Grilled Mushroom Swiss Burger

Mushroom Swiss burger lovers, this one's for you! Grill up these classic, melty-good burgers with a twist in the recipe that takes them from good to great.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated May 08, 2022
Elise Bauer
Side view of a mushroom and swiss burger on a plate with chips outside.
Lori Rice

"Hey dad, wanna come over for lunch? We're making mushroom burgers." Radio silence. That's weird. Usually, an invitation for free food and the company of his firstborn is met with gleeful enthusiasm.

"Don't worry, it's a beef burger, with lots of mushrooms, you'll love it." Bingo, that was it. "Okay, sure! We'll be right over."

It used to be, "mushroom burger" just meant a hamburger with lots of mushrooms piled on top. These days it usually refers to a burger in which a portobello mushroom takes the place of the patty.

Nothing wrong with that, but it wasn't what my father wanted. A grilled beef patty with melted Swiss, and slathered with sautéed shiitakes and onions? Hard to resist.

So, this one was a big hit with my dad, and with my mom too, for that matter. The things that make it a step up from your typical retro mushroom burger are the dried mushroom powder mixed into the ground meat, intensifying the mushroom taste, and using shiitakes for the topping, which are highly flavorful mushrooms.

You can easily skip the dried mushrooms if you don't have any on hand, and you can easily substitute button mushrooms, or any other mushrooms, for the shiitakes if you want.

Side view of a mushroom and swiss burger on a plate with chips outside.
Lori Rice
1:17

Watch This Grilled Mushroom and Beef Burger Recipe

What Dried Mushrooms Work Best in Mushroom Swiss Burgers

Any commonly found dried mushrooms work in this recipe. Many mainstream grocery stores have at least one of these varieties.

  • Dried shiitakes
  • Dried porcinis
  • Dried morels
  • Dried black trumpets
  • Dried mixed mushrooms

For a good price, try an Asian market, particularly for dried shiitakes.

No Grill? No Problem. Here's How To Pan Fry Burgers

Yes, you can add the pre-made patties to a skillet and pan fry, but follow this trick for the best pan-fried burgers.

  • Preheat a heavy pan—cast iron works best—to medium high heat.
  • Drizzle some olive oil in the pan.
  • Instead of forming the burger patties, add balls of a quarter to a third of a pound portions of the mixture, one at a time.
  • When beef starts to sizzle top it with foil and then smash the beef into a then patty using a smaller pan or skillet.
  • Repeat with other portions.
  • Cook as directed in Step 5, just on the stove top instead of the grill.

Note: If the pan is not large enough to cook all burgers at once, cook them in batches. Crowding the burgers in the pan will result in steaming them instead of frying them.

Perfect Sides for Mushroom Swiss Burgers

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Grilled Mushroom Swiss Burger

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 3 to 4 servings

We call for fresh shiitake mushrooms to top the burger, but only because they are so much more flavorful than regular button mushrooms. Feel free to use whatever mushroom you want—buttons, cremini, morels, etc. You'll need to cut the tough stems off shiitakes, but you can include the stems of other mushrooms.


Although this recipe calls for using a grill, you can easily pan fry the burgers on your stovetop. I would recommend using a large cast iron pan for pan frying.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef (for juicy burgers, 80/20 is good)

  • 1 ounce dried mushrooms, such as porcinis or morels

  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • Kosher salt

  • 4 to 6 slices Swiss cheese

  • Hamburger buns

Special Equipment

  • Food processor or a clean coffee grinder

Method

  1. Process the dried mushrooms:

    In a food processor, or a clean coffee grinder (grind some raw rice to clean out coffee grinds), grind the dry mushrooms until they're a powder. Remove any large mushroom pieces that didn't grind down, a few small pieces will be fine.

    Spices for making a ground beef and mushroom recipe.
    Lori Rice
  2. Make the burger mixture:

    In a large bowl, use your clean hands to gently mix together the meat, salt, mushroom powder, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix just until everything is mostly combined. Do not overwork the meat mixture or it will become tough and meatloaf-like.

    Adding ingredients to the ground beef for a mushroom swiss burger recipe.
    Lori Rice
    Mixing the spices into ground beef for a mushroom swiss burger recipe.
    Lori Rice
    Mixture for a ground beef and mushroom recipe in a glass bowl.
    Lori Rice
  3. Form the patties:

    Shape the meat into 3 to 4 patties, using about 1/4 to 1/3 pound pound per patty, creating a slight indentation at the centers of the patties (this will help keep the patties fairly flat when they cook, as the sides tend to contract more than the center).

    Baking sheet with patties on it to make a ground beef and mushroom recipe.
    Lori Rice
  4. Prepare the grill

    Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Place a cast iron skillet on grill grates so it heats along with the grill. (Alternatively, heat the skillet on the stovetop over high heat.)

  5. Sauté the mushrooms, then the onions:

    When the skillet is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on contact, add the mushrooms and dry-sauté them until they release their water, about 2-3 minutes.

    Add the onions and the olive oil, toss to combine and continue to sauté over high heat 1 minute. Add salt to taste and cook until the onions soften and begin to brown. Remove the skillet from heat and transfer the mushrooms to a bowl.

    Sauteeing mushrooms for a ground beef and mushroom recipe.
    Lori Rice
    Sauteeing mushrooms for a ground beef and mushroom recipe.
    Lori Rice
  6. Grill the burgers:

    Place patties on high, direct heat and cook to the desired doneness, between 5-8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how hot your grill is.

    Grilling mushroom swiss burgers.
    Lori Rice
  7. Add the cheese:

    When the burgers are almost done, lay the Swiss cheese over them and allow the cheese to melt.

    Mushroom swiss burgers topped with cheese on the grill.
    Lori Rice
  8. Grill the buns:

    Paint the burger buns with a little olive oil and toast them on the griddle or grill grates, about 1 to 2 minutes.

    Toasting buns on the grill for mushroom swiss burgers.
    Lori Rice
  9. Assemble the burgers:

    Place a burger on a bun and top with the sautéed onions and mushroom mixture.

    Side view of a mushroom swiss burger on a plate outside.
    Lori Rice
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
359 Calories
25g Fat
14g Carbs
21g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories 359
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 10g 52%
Cholesterol 64mg 21%
Sodium 375mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 21g
Vitamin C 2mg 11%
Calcium 395mg 30%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 499mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.