One of my favorite Italian appetizers is our family Meatball Recipe, these burgers are similar in flavor except gourmet topped with Marinara Sauce, melted cheese, and some favorite pizza toppings.
Topped with homemade marinara sauce, and loaded with a blend of provolone, mozzarella, and grated cheese, it's a gourmet Italian masterpiece.
The burger bursts with garlic and Italian flavors however you can even dress it up with classic American toppings if you would like a traditional style burger just seasoned Italian style.
Growing up sometimes we would use any leftover fried meatballs, with our Traditional Sunday Sauce and make this delicious pizza burger.
Whether you use hard-crusted Italian bread, a ciabatta roll, or make this into a panini sandwich, this is one of the best Italian burgers you'll ever sink your teeth in.
The homemade ciabatta bread rolls are pillow soft and make a big difference giving this Italian burger the "wow" factor!
Pizza Burgers from an Italian Household
All food no matter what it was turned Italian in our household some like their burgers plain with sauce and mozzarella or all dressed up with peppers, mushrooms, onions sauce and cheese.
Grandma from Rome, Italy at 17 years old came to America, and mom's family from Bari, Italy, Italianized it!
These are the perfect example of how they transformed hamburgers into a delicious Italian juicy burger, the best ever!
Of course, you will also need to make Italian Style French Fries of Dad's Home Fries, or try Grandma's favorite Salt and Vinegar Potatoes, for a side dish!
Pick your own toppings (set up a serving station)
- sauteed mushrooms,
- any kinds of peppers, onions, raw onions, peppers, mushrooms
- sliced tomato
- fresh tomatoes pureed
- more marinara sauce
- chopped crinkled black olives
- mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup(for the classic style)
- thick-sliced provolone, mozzarella, or another kind you prefer
- pickles
- bean salad
- romaine lettuce, arugula, butter, or iceberg chopped
- hard-boiled or fried eggs
- pepperoni, capicola or a slice of soppressata
- crispy bacon, prosciutto, or cooked pancetta
- Italian cooked sliced sausage, peppers, and onions all together
- red pepper flakes and grated Pecorino Romano cheese for garnishing
Tools
- measuring cups
- knife
- chopping board
- iron skillet or griddle
- a hamburger press is optional
- saucepan
- use a cupcake tin for assorted condiments for serving
Italian Style Ingredients (scroll down to the recipe card for the exact measurements)
- Ground chuck or sirloin
- Italian bread crumbs
- Eggs
- Italian fresh herbs or seasonings
- Garlic
- Wine is Optional
- Cheese
- Olive oil
- Rolls
- Marinara sauce
- Homemade ciabatta bread rolls,
- see Topping Suggestions
Cooking Methods
- air fryer: set the air fryer to 400 degrees on an oil-sprayed basket see the meat chart for cooking times. Add the sauce and cheese 3 minutes before the burgers are completed cooking just to melt the cheese
- grilled: oil sprays the grates, heat the grill to medium heat, and grill to the desired doneness. Add the sauce and cheese and place the cover down for 2 minutes after the burgers are cooked. and cheese is melted
- oven: bake at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes in a cast iron gridded skillet sprayed with cooking oil Add sauce and cheese until cheese melts for another 5 minutes or broil the tops until cheese melts.
More Burgers We Love
Mom's Baked Italian Burgers
Cabernet Venison Burgers
Lamb Burgers
Chili Cheese Dog Burgers
Provolone Alfredo Burgers
Pin for later
Building Pizzaiola Burgers
The easiest way to please everyone is by setting up a serving bar.
We use assorted cheese slices on ours, olives, crispy cooked bacon, roasted peppers, sauteed mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and arugula, just to name a few!
Pizza burgers no matter what time of the year it is are a true comfort food and certainly will make any pizza and burger lover happy.
Making Grandma's meatballs mixture is our favorite burger, just adapt to your family's homemade meatballs recipe or use ours to get the true taste of Italian Pizzaiola Burgers!.
Pizzaiola Burgers

Yield: 6
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 27 Min
Italian Pizzaiola burgers, topped with sauce and cheese and your favorite pizza toppings.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Ground Chuck or ground sirloin
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 3 tablespoons Pecorino Romano grated cheese
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 2 tablespoons of Merlot wine is optional
- 3 small clove garlic minced fine
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup of homemade marinara sauce or store-bought in a jar
- sliced provolone or whole milk mozzarella from the deli
- Rolls Suggestions for Serving:
- Ciabatta rolls, French Rolls, Italian thickly sliced bread or Hard Rolls
- Tools: gridded cast iron pan, panini maker or indoor grill, outdoor gas grill
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix all ingredients together with your hands until is evenly blended.
- Shape the beef into round patties:
- Heat a gridded cast iron pan until hot oil is sprayed or use some olive oil.
- Place the patties into the hot pan and cook on both sides following a chart on the desired doneness.
- In the meantime preheat the oven to 400 degrees and oil spray a large baking dish.
- Place the seared patties in a baking dish.
- Top with sauce, or any pizza toppings a slice of cheese you prefer, and sprinkle with more grated cheese.
- Bake at 400 degrees until the cheese melts.
- When melted, place on desired toasted or plain rolls.
- Garnish with red pepper flakes and more cheese if desired.
- More Cooking Methods:
- air fryer: set the air fryer to 400 degrees on an oil-sprayed basket see meat chart for cooking times.. add the sauce and cheese 3 minutes before the burgers are completed cooking just to melt the cheese
- grilled: oil spray the grates, heat the grill to medium heat, and grill to the desired doneness. Add the sauce and cheese and place the cover down for 2 minutes after the burgers are cooked. and cheese is melted
- oven: bake at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes in a cast iron gridded skillet sprayed with cooking oil Add sauce and cheese until cheese melts for another 5 minutes or broil the tops for until cheese melts.
Notes
Pick your own toppings (set up a serving station)
- sauteed mushrooms,
- any kinds of peppers, onions, raw onions, peppers, mushrooms
- sliced tomato
- fresh tomatoes pureed
- more marinara sauce
- chopped crinkled black olives
- mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup(for the classic style)
- thick-sliced provolone, mozzarella, or another kind you prefer
- pickles
- bean salad
- romaine lettuce, arugula, butter, or iceberg chopped
- hard-boiled or fried eggs
- pepperoni, capicola or a slice of soppressata
- crispy bacon, prosciutto, or cooked pancetta
- Italian cooked sliced sausage, peppers, and onions all together
- red pepper flakes
- grated Pecorino Romano cheese for garnishing
- pepperoncini
- sliced olives
Nutrition Facts
Calories
1050.01Fat (grams)
66.02Sat. Fat (grams)
22.81Carbs (grams)
37.82Fiber (grams)
4.88Net carbs
32.94Sugar (grams)
11.62Protein (grams)
68.15Sodium (milligrams)
1722.17Cholesterol (grams)
300.96Pin for later
More Recipes We Love
Simple Reuben Sandwich
Antipasto Sandwich
Pulled Pork Sandwich
This is an affiliate link and I do make a small commission See Disclosure Policy
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2018. It was edited and re-published in 2023.
My husband will definitely love this!
ReplyDeleteBoy, this sounds like a wonderful burger---whether cooked indoors or out!!
ReplyDeleteSince I like the meat to extend to the edge of the bread, I'd make them a little thinner but I love the sound of the burger ingredients and the looks of the bun. I looked at the recipe for the bread and assume you use the same recipe for the rolls - one of our favorite breads but never made them.
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo, great hamburger! Garlic, cheese and Ciabatta, yum!!!
ReplyDeleteI like burgers prepared in a great iron skillet too. It seems to retain the fat better versus when grilled . . . but we love them grilled too. Either way, this Italian burger sounds awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteWhoa, now that's a burger! I bet the red wine adds a beautiful richness to the flavor. Looks perfect for grilling season!
ReplyDeleteI've never had an Italian-flavored hamburger but these sound divine!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like one tasty burger! Can't wait to make these!
ReplyDeleteI, too, grew up in an Italian household. We always did our burgers on the stovetop with lots of garlic.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, these hamburgers look so delicious!
ReplyDeleteNever though of adding wine to my burgers but sounds interesting. This looks like a great burger.
ReplyDeleteThese hamburgers look juicy! And nothing can't beat homemade ciabatta bread rolls.
ReplyDeleteHigh five, my friend. Looks so good.
ReplyDeleteThis is one tasty burger! Love the flavours. So perfect to cook on the skillet or on the outdoor grill!
ReplyDeleteWOW these hamburgers look and sound absolutely delicious! I love the Italian twist ♥
ReplyDeleteOh, how delicious this BEST JUICY ITALIAN HAMBURGERS looks. This is a great idea for my lunch. An interesting combination of ingredients looks very beautiful and I'm sure it is very tasty! I definitely want to try it. Thank you for a great recipe!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful burger!! I love all the seasonings, the marinara and the ciabtta buns... Delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, Claudia! I couldn't wait to see this recipe! Love all the flavors and the fact that it's cooked in cast iron...the old fashioned way! Booooteeeefully deeelish! xo
ReplyDeleteThis recipe sounds amazing! We are making burgers tonight and I am most definitely going to be adding herbs and red wine! Might even have to make the fiance stop for ciabatta rolls on his way home too!
ReplyDeleteJuicy, garlic, cheese, all in one sentence, I mean, on one burger... delicious!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a flavor packed and delicious looking Italian hamburgers. So juicy and so cheesy.
ReplyDeleteWith grilling season here...what a great burger to try. You can never go wrong cooking with wine....these look so juicy. I know they would be perfect for our next BBQ party.
ReplyDeleteWow, such a tasty juicy tasty Italian burger. I love that your burger is filled with great seasonings and you used your homemade ciabatta hamburger buns. On of my most favorite additions to a really great burger is wine. Your recipe is perfect.My family will be enjoying these all summer.
ReplyDeleteNow these look like my kind of burgers...yum!!!
ReplyDeleteYAY!! Grill season is here and we so enjoy it. Italian burgers are great with the great seasoning included. And I agree, no wimpy bun can take a great burger. It has to be a chewy ciabatta bun that holds that delicious meat.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love ciabatta bread, so I love that you used it for these burgers! They look absolutely moutwatering
ReplyDeleteWe love burgers in our house. This one sounds absolutely delicious. I love the addition of vine and italian seasoning. Just yummy!
ReplyDeleteThere is just nothing like a GOOD burger!! I like that you added a little red wine to this recipe; I bet that really enhances the flavor. Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat a classic hamburger. These look super juicy and I love all the toppings too!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't eat meat myself, my family would absolutely demolish these juicy and delicious looking burgers! Thank you for a great recipe.
ReplyDeleteThese burgers look amazing. I love the addition of wine here!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like making you're favorite fast foods from scratch! It always makes me feel so good to do it myself.
ReplyDeleteThat is one juicy hamburger indeed! Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI live in Northern Italy and we love making are own big thick burgers too and cook them on what Italians call a piastra. (It's a rectangular cast iron grill pan with ridges). Ciabatta is also our favourite choice for the rolls. Yours look and sound delicious. Love the idea of adding wine!
ReplyDeleteOh I have seen the rectangular cast iron here also and these burgers were shaped into squares when Grandma made them now I need to go get a pan like that thanks for reminding me! I love that the traditions are similar to yours she was from Rome Italy. Ciao
DeleteThese look super juicy! Definitely going to put them on the meal plan.
ReplyDeleteI love a yummy burger and the fact that these are Italian is even better! Yum!
ReplyDeleteI am drooling reading about these burgers. They sound so delicious and look so juicy and perfect!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about your grandmother and mother. That's the way it was at our house. There was a touch of Italian in all of our dishes. And they were excellent. Your burger is making my mouth water. There is nothing like a good juicy burger on a ciabatta roll. Looks like your mamma and nonna found the secret. Have a happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteThis burger looks so good and full of flavor. I love the melted cheese and that you serve the burger on a ciabatta roll versus a traditional bun!
ReplyDeleteHomemade ciabatta, juicy burger patties and all those flavors...this is simply the best. So good! I would definitely go for a second burger, haha. I'm hungry now!
ReplyDeleteI think I can feel a bit of Italy with these incredible hamburgers! They are so juicy I don't even need a drink! Saving this recipe for later.
ReplyDeleteDelicious burger is always best comfort food. You made with homemade bread, then it has best flavors going there. I love it.
ReplyDelete