Low Fat High Protein Homemade Burgers
Here we have my homemade burgers recipe that are not only high in protein and super lean (low fat), but also they’re mega simple, and we even sneak some vegetables in there as well for texture, flavor, and #health. I’m even showing you exactly how to pull accurate macros out these burgers using this approach.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 lbs. Ground Beef. Always buy 90/10 or leaner. Usually you can find 95/5 to about 97/3, go with the leaner option if you have it.
- 1 Large White Onion.
- 5+ Large Cloves of Garlic.
- 2 Large Whole Eggs - approximately 50g each. (If you want to make these even leaner, sub two whole eggs for 100g egg whites.)
- Salt Grinder
- Peppercorn Grinder
- Cumin
- Italian Seasonings
- Optional: Crushed Red Chili Pepper Flakes (if you like a bit of spicy!)
PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:
- In a large mixing bowl empty the 3 pounds of lean ground beef.
- Dice the entire white onion and add to the ground beef.
- Mince the 5+ cloves or garlic and add into the bowl as well.
- Add the 2 large eggs (or egg whites.)
- We’re going to apply the seasonings twice, run through the first round now. Don’t be shy with the salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning. Cumin has a strong aroma and flavor so you can go a bit lighter with this one.
- Using your hands (it’s easiest) just start mixing everything together in the bowl. Get the eggs, vegetables, and seasonings all mixed together.
- Repeat Step 5. Second round of seasoning. This can be a lighter round.
- Repeat Step 6.
- Let’s make some burger patties. Pulling chunks of our beef mix approximately fist sized (for an average sized human) squeeze the contents between your palms into a thick patty shape, and then in a soft clapping motion pass the patty back and forth between your hands until it's "packed" and approximately 1 to 1.5 inches thick.
- Finish making raw burger patties from the rest of the contents inside the bowl. Following this list above should make about 9 burgers in total.
- Optional. Sprinkle some extra seasonings to the top of the patties for additional flavor.
- If making on the grill, set to about 350 degrees, if cooking in a cast iron (recommended) or another frying pan stovetop. Set heat to high.
- Apply a thin coat of olive/avocado oil or spray and set the first batch of burgers in the pan or on the grill.
- Cook for 4 to 4.5 minutes on each side, flipping once for a medium rare to medium doneness. Ensure grill/pan has reached appropriate temperature before starting the clock. (If using a propane grill may require an extra minute or two.)
- EAT!
I’ll leave the fixins and dressing up the burgers from here to you. You can add tomato and iceberg lettuce or spinach for additional vegetables. If you want a lower carb version you can use a lettuce wrap or not "bun" at all. You can additionally go with whole grain wheat buns for a bit of fiber and slightly less carbohydrate. Totally up to your preferences, goals, and the amount of macros you’re working with.
Next let's get into figuring out your macronutrients for your batch of these macro friendly burgers.
There’s a few numbers we already know. 3 pounds of RAW ground beef, will equal approximately 75% ground beef COOKED, or 2.25 pounds (1,020 grams.) Cronometer has this excellent entry for "Beef, ground, 95% lean meat / 5% fat, patty, cooked, pan-broiled" so just log that as COOKED, since it’s a cooked entry.
Weigh the total amount of onion you're using before you add it to the bowl. Add that logged as a raw onion (raw vs. cooked onion discrepancies are literally marginal.) Log that entry to your meal.
Repeat exactly what you did with the onion with your garlic. Log that entry to your meal. Logging the seasonings is meaningless since they provide (essentially) zero caloric contents.
From here, you can either way each burger individually (as there will be some variance in your eyeballing skills in making like-sized burgers.) Or, what I personally do is divide the entirety of everything you’ve logged by how many burgers you made (should be about 9) and you’ll have your custom macronutrients for each burger. Just a little bit of adding and division, not complicated at all.
I hope you give these high protein, lower fat homemade burgers a go! I made them Friday night for a group of people and it’s safe to say everyone was thoroughly impressed.
I base all of my Simple Bachelor Food Prep foods on simplified, efficient, and macro friendly principles like this low fat high protein burger recipe. I want to enjoy burgers without them being loaded down with unnecessary caloric content. This allows me to eat my burgers, but still keep the lean physique I want.
If you want more about how I am able to do this, check out when the next round of my nutrition periodization and education coaching program, the Metabolic Performance Protocol kicks off. You can find out more here.
