Valentine’s Day gushes hearts and flowers or oozes chocolate for the majority of civilized society. At our house, it’s cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers say you? What gives?
Among the many things we love, our sons are at the top of the list…just below the flabby tabby who terrorizes the house. One of our dynamic duo is gobsmacked-smitten…for cheeseburgers. Son B has adored juicy burgers dripping with cheese since he could walk. Saying Son B merely likes cheeseburgers is a serious understatement. He takes his cheeseburgers quite seriously!
From Virginia to New York to Wyoming and all points in between, Son B has tried them all…almost. Culver’s Butter Burgers in Nebraska, Braum’s burgers in Oklahoma, Twin Peak‘s “Hangover” burger topped with a fried egg, the donut burger at Memphis BBQ Company, and the cheese-oozing “Juicy Lucy” burger at Billings, Montana’s The Burger Dive. Son B has also eaten his fair share of major drive-through chain cheeseburgers. Who doesn’t love In-N-Out or Whataburger right?!
Burned in the Backyard 
Twin Peaks 
Memphis BBQ Co. 
The Burger Dive 
In-N-Out (obviously) 
Whataburger (duh!)
This February the 14th falls on a Friday, coinciding with our Friday night pizza tradition, started long ago in western New York. So on this Hugs ‘n’ Kisses kind of day, I’m smashing pizza together with the unassuming cheeseburger to pay some love towards Son B’s obsession. I know I’ll get a smooch from Son B out of this!
The foundation of this food-mash up is a simple pizza dough, courtesy of chef Tyler Florence. You can find the recipe here at Food Network’s website. Store bought dough works fine too!
The only change I make to Tyler’s recipe is substituting equal parts all-purpose flour for the 00 flour. 00 flour isn’t commonly found in most grocery stores I frequent. This means it isn’t commonly found in my pantry. But 00 flour contains the perfect amount of gluten, giving baked pizza crust the perfect amount of chew. If you haven’t tried 00 flour, give it a go. You won’t regret it! The King Arthur Flour company is my go-to place for specialty flours.
A nostalgic reminder of the many burgers gluttoned down, this Cheeseburger Pizza hits the spot with classic cheeseburger flavors: fried hamburger, ketchup and yellow mustard, dill pickles, finely-sliced red onion, and topped with melty cheddar and havarti cheese slices. Opt for American cheese slices if you’re looking for the real-deal, drive-through cheeseburger experience!
Cheeseburger Pizza
Cheeseburger meet pizza. Pizza meet cheeseburger. A match made in heaven. Topped with gooey cheese, this rich hamburger pizza is paired with simple burger classics: ketchup, mustard, dill pickle and red onion. Running it through the garden with lettuce and tomatoes is optional!
- Prep Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: About 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 12-to 14-inch pizza 1x
Ingredients
For Crust:
1 batch pizza dough (1-pound store bought or homemade recipe: Tyler Florence’s Pizza Dough or your favorite recipe)
All-purpose flour, for rolling pizza dough
For Pizza Toppings:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 pound ground hamburger*
2–6 ounce packages cheddar cheese slices (about 10 slices)
2–6 ounce packages havarti cheese slices (about 10 slices)
2 tbsp. (or more to taste) yellow mustard**
2 tbsp. (or more to taste) tomato ketchup**
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/4–1/2 cup dill pickles, sliced, diced or relished
Instructions
If making homemade pizza dough, prepare the dough about 1-1/2 hours ahead of time.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. If using, place a baking stone or upside-down baking sheet in the oven to preheat. (This will help your pizza dough crisp during the bake.) Place a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper on a second upside down baking sheet (or pizza peel). You can also use a lightly olive-oiled pizza sheet.
Prepare the crust by stretching pizza dough on a lightly floured board into a 12- to 14-inch circle. (A larger circle equals thinner crust.) Transfer dough round to the parchment paper. Brush olive oil on the edges of the dough circle. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Set aside.
Cook hamburger over medium heat until no pink shows, about 4-5 minutes. Browned bits of hamburger add to the “burger” taste! To drain the grease from the cooked hamburger, transfer it using a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Alternate half of the cheddar and havarti cheese slices evenly over the pizza dough. Leave a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Top cheese slices with hamburger. Spread or drizzle yellow mustard and ketchup over the hamburger. Top with remaining cheddar and havarti cheese slices.
Slide the prepared pizza off the parchment and onto baking stone or upside-down baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Let cool slightly before sprinkling red onion and dill pickles over the top. Slice and serve.
Notes
*We prefer an 80/20 burger blend to achieve juicy burger goodness.
**Additional yellow mustard and ketchup can be drizzled over the top of pizza slices. Feel free to add shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, or bacon as well.
Tyler Florence’s recipe makes enough dough for three 12-inch pizzas. I divide the dough in half, using one-half for this Cheeseburger Pizza recipe. The second-half of dough can be frozen for later use. When needed, thaw the frozen dough to room temperature and roll according to the recipe.
IMNPB
Recommended To You
