Fuse Your Burger With Pizza And Top Your Patty With Pepperoni And Mozzarella

Pizza goes well with just about everything — there's a reason there's a pizza flavor for just about any snack item you can think of. And there's a reason people love smothering everything from bagels to french fries with mozzarella, pepperoni, and marinara. One combo stands out above the rest, though. When you can't choose between a burger and a slice of pizza, the pizza burger has your back. 

Pizza burgers are easy to make at home, require just a few extra ingredients beyond your typical burger, and invoke both the beefy, meaty flavors of a cheeseburger and the oozy goodness of a slice of pepperoni pizza. Making one is as simple as topping a burger patty with mozzarella and sliding a few pepperoni slices on top (though it's even better if you fry the pepperoni a little first, alongside the patty). You can slather your burger in marinara, or just keep it on the side for dipping.

Though simply covering your burger in mozzarella and pepperoni is a delicious way to infuse it with pizza flavor, it's not the only way. There are plenty of other variations on this flavor combination, as well as techniques to elevate pizza burgers to even more delicious heights. For example, rather than putting the mozzarella cheese on top, you can slide a few piecesinto the raw patty, creating a stuffed cheeseburger you can then top with marinara or pesto. 

Another option? Turn burger buns into garlic bread to double down on the Italian flavor. Just coat the inside of the buns with a mixture of softened butter, garlic, and seasonings. Then bake, checking regularly, until the buns have turned golden. You can also broil them (carefully) if you want a bit of a darker, roasted color and crunch on them. Then, once they've cooled, you can use them as you would any burger buns.

Looking to infuse pizza into more of your dinner plans? Beyond burgers, mozzarella and pepperoni go well on a plethora of foods. Classic pizza bagels are always a favorite. Take a sliced bagel, cover the interior half with marinara, top it with cheese and other toppings, and then bake it until the bagel's toasty and the cheese is melty.

You can also dress up mac and cheese with pizza flavors by mixing in a little pasta sauce, shredding some mozzarella and parmesan on top, and chopping up some pepperoni (or sausage, or veggies, or whatever your preferred pizza toppings are) and folding them into the pan.

Looking for something a little more veggie-forward? Mozzarella, marinara, and pepperoni all go well on twice-baked potatoes, too. Simply bake the potato once, remove the insides, and mix those insides with some butter, milk, mozzarella, and cream cheese. Assemble, top with cheese, and bake again until it's melty and ready to eat.