Avocado Salad Wrap Burger

Nothing says summer like a big, juicy, mouthwatering burger.

And nothing says cool and refreshing like a crunchy, fresh, avocado filled salad.

When it comes to my burgers, I've gotten so used to ditching the breads that I just had to come up with the best of both worlds -

Salad plus burger. The good old lettuce wrap burger. I like to call it a salad burger.

But have you ever had a lettuce wrapped burger? Oh my goodness... Messy!

You end up eating half of the burger with a fork because it falls apart. And the filling and drippings fall out the bottom and end up all over your arms.

Not this scrumptious burger.

How to make a lettuce wrap burger less messy

What's the trick? Lots of lettuce, and wrapping it up nice and tidy in wax paper.

For the filling I've used avocado, tomato and red onion. I do love my red onion. You can add some hotness with some peppers if you want. You could also use classic burger fixings.

You'll want to use lettuce leaves big enough to do the job. I used romaine.

Lettuce will split when you fold it crosswise, so when you tuck in you burger and toppings take advantage of the natural lengthwise fold of the lettuce leaf.

Place the burger on one side of the lettuce leaf with the edge touching the lettuce spine. Then and wrap other side of the lettuce upward around your burger. The fold the rest of the leaf around the sides.

Repeat with a couple more leaves of lettuce in different directions, overlapping them. You'll get lots of coverage for your burger and a nice salad as well!

Then wrap it up in some waxed paper to keep it all tidy and under control while you eat it.

Top this burger off with healthy sides

Serve with some lightly grilled asparagus, some grapes, maybe some sliced radishes and wedges of tangerine.

As always, you can always swap out the burger for chicken or fish or a vegetarian option if that's your inclination.

Enjoy! Tell us what you think!

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground organic grass fed beef
• pepper and salt to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato (about 4 large cherry tomatoes or equivalent)
• 1 avocado
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• avocado mayonnaise
• 8-12 large romaine lettuce leaves (depending on size)
• cheese slices optional

Instructions:

Prepare the avocado filling. Remove the peel and pit from the avocado and place the avocado in a small bowel. Smash with a fork to desired consistency. Chop the red onion, discarding the outer layer of skin. Chop the tomatoes. Add the chopped onion and tomatoes to the avocado and mix. Set aside.

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves. Trim off the thickened end. You can also trim the thickness of the remaining stem a little by slicing some of the stem off lengthwise.

Prepare the burgers. Form the ground beef into 4 equal patties. Pepper and salt to taste. Cook over a stovetop or on the grill to desired doneness.

Assembling the burgers. Place a lettuce leaf with the thick end of the stem to the right. Place the burger on top of the upper leaf near the right edge, with the bottom resting at the stem. Spread some of the mayonnaise on the burger. You can use other spreads as well if you desire. If you are adding cheese, place it now on top of the burger.

Fold the bottom half of the lettuce leaf up over the burger. You should have some extra lettuce left on the left side. Fold that snugly up over the top of the burger. Now do the same with another leaf of lettuce but this time starting with the thick end of the stem to the left. With the extra leaf on the right, fold that snugly to the back of the burger. You can use a third leaf if needed or if you desire a more salad-y burger.

Spoon in and spread the avocado mixture between one side of the burger and the lettuce wrapping.

Cut of a piece of waxed paper about 8-9 inches from the paper roll. Place the salad burger in the middle on the top half. Fold the bottom half up over the burger. Then fold the sides around snugly to form a firm envelope.

Enjoy! Tell us what you think!