Pizza Burgers

Here’s a weeknight dinner idea featuring frozen hamburger patties. And the best part, you can have them on the table in 30 minutes flat. I like to serve these pizza burgers without buns, but feel free to use buns if you like. If you want to add additional pizza toppings, check the notes below the recipe (found all the way down at the bottom of this page).

Start with frozen hamburger patties (4 ounces or 1/4 lb). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place on a parchment lined half sheet pan (follow directions in the recipe below).

After the burgers are cooked through, remove from oven, drain excess liquid from sheet pan, and top each burger with your favorite pasta or pizza sauce.

Then add low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese.

And lastly, sprinkle with my special pizza seasonings: granulated garlic, dried oregano, and dried parsley (specific amounts are listed in the recipe at the bottom of the page, and be sure to crush the dried herbs in the palm of your hand to help release their flavor!). If you like your pizza spicy, go ahead and sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes on top..

Pop the burgers back in the oven for 5 more minutes to melt the cheese. Warning - your kitchen is going to smell amazing!!! That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3uTjtbA

• parchment paper https://amzn.to/3sAIZQq

---

Pizza Burgers

makes 6 burgers

Printable Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

• 6 frozen hamburger patties (4 ounce weight)

• salt and pepper

• 1 cup your favorite pasta or pizza sauce

• 1 1/2 cups low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, crushed

• hamburger buns (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and place rack in center position.

2. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper (be sure to use a pan with sides to catch the pan juices).

3. Arrange 6 frozen hamburger patties evenly on parchment lined sheet pan; bake hamburgers in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 5 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and drain away excess juices that have collected in the pan.

5. Top each hamburger patty with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, followed by the pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, granulated garlic, dried oregano, and dried parsley (crush the oregano and parsley in the palm of your hand to release extra flavor); return patties to oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Notes

• Additional toppings can be added (during the last 5 minutes of cooking) as long as they’re precooked before using.

• To brown the cheese, place under broiler for 30-60 seconds.

Sourdough Pepperoni Pinwheels

Can I interest you in a warm, soft, cheese and pepperoni-filled sourdough pinwheel? I thought so. Serve a little marinara on the side and you’ve got yourself some pizza pinwheel love!

Let’s get started…

Start by gathering all your ingredients. In my case, that would include a friend who brought her very own homemade sourdough starter, all the way from her Ohio kitchen.

Everyone, please say “Hi” to Chris!

Here we are adding Chris’ amazing sourdough starter to the mixing bowl. It’s fun to see the carbon dioxide bubbles rise to the surface of the water. Oh how I wish you could have smelled that yeasty sourdough starter!

Next we mixed the dough in a stand mixer (Chris reports the dough cycle on her bread machine works as well).

Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap.

Next we allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free spot - we used my nifty bread proofing box.

Goodbye bread dough - see you after your cozy 45-minute power nap!

85F was the perfect temperature.

Ooooh, look how lovely the dough is after 45 minutes.

Note: the amount of dough you see in the bowl is a quadruple batch of the printed recipe below.

On an oiled counter top, press the dough into a rectangular shape. Add the shredded mozzarella cheese and sliced pepperoni (leave about an inch along the top long edge of the rectangle free of fillings).

Starting at the bottom long edge of the rectangle, start rolling all the way to the top.

Pinch the seam closed with your fingertips. Use a serrated knife to cut the long roll in half, then in half again. You should now have 4 sections that should be cut into 3 equal pieces for a total of 12 pinwheels.

Place the pinwheels on a silpat-lined half sheet pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel to allow the pinwheels to rise for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove the tea towel and brush pinwheels with egg wash and sprinkle with pretzel salt or flaked sea salt. Bake in center of preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Allow to cool on

Allow pinwheels to rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Serve warm with a side of marinara for dipping, if desired.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heavy duty stand mixer https://amzn.to/2MFm69q

• bread proofing box https://amzn.to/2BhnJVm

• pretzel salt https://amzn.to/33FiUSd

• flaked sea salt https://amzn.to/33yFuM3

• dry milk powder https://amzn.to/33g6nda

• instant, bread machine, or quick/rapid-rise yeast https://amzn.to/36eaOXj

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3JmUMbQ

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3swqo82

---

Sourdough Pepperoni Pinwheels

makes 12 pinwheels

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons warm water (105F - 110F)

• 1/2 cup chilled sourdough starter (not freshly fed)

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)

• 2 tablespoons dry milk powder

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast (or bread machine or instant/rapid-rise)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 6 ounces pepperoni slices

• 8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon water

• pretzel salt of flaked sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

1. Place the first 8 ingredients in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook; mix on low speed for a few minutes until no dry ingredients remain.

2. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough is smooth and elastic; about 15 minutes.

3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in lower-center position.

5. Gently remove the dough from the oiled bowl and place on an oiled counter top; press into a rectangular shape approximately 7 inches tall by 13 inches wide.

6. Evenly spread mozzarella cheese and sliced pepperoni the dough, leaving about an inch of space along the top long edge of the rectangle (see photo above).

7. Start rolling the rectangle of dough, from the bottom to the top; pinch the seam closed.

8. Use a serrated knife to slice the long roll into 2 equal lengths, then slice each of the 2 sections in half, now slice the 4 equal lengths each into 3 equal portions, for a total of 12 pinwheels.

9. Place each pinwheel on its side on a silpat-lined half sheet pan, spacing evenly; cover with clean kitchen towel and rise for 20-30 minutes

10. Preheat oven to 350F and make sure rack is in center position..

11. Make egg wash by beating egg with 1 tablespoon water; brush each pinwheel.

12. Sprinkle each pinwheel with pretzel salt or flaked sea salt.

13. Bake for 25-30 minutes until brown.

14. Remove from oven and allow them to rest for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. If desired, serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Note

• Instant yeast, bread machine yeast, and quick/rapid-rise yeast can be used interchangeably.

recipe adapted from The Kitchen Whisperer