Mini burgers are our go-to for every birthday, garden party and games night. Twenty small buns, twenty small patties, one pot of onion chutney. That feeds a whole table without anyone having to wrestle with a greasy oversized burger.
We have been making these mini burgers for years, and the real star on the plate is never the patty. It is the onion chutney. 300 g onions, 100 g sugar, a splash of red wine, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of balsamic vinegar. That is the whole list. But how we treat the onions in the Thermomix® decides whether the burgers taste like a fast-food joint or a proper bistro.
Mini Burgers with Onion Chutney, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 25 ✓
- 1/2 cube fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 180 g milk
- 100 g water
- 40 g butter (at room temperature)
- 500 g flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 300 g onions
- 1/4 chilli
- 100 g sugar
- 50 g red wine
- 20 g Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pinch pepper
- 2 tbsp red balsamic vinegar
- 500 g minced meat
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 little gem lettuce
- 2 tomatoes
- 100 g mild cheese sliced
Instructions 0 / 10
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1
Mix the dough.
Add yeast, sugar, salt, milk, water and butter cut into pieces to the mixing bowl and warm for 4 min / 37°C / speed 1. Add flour and mix for 4 min / kneading mode.
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2
Prove the dough.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave to prove, covered, in a warm place for 45 minutes.
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3
Chop the onions.
Peel and halve the onions, then place in the mixing bowl with the chilli and chop for 5 sec / speed 5 using the spatula. Add the sugar and cook for 7 min / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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4
Cook the chutney.
Add the red wine, Worcestershire sauce and pepper, then cook for 20 min / 95°C / reverse direction / speed 1 without the measuring cup. Season to taste with the vinegar.
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5
Cook the patties.
Meanwhile, combine the minced meat, egg, salt and pepper, shape into 20 balls, press into patties and fry in a frying pan with the oil until cooked through.
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6
Shape the buns.
Preheat the oven to 175°C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper. Divide the dough into 4 portions, cut each into 5 pieces, shape into balls and place on the tray.
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7
Bake the buns.
Whisk the egg yolk with the milk and brush over the dough balls. Scatter with sesame seeds and bake on the middle shelf for approximately 15 minutes. Leave to cool.
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8
Prepare the burger fillings.
Wash the lettuce, shake dry and tear into pieces. Wash the tomatoes, slice and cut the cheese slices into quarters.
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9
Assemble the burgers.
Slice the buns open and spread with onion chutney. Layer on the patties, then the cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, close with the lid and secure with a cocktail stick.
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10
Serve.
Arrange on a platter and serve while still warm.
Tip: If the onion chutney feels like too much effort, you can make a quick dressing from ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard instead.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the chutney cooks in two stages
The recipe has two cooking stages for the onions, and that is no coincidence. Stage one: chopped onions with sugar, 7 min / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 1. This is what we call the dry phase. The onion juices are drawn out, the sugar absorbs them and the whole thing starts to caramelise. Reverse direction is essential, otherwise the onions would be mush after 7 minutes.
Stage two: red wine, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and vinegar go in, then 20 min / 95°C / reverse direction / speed 1 without the measuring cup. Without the measuring cup is the key. The liquid needs to evaporate, otherwise the chutney stays runny instead of becoming syrupy. At the end you are left with soft, glossy onion strips in a dark, shiny reduction. Sweet and sour, slightly bitter, with the heat of the chilli in the background.
Anyone who skips those 27 minutes and cooks everything in one go will not get the same result. Without the dry phase the caramel note is missing, and the wine only takes the edge off the raw onion. With the dry phase, fruit sweetness, sugar and acidity come together into a rounded flavour.
Mini buns at 40 g per piece
The buns are a classic yeast dough made with 500 g flour, 180 g milk, 100 g water, 40 g butter and half a cube of fresh yeast. In the Thermomix® it runs as usual: 4 min / 37°C / speed 1 for the liquid, then 4 min / kneading mode with the flour. Leave to prove for 45 minutes and you are done. We always err on the side of a longer prove rather than a shorter one, because the buns stay dense if the dough has not had enough time.
The real trick is in the portioning. The dough makes 20 buns, which is roughly 40 g of dough per piece. We do not divide the dough by eye. Instead, we cut it into 4 portions first, then cut each portion into 5 pieces. That way every bun is the same size and they all bake evenly. If the balls are uneven, half of them will be dry while the other half is still doughy.
Before baking, whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbsp of milk, brush the dough balls and scatter with sesame seeds. Bake at 175°C fan for 15 minutes on the middle shelf. Anyone who wants to skip making the buns from scratch can scale down our Thermomix® burger bun recipe to suit the smaller format.
Patties: 25 g each, fried hot and fast
500 g minced meat, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. That is the entire seasoning base. We mix it by hand, not in the Thermomix®, because the mince gets too fine in the machine and the patties lose their texture. From 500 g we shape 20 balls of about 25 g each, press them flat and fry them in a hot pan with 3 tbsp of oil for roughly 2 minutes per side.
Hot means genuinely hot: the pan needs to be properly preheated before the mince goes in. Otherwise water is drawn out of the meat, the meat steams instead of frying and no crust forms. With these small patties the whole thing moves quickly. We prefer two batches in the pan rather than frying all 20 at once, so the temperature does not drop.
The most common pitfalls
Chutney stays runny
This almost always happens because the measuring cup was not removed in stage two. With the cup in place the steam condenses back into the mixing bowl and the liquid barely evaporates. Our fix: remove the measuring cup and place the steamer basket on top instead of the lid. It prevents splashing but lets the steam escape.
Patties turn dry
With mini patties the surface area is huge relative to the volume. Fry them too long and there is no juicy meat left inside. Our fix: 2 minutes per side is plenty for such a thin shape. We prefer a mixed mince with some pork rather than pure beef, as it stays juicier.
Buns split during baking
If we do not give the dough long enough to prove, or if the balls have not been rolled tightly enough, the buns crack on top. Our fix: take the 45-minute proving time seriously. The dough must visibly double in volume. When shaping, roll each piece under your palm with tension until the surface is smooth.
Assembling with mild cheese, tomato and lettuce
We assemble the mini burgers in this order: bun base, onion chutney on both halves, patty, quartered cheese slice, tomato slice, lettuce, top bun. Push a cocktail stick through and done. A mild cheese works well here because it does not overpower everything the way a strong cheddar might, and the kids are happier with it. If you want more bite, use a young Gouda or Emmenthal.
A tip from twenty rounds of serving: spread all the bun halves with chutney first, then add the fillings. If we put the chutney directly onto the hot patties it melts away and the bottom bun stays dry. On the bun, the chutney acts as both a moisture barrier and a flavour base at the same time.
Variations for different occasions
Mini cheeseburgers for children: Leave out the chutney and spread a small dollop of homemade Thermomix® burger sauce on the base instead, then let the cheese melt directly onto the hot patty.
BBQ version: Use our Thermomix® BBQ sauce instead of the onion chutney. The smoky note works especially well with mince that has a higher beef content.
Vegetarian: Replace the patties with lentil or chickpea patties. The chutney and cheese stay the same. It works surprisingly well because the sweet and sour chutney balances out the missing meat flavour.
Pulled style: Instead of patties, pile 200 g of pulled pork or pulled chicken onto the buns. The chutney pairs brilliantly with slow-cooked pork.
What to serve alongside mini burgers
On a buffet we like to combine the burgers with our Big Mac-style layered salad, which already fits the burger theme visually. Chips or sweet potato wedges from the oven are the obvious side, but when there are lots of guests a crisp green salad works well as a fresh contrast.
As a dipping sauce we serve our homemade Thermomix® burger sauce on the side. Anyone who likes more heat can stir in a spoonful of Thermomix® aioli for a garlicky kick.
Preparing ahead and storing
The onion chutney is the part we love to make a day in advance. Left overnight in the fridge it matures and tastes even better than when freshly made. In a sealed jar it keeps easily for 7 days. Sealed in sterilised jars it will keep for 6 months.
The bun dough can be prepared the evening before and left to prove overnight in the fridge. The next morning take it out, leave it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes and then shape. The patty mixture can be made at most half a day in advance. Leave it any longer and the salt draws water out of the meat and it turns grey.
Also good with: Coleslaw.
Assembled burgers should be eaten within an hour, otherwise the lettuce wilts and the bun absorbs too much moisture. Leftover patties keep for 2 days in the fridge and taste good cold in a packed lunch or briefly reheated in the pan.
Anyone looking for more burger ideas will find all the components here: Thermomix® burger sauce, BBQ sauce, burger buns and the Big Mac layered salad as a side.
