Jalapeño Queso Burgers on Bacon Rolls

These Jalapeño Queso Burgers are a dream come true! The spicy beef burgers are topped with jalapeño queso and served on homemade bacon rolls and will quickly become the best burger you've ever had.

(This recipe for Jalapeño Queso Burgers on Bacon Rolls was originally published in March 2014, but was updated with new photos in 2019).

Guys, it's spring! It really, really is. And that has me all crazy optimistic. Especially because this new season has SO much awesomeness to look forward to. Chris and I will hopefully be buying a house. This little blog is going to get a sweet redesign. And my sister and brother-in-law are going to have two baby boys (!!!). Best spring ever? I'm pretty much assuming that it will be.

Of course, buying a house means house hunting and that isn't really all it's cracked up to be. I mean, it can be fun in some ways, but it's also a major emotional time suck. I think everyone who's been through it has confirmed that this is always true. Which is both comforting and uhhh can it just be done already at the same time?

I'm both ridiculously picky and insanely indecisive about pretty much everything in my life, so this is really not the best situation for me.  The good news is, we've seen several houses that we've fallen in love with. The bad news is, there's always been some deal-breaker with the property. Also, houses in Massachusetts are crazy expensive. Seriously, go on Zillow and search for a house within your budget in MA and then look almost everywhere else in the country. It's not a pretty sight.

And while I can't complain too much about my apartment, I'm now constantly dreaming of a kitchen that's larger than the one I currently have. With a sweet island. Nice appliances. And natural light. Whatever house we eventually end up in must be drenched in natural light. Oh, and a deck. With a grill.

But until then... I have my trusty little Le Creuset grill pan. And what does the Le Creuset grill pan do best? Burgers. OK, it grills up a pretty mean salmon, too. But I was seriously craving a burger the other day, so I decided to blend the ground beef with jalapeños and make my own.

But then instead of topping with simple slices of cheese, I decided to whip up a queso. And when I realized I didn't have any hamburger rolls, I figured I'd just have to make my own. With bacon. And so, these jalapeño queso burgers on bacon rolls were born. And now they must be celebrated.

JALAPEÑO QUESO BURGERS ON BACON ROLLS RECIPE

You can obviously take whatever parts of this recipe you want and leave the rest. If you're craving a burger and don't feel like making your own hamburger buns, no problem. And if you want those beautiful bacon rolls for some other purpose (like slathering with butter and pigging out on), just make those sans burger.

If you are making this full recipe, I recommend making the bacon rolls first. Guess what I recently learned? Homemade burger buns are easy to make! And once you realize that, you realize you can customize them in any way you want. Bacon is one of the best ways to do that.

In a large bowl, combine yeast and water. Let sit for about 5 minutes until mixture becomes frothy. Stir in olive oil, sugar, one egg, and the salt.

Using a wooden spoon, gently stir both types of flour in. The dough should be nice and soft; if it's feeling dry, you can add a bit more warm water in.

Crumble that beautiful bacon over the dough. And on a lightly floured surface, gently knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Separate the dough into 12 balls and place a couple inches apart from each other on a greased baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm spot for 10 minutes. Beat an egg in a small bowl. Remove towel and lightly brush the tops of the buns with egg.

And then bake at 425 degrees for 9-12 minutes, until the rolls are looking golden. Yum!

Next, let's talk about the queso. Queso is basically just melted cheese and is so, so easy to make. I used a combination of sharp cheddar and cream cheese and added in tomato, garlic, and jalapeño.

Simply put both cheeses in a medium saucepan over medium heat and gently stir until they're melted. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, and jalapeño and keep warm until ready to serve. That's it!

Last, but most certainly not least, prepare the jalapeño burgers! Simply combine the beef, diced jalapeños, and salt and pepper.

And form into patties. I made pretty small, fat patties and got six.

Place them on a grill pan or regular pan over medium heat. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until desired doneness is reached.

Cut bacon rolls in half and place a layer of lettuce on one side. Top with a burger. And a huge dollop of queso.

Hello, why don't you have yourself a seat right next to me?

I really have no words. But since this is a food blog, I suppose I'd better find them. So... yum?

But really, these jalapeño queso burgers are a dream come true. I pretty much never eat a burger that doesn't involve cheese, but queso? That's taking it to a whole new level of awesome. I topped the burger with plenty, so it legit oozed out and packed in tons of sharp cheesy flavor.

The jalapeño pepper in the burger adds a little spicy bite, but isn't too hot at all. So, if you're not a fan of your mouth being on fire, don't worry. This heat is all flavor. Of course, you can use less jalapeño in the burgers or leave it out all together if you choose.

Um, I almost forgot to tell you about the bacon rolls. They are absolutely incredible and the perfect bun for this burger.

But they're also great warmed up a little and slathered with butter. Kind of like a scone. But a bacon burger.

I may or may not have taken a spoon to the leftover queso when I was done eating the burger. And you'll never know whether or not I took to dunking the leftover bacon rolls in the saucepan of leftover queso. I'll never tell (though I'm sure you can probably guess).

Chris deemed these jalapeño queso burgers on bacon rolls one of the top three burgers he's ever had... The others being the one he had at (the now closed) db Bistro in Miami and the one I made back in the day for the Four Seasons Boston. I'll take that rating, for sure.

What's the best burger you've ever had?

If you're in the mood for more burgers, try my Spicy Cheese Chicken Burgers (more queso burgers!) or my Bacon Cheeseburger Kale Salad. I'm also dying to try these Southwest Veggie Burgers with Chipotle Aioli from Crazy Inspired Life!

📖 Recipe

Jalapeño Queso Burgers on Bacon Rolls

These Jalapeño Queso Burgers are a dream come true! The spicy beef burgers are topped with jalapeño queso and served on homemade bacon rolls and will quickly become the best burger you've ever had.

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Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Burger Recipes, Homemade Rolls, Queso Recipes

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Makes: 6 burgers

Author: Sues

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 tablespoon diced jalapeño
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Bacon Rolls (recipe below)
• Jalapeño Queso (recipe below)
• 6 leaves Boston or butter lettuce (can also use romaine or lettuce of your choice)

Bacon Rolls (makes 12 rolls)

• 2 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, divided
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 4 strips crispy bacon

Jalapeño Queso

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup diced tomatoes (from 1 small tomato)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, diced jalapeño, salt, and pepper. Form into 6 patties.
• Place patties on a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until desired doneness.
• Slice bacon rolls in half and top with lettuce and burger (you'll have 6 leftover buns). Spoon jalapeño queso over the top.

Bacon Rolls

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine yeast and water. Let sit for about 5 minutes until mixture becomes frothy. Stir in olive oil, sugar, one of the eggs, and the salt.
• Using a wooden spoon, gently stir in both flours. Dough should be nice and soft; if it’s feeling dry, you can add a bit more warm water in. Crumble bacon over the dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, gently knead the dough for about 5 minutes
• Separate the dough into 12 balls and place a couple inches apart from each other on prepared baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm spot for 10 minutes. Beat the second egg in a small bowl. Remove towel and lightly brush the tops of the buns with egg.
• Bake rolls for 9-12 minutes, until they're turning golden. Move to wire racks to cool.

Jalapeño Queso

• Place cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a medium saucepan over medium heat and gently stir until the cheeses are melted.
• Stir in tomatoes, garlic, and jalapeño. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Share a Photo of Your Finished Recipe!Mention @wearenotmartha and share a photo if you've made the recipe!