WOW was this good.
I mean seriously good.
It's not vegetarian so don't start throwing stones. I'm calling it a Garden Vegetable Burger because I use the new Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread.
It was this recipe on Allrecipes.com that inspired me. I never thought of using cream cheese IN a burger or on one for that matter. The result was a amazing! Juicy, flavorful, and cheesy without oozing with calories. A fun twist for burger night!
I used beef but any ground meat would be fine, I'm sure. I also only made 2 servings but you could easy double, triple, whatever to make for a bigger crowd or to freeze for quick lunches/dinners.
Here's what I did...
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef (8oz)
- 1 Wedge of The Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
- 2 red bell pepper strips minced
- ½ teaspoon dried onion (you could use a little fresh, I just didn't have any)
- ½ teaspoon minced chives
- 1 slice of zucchini (round) minced
Instructions
Please note you could really use any garden veggies you have on hand. Just mince up what you have in the fridge!
Preheat the grill or grill pan.
Separate the meat into 4 - 2 oz portions and form them into thin patties.
In a small bowl add the cheese, pepper, onion, chives and zucchini.
Mash everything together with the back of spoon.
Smear half of the cheese and vegetable mixture on one of the patties.
Top with another patty and seal the edges.
Repeat for the other burger.
Grill 4-5 minutes a side.
Do NOT squish the burger while cooking. You shouldn't anyway but with cheese in the middle it's especially important. 🙂
I served mine on an Whole Wheat English Muffin with a bed of spinach leaves.
Looks like a regular burger until…
Ohh yea! vegetable cheesy goodness!!
Note: Ketchup was NOT needed. That's how much flavor the cheese added. You guys know how much I love ketchup too. I forgot to add it for the photo and then took a bite, didn't even notice it wasn't on there!
Disclosure: I've partnered with The Laughing Cow. Click here for more info and click here to see all my ideas using the Laughing Cow!
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Garden Vegetable Burger
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef 8oz
- 1 Wedge of The Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
- 2 red bell pepper strips minced
- ½ teaspoon dried onion you could use a little fresh, I just didn't have any
- ½ teaspoon minced chives
- 1 slice of zucchini round minced
Instructions
- Preheat the grill or grill pan.
- Separate the meat into 4 - 2 oz portions and form them into thin patties.½ pound lean ground beef
- In a small bowl add the cheese, pepper, onion, chives and zucchini.1 Wedge of The Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread, 2 red bell pepper strips minced, ½ teaspoon dried onion, ½ teaspoon minced chives, 1 slice of zucchini
- Mash everything together with the back of spoon.
- Smear half of the cheese and vegetable mixture on one of the patties.
- Top with another patty and seal the edges.
- Repeat for the other burger.
- Grill 4-5 minutes a side.
Catherine Beaudet
I made this over the weekend to have for my work lunches. I don't have access to the Garden Sensations Laughing Cow here in Canada so I added a teaspoon of veggie soup mix for every wedge. I also let these "set" in the freezer for about 20 or so minutes before baking them off for 15-20 minutes at 425 F. I found the patty too soft and fragile to attempt to grill (that and it's really cold out here these days) so baking seemed to lend itself well. I packed them away in single serve containers with some baby spinach, mustard and Sriracha as my only condiments on a Weight Watchers hamburger bun.
YUM-OH!!
It hits all the right notes in terms of creaminess, slight veggie tang, savoury meaty-ness.
Love it!
roni
Hi Elena - it's just the patty you'd have to add in the English muffin. Hope that helps!
Elena
I am going to start Weight Watchers. I am tired of being at least 40 pounds overweight. Your blog looks like a fantastic resource for me to begin eating healthy. Thank you! A question. The points that you calculated for these patties include the english muffin, or do I need to add the points of the english muffin to the points that you calculated? Thanks again!
roni
Just regular cream cheese will still give you the same effect. It will still be tasty!
Kelly Lewis
Any suggestions for the LC replacement flavor? They don't have the veggie one in my area yet 🙁
Dee
I just recently became a huge Roni fan. My daughter started reading a book called, "Beyond Diet" and has me and my husband trying to eat healthier. In turn, she found this site and now I'm addicted. These burgers look great and I am making them tonight. My husband, like Roni's, frowns at all the veggie concoctions but loves burgers. Thanks again for all you do to help all of us who need healthy meal ideas!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
You seriously come up with the most brilliant ideas.
Arlene @ Adventures in Weight Loss
I made 'em, too ... except I must have missed the part where you said not to squish them, because I used my George Foreman Grill and cut into a cheese-less burger. 😛
I'll know better for next time!
Mary
I made em....whoa baby was it yummy!! the kids ate them up too....I only had onion and zucchini so I grated them both, mixed it up with the cheese and made sliders (tho I think regular size burgers would be a bit easier!) with some mini buns from Trader Joes! I used to do something similar with regular cream cheese and bbq sauce...might have to try it again only subbing laughing cow! Thanks Roni!
Kelly Eaton
This looks so tasty! I really want to drive to the store for some ground beef!! I'm making this tomorrow! Thanks for another great recipe Roni!
roni
They were so small there was no noticeable crunch. Not that I remember anyway. Being that small they may have cooked in the burger. That being said I don't see why you couldn't cook them first but I'd wait until the cooled before mixing with the cheese. It would melt and be harder to handle in my opinion.
Adrianna
Were the chopped veges in the middle still crunchy or were they soft? If crunchy, do you suppose you could cook them a bit first, then add to the cheese and put in the hamburger?
roni
I was going for the stuffed burger aspect. You could mix it in but you'd lose the "cheesiness" factor.
Vicki
Your version may not be vegetarian but it can certainly be made that way by replacing smashed black beans for the ground beef and I'm sure it would be as delicious as your burger looks. You would have to use an indoor grill pan for my version though.
Patty at A Day in My NYC
YUM and yum!
Any reason why not to mix in the other ingredients with the meat before grilling? Just curious.
Marla
Holy Moley this looks so delicious! Grocery shopping tomorrow. Will have to pick up some Laughing cow. Mmmmm!!!
Patricia
omg this looks so good!
Valerie
That looks divine!!! YUM!
Jan
Oh yum!
christina
That looks SOOO yummy!!!! Im looking forward to trying it!