The Ultimate Bunless Burger

The ultimate lettuce wrapped bunless burger! Made with seared burger patties, all the toppings, and a crave worthy sauce that you’ll want to put on everything. Ready in just 30 minutes!

The best bunless burgers

These lettuce wrap burgers are a favorite at our house. There’s something about a burger that is so dang satisfying!

I mean, how excited would you be about dinner tonight if this is what you were coming home to?!

Especially if it’s as easy as forming some patties, seasoning them, searing them, and loading them up with your favorite toppings.

Why you’ll love this bunless burger

It is:

• Totally satisfying
• Easy to make
• Savory
• Whole30 compatible, paleo friendly, GF, and low carb friendly
• Customizable
• SO good!

If you love this bunless burger be sure to take a peek at some of our other sandwich adjacent recipes like these Sweet Potato Sandwiches, Gluten Free Chicken Patties (that make excellent chicken burger patties!), or our Gluten Free Salmon Patties (for salmon burgers – YUM!).

Ingredients

These burgers are pretty customizable based on what you like for burger toppings, but I’ll share what we like to use best for our burgers!

Here’s what you need

• Ground beef – We typically look for 80/20 ground beef for a nice juicy burger patty.
• Salt and pepper – Seasoning the burgers with a generous amount of salt and pepper makes such a big difference in flavor. Think about seasoning them like you would season a steak, or any other cut of meat.
• Avocado oil – Avocado oil or ghee are my top choices for searing burgers.
• Toppings of choice – We love building these burgers with tomato, thinly sliced onion, pickles, and avocado. But you could add or subtract whatever toppings you like!
• Burger sauce – This burger sauce is so delicious y’all. It’s made with mayo, chopped pickles, ketchup, coconut aminos, and some dried spices, and is SO good for not only the burgers but also dipping fries!

Some other topping suggestions:

• Your favorite sliced cheese
• Caramelized onions
• Sautéed mushrooms
• Bacon – yesss, always yes
• A fried egg

What type of lettuce is the best for making a lettuce “bun”?

To get the best “bun” effect from your lettuce (i.e. you can pick it up with two hands), iceberg lettuce is what I recommend.

If you just want to serve your burger over the top of a few lettuce leaves and dig into it with a knife and fork then any type of lettuce leaf will work!

I have never been able to get more than 2 complete buns (4 pieces) from one head of lettuce, so if making a full recipe (for 4 burgers) I recommend using 2 heads of iceberg.

How to make lettuce wrap burgers

Making burgers with a lettuce bun is simple if you have a few basic tips to guide you.

The most technical part of this recipe is probably preparing the burger patties.

But never fear! You can do this. WE can do this.

Here’s how:

The best advice I ever got about making burgers at home can be summed up in four simple tips

1. Don’t overwork the meat, to maintain some texture.
2. Dimple the center of the patty so they stay flat while you cook them.
3. Season like you would season a steak. Generously!
4. Sear hot and don’t touch until it’s time to flip ’em. For that nice brown crust.

Boom. It really is that easy, friends.

Here’s the complete step-by-step

• Prep the toppings and bun. Before cooking the burgers prepare your toppings and buns. Cut the stem off both heads of iceberg lettuce. Cut each one into quarters and remove the loose outer leaves and small leaves on the interior so you have 4 thick pieces per head of lettuce, 8 pieces total between both heads of lettuce.
• Make the burger sauce. In a small bowl mix together all the burger sauce ingredients.
• Make the burgers. Divide beef into 4 equal parts. Form into patties and season the exterior of both sides of the burgers with salt and pepper – the same way you would season a steak. Press a little dimple into the center of each patty.
• Cook the burgers. Preheat a large skillet (cast iron works best) to medium high. When skillet is hot, add avocado oil and tip so the oil coats the entire bottom of the pan. Cook burgers, 2 at a time, for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on how well-done you want them. Add more oil for the second batch if needed.
• Assemble burgers. Place one of the sections of lettuce on a plate. Add desired toppings, the burger, and the remaining half of the iceberg lettuce section and serve immediately!

Love this bunless burger? Try these other easy dinner recipes!

• Gluten Free Chicken Patties
• Classic Gluten Free Meatloaf
• Super Easy Chicken Salad
• Cashew Cream Smothered Pork Chops
• Beanless Chili
• Dairy Free Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Soup
• Garlicky Grilled Shrimp Skewers

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

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