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Italian Meatballs Burgers

Crave Cooking Light Cookbook|

Italian Meatballs Burgers
3 (2 ratings)
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If you’re a sucker for the Italian specialty, you’ll like Cooking Light’s meatballs-in-a-burger recipe. They use light turkey meat flavored with basil, oregano, and fennel seeds to create patties and top them with classic provolone cheese, marinara sauce, and fresh basil. We’ve heard of meatballs subs, but we loved this burger recipe because it stayed true to the beauty of a burger while offering all of the delicious tastes of the Italian dish. Click  here to see 50 Best Burger Recipes  
Servings
6
Ingredients
  • 6 frozen ciabatta rolls with rosemary and olive oil
  • 8 ounce sweet turkey italian sausage
  • 1 tablespoon chopped basil, plus 6 large basil leaves
  • 2 teaspoon chopped oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 pound ground sirloin
  • cooking spray
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp provolone cheese
  • 6 tablespoon lower-sodium marinara sauce
Directions
  1. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Bake the rolls according to package directions. Split rolls.
  3. Remove the casings from the sausage. Combine the sausage, chopped basil, and next 5 ingredients (through ground sirloin) in a medium bowl. Divide the meat mixture into 6 equal portions with moist hands, shaping each into a ½-inch-thick patty. Press thumb in center of each patty, leaving a nickel-sized indentation.
  4. Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill for 6 minutes. Turn the patties over and grill for 2 minutes more. Sprinkle cheese evenly over patties, and grill 6 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes.
  5. Place 1 basil leaf on the bottom ½ of each roll and top each with 1 patty, 1 tablespoon marinara sauce, and roll top.
 
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