I both give them a big thumbs up. I liked them so much I’m planning to try other variations…one idea that already occurs to me is to use my Turkey and Zucchini Burgers as a filling. And after that I think a veggie version is in order…stay tuned 🙂
I slightly adapted this recipe from Bon Appétit
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Spiced Lamb Pita Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grilling
- 8 thick pocket pita breads
yogurt mint sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Put the meat, onion, herbs, spices, and oil in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to blend everything thoroughly. Cover tightly. I like to place plastic wrap right onto the meat, and then cover the bowl as well so no air can get to it. Chill anywhere from an hour to overnight.
- Carefully slit open the pita rounds halfway along the seam and pry open the pocket. Be careful not to tear the bread. Spoon 1/8 of the meat mixture into each pita, spreading the meat to all the edges. Press the pita closed and gently pat down to seal. You'll use approximately 1/4 pound of meat for every pita.
- Lightly oil your grill or grill pan and heat on medium high. When it is hot, grill the pita for about 5 minutes per side, until they are charred and the meat is done through.
- Serve immediately with yogurt mint sauce.
- To make the yogurt sauce, blend the yogurt with the mint and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and then thin with cold water until you have a dipping consistency.
Notes
- If you don't see ground lamb at your store ask your meat manager to grind it for you, they're usually happy to help. You can also buy lamb shoulder and grind it yourself at home with a meat grinder, or even a food processor.
- Make the filling up to a day in advance...the flavors get a change to develop that way.
- This works well on a stove top grill pan, I like Calphalon because there is no chemical non-stick coating. Cast iron works too.
- I love the seriously charred bread, but if you don't, cook it longer and slower so it won't get so dark.
Nutrition
Don’t forget to pin these grilled lamb pita burgers
These look really yummy. I find that ground lamb is quite fatty. My first thought was that the pita would suck up all the fat, which I find unappealing. How did you deal with that?
Good question Denise…my lamb was not fatty, and I guess it depends on your store and what cut is ground. Some fat is good, it adds flavor, etc. But to answer your question, there wasn’t a lot of fat in this, so I didn’t have the problem.
My husband will enjoy this!
These lamb pitas look absolutely delicious!!
Have a wonderful week. xo
I know I will love this! I made something kind of similar – a lamb pita pizza and used hummus. This recipe is so adaptable and it gets the creative juices flowing. With our kitchen the way it is – grilling outside is my go to method lately – going to give this a try!
It would be so great for a busy outdoor party, just throw them on the grill and they’re ready to eat once they come off, no messing with buns or anything!
Lamb might be my favorite red meat. And it’s so good when ground and grilled! Love the spicing — reminds me of North Africa. Cinnamon and red meat is a killer combo, isn’t it? Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
I LOVE cinnamon and meat together, in fact I’m starting a rather good collection of different cinnamons, there are lots of varieties, and some are quite spicy!
There is nothing about this I don’t like! The pictures are as mouthwatering as the recipe!
Thanks so much Ben!
Oh yum! I love the idea of using lamb and a grill this way. I’ve never grilled stuffed pita bread before–it looks AMAZING!!
I’d never done this before either Tracy, and it’s a winning idea — definitely will be repeated here 🙂
These look absolutely delicious! I cannot wait to try these!
Oh I LOVE lamb and those grill marks on the pita! My husband would love these too – pinning!
I’m a sucker for a great grill mark 😉 Thanks for stopping by Tracy.
I’m so glad the weather is finally right for grilling! These look a great variation on a classic!
The great thing about these, Mary, is that they work just as well on the stove in a grill pan, so if the weather gets funky, it’s no problem 😉