9 Best Burger Toppings For A Mouth-Watering Experience

Creating a mouth-watering burger that you’ll crave well after it’s gone means excellent toppings.

The meat patty quality is essential to a great burger, but toppings are the pièce de résistance to elevate it to new levels. 

Some ingredients complement a tasty burger patty better than others. A good rule of thumb is to choose three toppings to elevate your burger.

It isn’t easy in a world of loaded burgers, but trust me. Toppings that mesh together well are what elevates a good burger to great. 

Mushrooms

Most people think mushrooms on a burger are gross, but it’s all about the type of burger you’re creating.

Mixing sauteed mushrooms with onions, a touch of gravy, and Swiss or Gouda makes a great patty melt-style burger. 

Tomatoes

There’s nothing more refreshing than biting into a burger loaded up with crisp tomatoes.

Avoid the mushy, mealy tomatoes for your burgers as much as possible. They’re not essential, and some prefer to leave them off entirely – but they do bring a nice crunch. 

Eggs

A fried egg is a great topping for anyone who wants to create a breakfast burger. The runny yolk adds a rich taste that pairs well with cheeses like Swiss.

You’ll often find eggs on specialty burgers, but the extra protein can be a tad heavy to digest. 

Avocados

Western burgers are nothing without a few slices of avocado gracing the bun. The smooth, creamy taste of the avocado brings a butteriness to the burger that’s missing.

These slices tend to be kind of slippery, so they pair well with rough leaf lettuce to hold them in place. 

Bacon

The next best thing you can add to a hamburger after cheese is definitely bacon. Bacon is available at nearly all fast-food restaurants for a good reason – it’s the perfect burger topper.

The salty and slightly oily quality of a good strip of bacon brings plenty of flavor to a burger patty. 

Pickles

Want the crunch of tomato on your burger, but without the gross taste? A pickle on your burger is what you want. The salty crunch of pickle chips on a classic burger is unsurpassed.

Pickles are traditionally made from cucumbers, but pickled anything is good on a burger. Check out kimchi for an exotic pickled flavor on your next burger. 

Condiments

Mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce – it doesn’t matter what your favorite condiment is, it belongs on a burger. A dry burger and bun are unappetizing, and condiments bring an extra layer of flavor to burgers.

You can even mix flavors with mayonnaise like garlic to create an aioli with a completely different taste profile. 

Onions

Onions are one of the most versatile burger toppings you can deploy on barbecue day. Want a fresh, crisp spring burger? Serve them up raw with a couple of slices of tomato and pickles.

Want a banging patty melt? Sautee the onions with mushrooms for a savory treat. Onions are often omitted from the best burgers, but they shouldn’t be. 

Cheese

The king of toppings for a hamburger is the one that changes the name. The difference between a hamburger and a cheeseburger is night and day.

While a great American cheese is the bespoke partner of a hamburger – don’t discount other cheeses. Smoked Gouda, cheddar, Swiss, and Munster can all create a memorable melt.