Best Burger Recipes Plus Recipes for Fries, Pickles and Homemade Sauces

Our best burger recipes will make you what some might call gourmet burgers, but for us are just delicious homemade burgers that are a bit different to the usual hamburgers, cheese burgers and smash burgers. We’ve got recipes for fried chicken burgers, a char siu burger, a corn fritter burger, a chicken schnitty burger, and more. Plus we have recipes for fries, pickles and sauces.

It’s International Burger Day, so we’re sharing our best burger recipes if you like the idea of using that as an excuse to make a midweek meal of homemade burgers. I’m making Middle Eastern inspired burgers I’ve been recipe-testing with herby lamb patties on brioche buns spread with creamy hummus (or baba ganoush), piled with tabbouli, and sides of spicy Lebanese potatoes, cucumber yoghurt salad and farmers salad. I’ll add that recipe here soon.

I’ve had burger cravings recently. My Dad was a master at making burgers. My parents had a beachside French restaurant when I was a child, and a popular takeaway shop in a holiday town when I was in my late teens. They made ‘quality’ fast food, from hot dogs to burgers, and everything from scratch, including the burger patties dad prepared every morning.

It’s autumn going on winter here in Australia. Normally I crave burgers during summer, when the sultry weather gets me nostalgic for long hot days on the beach with my sun-worshipping parents, punctuated by lunch from the nearest takeaway shop. We’d brush the sand off our bronzed skin, slip on t-shirts and slide on thongs to go grab burgers, fries and icy-cold frothy milkshakes.

But not just any kind of burger, a good old-fashioned Australian-style ‘burger with the lot’, which back in the day always tasted homemade even when it was from a takeaway: shredded iceberg lettuce, slices of tangy beetroot, ripe tomatoes, sweet pineapple, a big fat juicy beef patty, charred onions, and melted cheese between warm toasted buns sprinkled with sesame seeds. I’m making burgers with the lot this weekend, just the way dad did, and I’ll add that recipe soon, too.

In the meantime, enjoy our best burger recipes for Terence’s chicken katsu burger with tangy Japanese-style barbecue sauce; char siu pork burger with Asian slaw (like the best bacon burger you’ve tried with an Asian twist); a vegetarian corn fritter breakfast burger with fried egg and homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce; a crunchy chicken schnitzel burger with creamy pickle mayo and spicy potato wedges; and a spicy fried chicken burger, made with chef Morgy McGlone’s famously fiery Southern-style Belles Hot Chicken, American cheese, and tangy mayo; and recipes for potato fries, homemade sauces and pickles.

But before I tell you all about our best burger recipes, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve cooked and enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by supporting our Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon; buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; book a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks. Now let me tell you all about our best burger recipes.

Best Burger Recipes Plus Recipes for Fries, Pickles and Homemade Sauces

Here are our best burger recipes, along with our favourite recipes for homemade fries, pickles and sauces. And if you love a generous scoop of potato salad on the side of your burger as much as your barbecue, we’ve got potato salad recipes here. Burger lovers might want to bookmark this page, as we’ll be adding more burger recipes from time to time.

Chicken Katsu Burger Recipe

We love our chicken cutlets and this chicken katsu burger recipe places a crunchy tender chicken cutlet, prepared using the classic Japanese katsu method of panko-breaded and deep-fried chicken between spicy Asian slaw, tangy Japanese-style barbecue sauce, and soft burger buns.

Serve these with hand-cut fries (recipe below) and you’re in chicken katsu burger heaven. We love these burgers so much, we eat them as often as we do Japanese pork tonkatsu. While we love tonkatsu in sandwiches, tender chicken thighs fried with panko breadcrumbs give the kind of crunch we love about the Belles Hot Chicken burger, below.

You could use store-bought tonkatsu sauce for this chicken katsu burger recipe, but homemade sauce is infinitely better and is simple to make. This tonkatsu sauce recipe can be made with ingredients that you’ll probably have at home if you make Asian food, except perhaps Worcestershire sauce.

As it’s a hearty burger, Terence makes a creamy slaw with a mayo-based sauce made with Japanese mayonnaise to hold the cabbage and carrot together. Also, because we love Japanese mayonnaise.

Chicken Katsu Burger Recipe for Crunchy Tender Chicken Cutlets with Spicy Slaw

Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe

Our corn fritter breakfast burger recipe with fried egg and Thai sweet chilli sauce makes another of our best burger recipes, an incredibly delicious vegetarian breakfast burger that’s packed with flavour and crunch.

With a Southeast Asian twist on the classic breakfast burger, it’s so good you won’t miss the burger patty and bacon, and the grease that comes with it. Make our Thai corn fritters recipe and a batch of our homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce, then you’re all set to go.

Breakfast burgers in Australia feature bacon and egg with lettuce and a sauce, either tomato sauce (ketchup) or barbecue sauce. American breakfast burgers typically include the addition of a meat patty with bacon and egg, which is a bit too heavy for us these days – and perhaps for you, too, unless you’ve just been for a surf, a workout or have a hangover that needs curing.

This corn fritter breakfast burger with fried egg and Thai sweet chilli sauce is just right. It’s packed with texture and flavour, courtesy of our corn fritters and sweet chilli sauce, and while it’s filling, it won’t make you so full that you need a nanna nap after breakfast – or brunch or lunch.

Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

Char Siu Pork Burger Recipe with Asian Slaw, Crunchy Cucumber and Sriracha Mayo

Our char siu pork burger recipe with Asian slaw is like the best bacon burger you’ve ever tried with an Asian twist, and it’s easily another of our best burger recipes. Using skinless pork belly strips marinated in classic Chinese char siu sauce, it’s a flavour-packed burger with a little kick from Sriracha mayonnaise and a refreshing Asian-style slaw in every bite.

Instead of bacon rashers, we use fresh skinless pork belly strips, which Terence marinates in Chinese char siu sauce. We use homemade char siu marinade, but if you’re time-poor you can use a store bought char siu sauce.

After marinating the pork belly strips, Terence then bakes the pork belly slices in the oven. It’s also fine to very quickly sear them off on a barbecue. We find that baking the char siu gives us the latitude to quickly get a little char on the pork using the grill or broiler function (top element) of the oven. You could also quickly flash them on a griddle pan.

Got leftover char siu? See our char siu pork recipes for a char siu omelette, fried rice, noodles, and more.

When it comes to making the Sriracha mayo, one of our favourite condiments, we use Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise or Hellmann’s mayonnaise. We use our own homemade Sriracha, but if we’re buying Sriracha, we prefer the original Thai Sriracha to the American Huy Fong or rooster brand, but use your favourite brand.

Char Siu Pork Burger Recipe with Asian Slaw, Crunchy Cucumber and Sriracha Mayo

Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe with Southern Fried Chicken and Tangy Mayonnaise

This spicy fried chicken sandwich recipe makes a classic fried chicken sandwich or fried chicken burger if you prefer. We Aussies would call this a fried chicken burger, but as the inspiration was an Australian chef’s American-style Southern fried chicken and we loads of American readers, we’ve gone with the American name.

Our spicy fried chicken sandwich is made with Australian chef Morgy McGlone’s famously fiery Southern-style Belles Hot Chicken, crunchy lettuce, melty American cheese, and tangy mayonnaise. If you’re a fan of the Aussie chef’s take on Nashville-style Southern fried chicken, you’ll love this spicy fried chicken burger. Or spicy fried chicken sandwich.

We like to pile crispy shoestring fries on the side, but you could also serve these spicy fried chicken burgers with crunchy hand-cut fries or spicy potato wedges. Recipes for all below. If you have leftover spicy fried chicken, make my famous chicken fried rice.

A quick tip from Terence: if someone in your household makes pastry, do not use their pastry brush for the spicy oil seasoning, use a silicone pastry brush. Thank us later. Use a digital thermometer to check the oil temperature and if you haven’t already, consider buying a dedicated deep fryer.

Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe with Southern Fried Chicken and Tangy Mayonnaise

Chicken Schnitzel Burger Recipe with Creamy Pickle Mayo and Bacon, Cabbage and Tomato

This chicken schnitzel burger recipe will make you our crunchy chicken schnitzel with panko breadcrumbs, parmesan and lemon zest, spread with creamy pickle mayo and topped with bacon, cabbage and tomato between soft burger buns. Serve with spicy potato wedges.

When we finally bit the bullet a couple of years ago and made chicken schnitzel for the first time in more than 25 years in a bout of homesickness, we were very pleasantly surprised. Served with my amazing warm potato salad recipe with anchovies, capers, chives and celery leaves, it was damn good.

It was so good that we made it a couple of times for ‘testing purposes’ using both shallow and deep frying. Crispy on the outside and moist and flavourful to bite into, the chicken schnitzel and potato salad made a very hearty and yet simple dish.

After the third iteration Terence thought that our chicken schnitzel would make a great base for a chicken schnitty burger. Little did we know that chicken schnitzel burgers were already a ‘thing’ back home in Australia. We’ve never tried them, but we think our’s is pretty delicious. Let us know what you think.

Chicken Schnitzel Burger Recipe with Creamy Pickle Mayo and Bacon, Cabbage and Tomato

Spicy Potato Wedges Recipe

Along with our best burger recipes, we have some recipes for our favourite homemade fries for you, starting with this spicy potato wedges recipe for the classic Australian café, pub and bar snack of potato wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream.

These skin-on potato wedges can be fried or baked, but we’ve gone for the oven-baked route.  Don’t worry, they’ll still make you potato wedges that are crispy on the outside and fluffy within. These spicy wedges make a fantastic side for burgers. Or serve them with that classic Aussie combo of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce.

Spicy Potato Wedges Recipe With Sweet Chilli Sauce and Sour Cream

Hand Cut Potato Chips Recipe

Our hand cut potato chips recipe makes perfect crispy fries to serve as a side with one of our best burgers or fish and chips or moules frites or whatever else you like to serve with fries. Our mouthwatering potato chips are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

There are a couple of ways to achieve this, but ultimately you need to fry the chips twice. Fortunately, our method doesn’t mean hours in the kitchen and these are better and healthier than any frozen potato chips you’ll eat.

Hand Cut Potato Chips Recipe for Crispy Fries for Your Fish and Chips

Best Shoestring Fries Recipe

Our best shoestring fries recipe makes crunchy matchstick fries, which are the perfect side for burgers, as well as fried chicken, sandwiches, barbecued meats, and beef Stroganoff (in fact, any of my best Stroganoff recipes, actually).

Tuck into these super-crispy skinny potato fries as you would French fries or wedges, sprinkled with your favourite salts or spices or doused in home-made condiments such as Sriracha, mayo or sweet chilli sauce.

Best Shoestring Fries Recipe for the Perfect Side for Burgers and Beef Stroganoff

Homemade Sriracha Sauce Recipe

This authentic homemade Sriracha sauce recipe makes the real thing – the Thai hot sauce that tastes just like it does in its place of origin, the coastal city of Sri Racha, Thailand. This spicy sauce is far simpler to make than you might imagine and you can tailor it to suit your own taste.

With so few ingredients, it’s the quality of the chillies that make this authentic homemade Sriracha sauce recipe so special. Using Thai chillies from Thailand or a similar variety is your key to an authentic Thai Sriracha sauce. This is another of our favourite healthy fast food recipes.

This Sriracha Sauce Recipe Makes the Best Homemade Thai Sriracha Sauce You’ll Taste

Homemade Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe

Once you make this easy Thai sweet chilli sauce recipe the first time, you’ll remember why that bottle of sweet chilli sauce you bought a couple of years ago is still in the fridge. To be fair, it’s probably still edible because of all the preservatives and thickeners that are added to commercial sauces. But if it tastes like most Thai sweet chilli sauce brands it’s probably sickly sweet.

This homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce is so perfectly balanced and super easy to make that you might never buy a supermarket sweet chilli sauce again. Most commercial sauces use potassium sorbate to prevent mould occurring but this homemade chilli sauce will keep very well for at least a month or two in your fridge, as long as you always dipping clean utensils into the jar, so as not to contaminate the sauce.

Homemade Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe for the Best Sweet Chilli Sauce You’ll Taste

Russian Dill Pickles Recipe

My Russian dill pickles recipe makes old-fashioned gherkins or pickled cucumbers just like my Russian-Ukrainian grandparents made. While they used the water bath canning method, this recipe is for easy refrigerator pickles but they’re still delicious.

I love to sneak a layer of finely sliced gherkins onto my burgers, while Terence likes to serve dill pickles on the side of burgers. Make a jar and you’ll use them with everything.

I include pickles in devilled eggs, potato salad, beef stew, barley and pickle soup, blini with smoked salmon, buckwheat kasha, and my mini mimosa salads. We also serve them with beer battered fish and chips, in homemade tartare sauce, and with Southern style fried chicken.

Russian Dill Pickles Recipe for Homemade Gherkins Just Like My Russian Grandparents Made

Mexican Pickled Jalapenos Recipe

This homemade pickled jalapeños recipe makes another of the best burger accompaniments. Jalapeños are fantastic on all kinds of burgers, and we like to serve a dish of jalapeños on the side so guests can add more if they like.

Like a jar of dill pickles, homemade jalapeños are not going to sit at the back of the fridge as they’re so good with so many dishes, particularly Mexican and Tex-Mex (obviously). We sprinkle them on top of lots of Mexican breakfast dishes along with tostadas, chilli con carne and nachos.

Homemade Mexican Pickled Jalapenos Recipe for Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles

Yucatan Pickled Onions Recipe

Our easy Mexican quick pickled onions recipe, made with purple shallots, makes zingy refrigerator pickles in the style of Mexico’s Yucatan pink onion pickles. These pickles are a perfect condiment, garnish or side for so many burger recipes, not only Mexican dishes.

Sure, they’re terrific with tacos, tostadas, tortas, and any number of Mexican breakfast recipes, but they’re also fantastic layered on burgers, sandwiches and hot dogs. We also use them on dishes from Southeast Asia and the MiddleEast.

Mexican Quick Pickled Onions Recipe for Tangy Pink Onions to Brighten Your Tacos

Quick Pickled Vegetables Recipe for Mexican Escabeche in the Taqueria Pickles Style

This quick pickled vegetables recipe makes homemade vegetable pickles for Mexican escabeche. These crunchy pickles are in the style of the tangy Mexican pickles typically served at restaurants and taquerias in Mexico. They’re not only delicious, they’re versatile, so you can adjust the pickle brine to your taste, softening the tang or giving them more bite.

If you’ve spent time in Mexico, you’d remember the tangy vegetable pickles, usually served in a small dish that waiters set down on the table when they leave the menus or take your order. If you’re at a fonda, they might come with salsa and tortilla chips or bread; at a fancy restaurant there might be a whole tray of different pickles, salsas and perhaps guacamole; while at a simple taqueria, you’ll get a dish of pickles when you order your cervezas.

Quick Pickled Vegetables Recipe for Mexican Escabeche in the Taqueria Pickles Style

Published 20 July 2023; Updated and Re-published 26 May 2025

If you’ve cooked and enjoyed any of our our best burger recipes, please do let us know in the comments below. We love hearing how our recipes turn out for readers and welcome your feedback and tips.