Red Wine Lamb Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese (2024)

Grilled Lamb Burgers with Goat Cheese & Caramelized onions are perfect for the summer grilling season. The lamb burgers are seasoned with a red wine reduction, as are the caramelized onions, then they’re topped with creamy goat cheese and peppery arugula. Yum!

Those of you who know me by now know that I love my wine. And while red wine generally takes a backseat in the summertime, I still love cooking with it! Red wine imparts such a great flavor to dishes, especially when you’re cooking with red meat and savory recipes.

This lamb burger recipe is a bit of a twist on my original Red Wine Burgers recipe. I’m swapping lamb in for the beef, and topping them with deliciously jammy, caramelized (red wine spiked) onions, creamy goat cheese and peppery arugula.

These grilled lamb burgers are a full on flavor bomb.

Ingredients needed

• Ground Lamb
• Red Wine – There’s no need to reach for an expensive bottle of wine when you’re making this recipe.I used a Cabernet-Merlot blend from one of those jumbo bottles that you find in the grocery store.Or, check out these 13+ favorite red wines for cooking.
• Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• Burger Buns
• Goat Cheese
• Baby Arugula
• For the Caramelized Onions – Red onion, red wine, butter, salt.

How to make them

The plan of attack for getting lots of yummy red wine flavor into the burgers is creating a red wine reduction.

It’s simple to do by simmering your wine with a bit of brown sugar for 20-30 minutes until it thickens up a bit and becomes concentrated. Then, whisk in some butter. A bit of the red wine reduction will be added to the lamb patty mixture.

The rest will be used to baste the burgers as they cook away.

• Make Wine Reduction: Boil wine and brown sugar in a small skillet until reduced by half, 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Set aside to cool.
• Caramelize the Onions: Melt butter in a skillet. Add onion and salt and stir to combine. Cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine and stir, cover and cook about 10 minutes longer, until onion is caramelized and liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
• Prepare Grill: Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Mix lamb, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup wine mixture in a bowl. Form meat into four patties. Grill until brown on bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip and brush with additional wine mixture. Continue grilling until cooked to desired doneness, turning and brushing occasionally with wine mixture, 4-6 minutes.
• Grill the Buns: Add the buns to the grill, cut sides down, until lightly browned. Top bottom buns with burgers, then caramelized onions and arugula. Spread goat cheese on top buns and place on top. Serve immediately.

When they’re finished, they’re the most beautiful color and SO flavorful.

What cheese goes with lamb burgers?

I served these lamb burgers with goat cheese. However, if you’re not a fan of goat cheese, you could also serve them with pepper jack cheese, gouda, cheddar cheese, or feta. Or, try them topped with this whipped feta spread.

What to serve with them

• German Potato Salad
• Grilled Potato Salad
• Cherry Tomato Salad
• Arugula Salad
• Summer Pasta Salad
• 30+ Healthy Sides for Burgers
• Click here for even MORE Sides for Burgers
• Plus, here’s 35+ yummy Sauces for Burgers

Wine pairings

• Syrah
• Cabernet
• Zinfandel
• MORE → my 8 favorite wine pairings with lamb.

More lamb recipes

• Lamb Stir Fry with Green Beans
• Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
• Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Basil Tahini Sauce
• Broiled Lamb Chops with Mint Mustard Sauce
• Sheet Pan Lamb Dinner
• Grilled Rack of Lamb with Pistachio Basil Pesto
• Grilled Lamb Chops with Spicy Peanut Sauce
• More→ 35+ BEST Lamb Recipes
• More → 35+ Ground Lamb Recipes

More burger recipes

• Cheeseburger Salad with Special Sauce
• Green Chile Cheeseburgers
• Red Wine Burgers
• French Dip Burgers

This post was originally published in 2020. It was updated in 2023 to add new content. The lamb burger recipe remains the same. Enjoy!