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🏠Home » Recipes » Low Fat Recipes

Low-Fat Burgers

Published: Jan 26, 2025 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 4 Comments

Jump to Recipe
Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Learn how to make healthy, low-fat burgers with low-fat ground beef that are still juicy and full of flavor. Adding a panade for moisture and seasoning lets you easily make healthy hamburger meat for burgers everybody will love.

🐄Ingredients

Lower-fat burger
Starch for panade—bread crumbs, crackers, oats, etc.
Seasonings—Worcestershire sauce and Montreal seasoning or salt, pepper, and other herbs and spices.

Low Fat burger with fries.
Grilled low-fat burger with grilled fries.
Jump To (scroll for more)
  • 🐄Ingredients
  • 👨‍🍳How to Cook Low-Fat Burgers on the Grill or Stovetop—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
  • 🌡️When are burgers done?
  • 🐄Ingredient options and variations
  • 🥣What is a panade?
  • 🍔Not low-fat burger recipes
  • 🍴Serving suggestions
  • ❄️Storing leftovers
  • ❓FAQs
  • 🐄About lean ground beef
  • 📖The Recipe Card
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

It isn't easy to cook healthy burgers with ground beef that is more than 85% lean without drying and losing most of the flavor. But by adding a panade and seasoning, the moisture and flavor can be retained for great taste and tenderness low-fat beef hamburgers.

These burgers are low fat and low calorie due to the low-fat beef. The 4 oz. standard 80/20 ground beef has about 287 calories and 23 grams of fat, compared with 95/5 ground beef will be 155 calories and 8 grams of fat.

Severe with Crispy Baked French Fries and a garden salad for a classic meal. For other healthy burgers, try Ground Chicken or Turkey Burgers or Grilled Marinated Portobello Mushrooms.

👨‍🍳How to Cook Low-Fat Burgers on the Grill or Stovetop—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

cleaning and oiling grill grates.

1. Preheat the grill on high, or for the stovetop, prepare a cast iron skillet or other large skillet with oil.

crushing oats with rolling pin

2. Prepare the starch for the panade, like crushed oats, crackers, bread, or panko bread crumbs.

Mixing crushed oats into low-fat burgers.

3. Add the starch, Worcestershire sauce, Montreal Seasoning, or another seasoning to the low-fat burger. Mix well by hand, but do not overmix.

Forming burger patties with a dimple.

4. Form into ¼ to ⅓ pound burger patties about 3 ½ to 4-inch diameter and dimple the center to prevent puffing.

Flipping a burger pattie on a grill.

5. Cook over high heat on the grill or in a skillet with some oil over medium-high heat. Flip every 4-5 minutes until an internal temperature of 160°.

Burger with fries.

6. The cooking time will be about 10 minutes on the grill and a few minutes longer on the stovetop. Remove from heat and allow them to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

🌡️When are burgers done?

According to the USDA, ground beef must be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° for safety. If the burger contains ground poultry, such as chicken or turkey, the minimum safe internal temperature is 165°.

🐄Ingredient options and variations

Burger—Use 90 to 96% lean ground beef.

Starch for panade—riped bread, panko bread crumbs, crushed cracker, crushed oats.

Worcestershire sauce, while optional, will enhance the beef flavor, some of which is loss with the fat.

Seasoning: Season to your taste. Montreal Steak Seasoning is an easy shortcut that includes salt and pepper. I use my All Purpose Seasoning mix, but you can use any other seasonings, such as paprika, onion, or garlic powder.

🥣What is a panade?

A panade is a mixture of starch and liquid mixed into ground meat to add moisture and tenderness when cooked. It can also add flavors. A classic example is meatloaf.

Common starches are panko bread crumbs, bread, crushed crackers, or crushed oats. The liquid can be almost anything but commonly milk or other dairy products, broth, or water. In this recipe, we depend on the liquid already in the meat.

🍔Not low-fat burger recipes

Don't miss these other burger recipes, like Grilling Burgers, Juicy Lucy Burgers, Meatloaf Burger Patties, and Smoked Hamburgers.

🍴Serving suggestions

Serve on a whole wheat or other bun. Top with a slice of tomato, red onion, avocado, pickle slices, and lettuce. Add mustard, ketchup, or other condiments. Cheese and bacon may be added, but they defeat the low-fat theme.

Side dishes like a salad, Baked French fries, coleslaw, or veggies.

Baked French Fries

Learn the secrets to the best oven-baked French fries that are tasty, crispy, and healthier. Cut them yourself or use frozen fries. The perfect side dish for burgers or any casual meal.

pile of golden French Fries

❄️Storing leftovers

Leftovers may be stored airtight in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen for 4 months. They can be reheated in the microwave, an air fryer, or a skillet.

❓FAQs

Why put an indentation in a burger?

An indentation will prevent the burger from puffing up. Without this, you will almost burn the outside before the center is done.

The indentation in the center of a burger about one-third of the thickness of the pattie and the size of a quarter or a bit larger.

Can I use ground turkey or chicken?

Sure, but ground chicken or turkey needs different handling, seasoning, and cooking temperatures—see Ground Chicken or Turkey Burgers.

Why should burgers be rested off the heat before serving?

During cooking, water is forced out of the meat's cells. By giving the meat some time off the heat, the water will be reabsorbed back into the cells, increasing moisture and tenderness.

🐄About lean ground beef

Everybody "knows" you should have an 80/20 hamburger for great taste and moisture. That is 20% fat; in a ¼ lb burger, it is over a tablespoon of fat. Ground turkey is usually 93/7, but lean ground beef will be 90/10 to 96/4 for extra lean ground beef. So lean ground beef can easily have about the same or less fat and calories than ground turkey.

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

📖The Recipe Card

Low Fat burger with fries.

Low-Fat Burgers

5 from 1 vote
From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Learn how to make healthy, low-fat burgers with low-fat ground beef that are still juicy and full of flavor. Adding a panade for moisture and seasoning lets you easily make healthy hamburger meat for burgers everybody will love.
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 burgers

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef - 90-96% lean
  • 2 tablespoons crushed oats, crushed crackers, bread, or panko bread crumbs
  • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Montreal seasoning - or seasoning of choice
  • hamburger buns for serving

Instructions
 

  • cleaning and oiling grill grates.
    Preheat the grill to high, clean, and oil the grates. For the stovetop, prepare a large pan, nonstick, or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with a light coat of oil.
  • Crushing oats for a panade.
    Prepare the starch for the panade, like crushed oats, crushed crackers, bread, or panko bread crumbs.
  • Mixing crushed oats into low-fat burgers.
    To the burger, add the starch, ½ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of Montreal Seasoning, or another seasoning and hand mix, but don't overmix.
  • Forming burger patties with a dimple.
    Form into ¼ to ⅓ pound burger patties about 3 ½ to 4-inch diameter, then depress the center of the patties about a third of the thickness and about the diameter of a quarter to prevent puffing.
  • Flipping a burger pattie on a grill.
    Cook over high heat on the grill or in a skillet with some oil over medium-high heat. Flip every 4-5 minutes until an internal temperature of 160°—about 10 minutes on the grill but a bit longer on the stovetop.
  • Burger with fries.
    Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

 

  1. Use 90% to 96% ground beef. Ground chicken or turkey needs different handling, seasoning, and cooking temperatures—see Ground Chicken or Turkey Burgers.
  2. Remember to indent the center of the burger. This will prevent the burger from puffing up, which can cause the outside to burn before the center is done.
  3. The minimum safe internal temperature is 160°.
  4. Nutrition is for a ¼ pound of 95/5 ground beef.

Your Own Private Notes

Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 176.6 kcal (9%)Carbohydrates : 3.9 g (1%)Protein : 25 g (50%)Fat : 6 g (9%)Saturated Fat : 2.6 g (13%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 0.4 gMonounsaturated Fat : 2.5 gTrans Fat : 0.4 gCholesterol : 70.3 mg (23%)Sodium : 111.6 mg (5%)Potassium : 405.6 mg (12%)Fiber : 0.3 g (1%)Sugar : 0.3 gVitamin A : 13.2 IUVitamin C : 0.1 mgCalcium : 24.3 mg (2%)Iron : 3.1 mg (17%)
Serving size is my estimate of a normal size. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors.

Editor's Note: Originally Published August 15, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

Molly and Lilly sharing a good stick,

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  1. Ellen says

    July 29, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Dr Dan, Your website is super helpful. My family really enjoyed these burgers, the pan seared oven baked chicken breasts and the roasted red potatoes. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Travis says

    July 14, 2018 at 11:31 am

    Is there much grease? I just got out of the hospital with instructions to eat low fat, no fried or greasy foods.

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      July 14, 2018 at 12:52 pm

      Hi Travis,
      Since this uses 95% burger, there is 11 gm fat in an 8oz burger. That is a large burger. Go down to a normal 1/4 to 1/3 pound burger will decrease the fat proportionately. The "quarter-pounder" is only 5.5 gms. That is low fat especially relatively to a full fat burger with about 24.

      There is very little fat to drain here. The oats act to retain moisture and probably most of the fat stays also. Not much of anything drains from these burgers.

      Your doctor probably gave you an number of fat grams per day so you can work it in.

      Also, my best no-fat recipe is Zero Fat Biscuits and check the Low-Fat category at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/category/low-fat/

      Good luck with the diet.

      Dan

  3. Farzana Bilkes says

    February 05, 2018 at 8:42 am

    very useful, thanks

    Reply

DrDan imageHi, I'm DrDan.
Welcome to 101 Cooking for Two, the home of great everyday recipes with easy step-by-step photo instructions.
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