These Middle Eastern-inspired Baharat Burgers are simple to make and packed with tons of flavor. The beef is spiced with an aromatic spice blend and stuffed into warm pita pockets with sumac red onions and creamy tahini sauce.
What is Baharat?
Baharat, meaning “spices” in Arabic, is a warm and slightly sweet spice blend that’s commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. It varies from household to household, but may contain a mixture of cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
It’s also referred to as 7-spice or Lebanese 7-spice, and is mostly used to season meat, but is just as amazing on vegetables and fish.
Some blends have paprika in them, giving them a vibrant reddish hue compared to others that closely resemble garam masala. For these baharat burgers, we used a blend that doesn’t have any paprika in it.
For more Middle Eastern-inspired recipes try our Homemade Labneh.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Spiced Meat: The combination of aromatic spices in baharat makes for ultra flavorful meat patties.
- Toppings: The bright flavors of the red onions complement the warming spices in the meat, and a drizzle of tahini sauce adds a delicious finishing touch to the dish.
- Toasted Pine Nuts: They add a nice nuttiness to the meat that really enhances the overall flavor.
Ingredient Notes
The full list of ingredients and their quantities is in the recipe card below. Here you’ll find notes on specific ingredients as well as any substitutions.
- Ground Beef Sirloin: You can opt for ground chuck instead. Just keep in mind that ground chuck will release more fat in the pan. Ground sirloin is a bit leaner, but we’ve had no problems getting perfectly juicy burgers with it!
- Baharat Seasoning: You should be able to find it in the spice section at the grocery store. We use Simply Organic’s baharat blend.
- Pine Nuts: Don’t skip these! They add more flavor to the meat when you toast them.
- Pita Pockets: The flat side should be 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. Any bigger and the patty will be way too small for the pita.
- Tahini: Be sure to stir the tahini before using.
- Red Onions: Thin slices are best since they easily soak up all the flavor.
- Ground Sumac: This citrusy dried berry adds an earthy, lemon flavor to the onions. You can find it in the spice section at the grocery store.
- Parsley: Fresh is the way to go since the sumac onions rely on fresh ingredients for the best flavor.
- Mixed Greens: We usually use a spring mix, but arugula or spinach will work too.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This section provides a general overview as well as any pictures to guide you through the recipe. The full detailed recipe instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
STEP 1: Make the sumac onions. Add thinly sliced red onions, sumac, fresh parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to a bowl. Toss to combine then set aside.
STEP 2: Make the tahini sauce. In a separate bowl, whisk together the tahini, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and water.
STEP 3: Toast the pine nuts. Heat ½ a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toss occasionally until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). Set aside in a bowl to cool slightly.
STEP 4: Season the beef. In a large bowl, add the ground beef sirloin. Evenly sprinkle the baharat, salt, pepper, and pine nuts over the top. Mix with your hands until well combined. You can use kitchen gloves for this.
STEP 5: Form the patties. Divide up the beef and shape into 4 4-inch (10 cm) patties then set aside on a plate.
STEP 6: Cook the meat. Heat ½ tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in the same pan you cooked the pine nuts in. Cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side then set aside on a clean plate or baking sheet.
STEP 7: Assemble the burgers. Lightly toast the pita pockets and fill with a patty, mixed greens, and sumac red onions. Drizzle on a bit of tahini sauce and garnish with chopped parsley.
Expert Tips
- Let the onions rest before serving. We recommend making them first, that way they have time to marinate and soak up all those delicious flavors.
- Add more water to thickened tahini sauce. If you find that your tahini sauce has thickened after sitting, add a teaspoon of water and mix to create a drizzly sauce again.
FAQ
A side salad, grilled or roasted vegetables, and tabbouleh would go well with these baharat burgers.
We cut two 6-inch (15 cm) pitas in half to create four pita pockets. So the pockets are about 6 inches (15 cm) wide and about 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep.
If you tried this recipe, let us know how it turned out for you! Leave a star rating and review below and tag us on Instagram @fancifuleats so we can see your amazing kitchen creations!
📖 Recipe
Baharat Burgers
Ingredients
Sumac Red Onions
- ½ red onion very thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup (60 g) tahini stirred before using
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 tbsp water
Baharat Burgers
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 lb (454 g) ground beef sirloin
- 2 tsp baharat
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 4 pita pockets
- Mixed greens
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the sumac red onions to a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside to let the flavors marinate.
- To a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the tahini sauce and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toss occasionally until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Once toasted, set aside in a small bowl to cool slightly.
- To a large bowl, add the ground beef and evenly sprinkle over the baharat, salt, pepper, and toasted pine nuts. Mix with your hands until well combined.
- Divide the meat into 4 4-inch (10 cm) patties and set aside on a plate.
- Heat the remaining ½ tbsp of olive oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side then set aside on a clean plate or baking sheet.
- Lightly toast the pita pockets and fill each with a patty, mixed greens, and sumac red onions. Drizzle with tahini sauce and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
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