These Homemade Burgers are seasoned with a spiced coffee dry rub that elevates the flavor of the beef and makes for a truly epic hamburger! The cola and coffee bbq sauce just sets it apart from the rest!
This is one of my Grilling recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
Oh man, these burgers have been on the website for years (since 2015 to be exact), and they are still one of my all time favorite burgers.
And that’s saying something, because we love us some burgers in the chunky chef household!
The combination of the juicy burger, with the seasoned coffee flavored crust, and the cola/coffee bbq sauce is just irresistible.
Perfect for summer grilling, but just as easy to cook on the stovetop, these burgers will blow your mind and rival burgers from your favorite local burger joint!
How to make grilled coffee-rubbed burgers?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Combine coffee rub ingredients. Add to a shallow bowl.
- Mix burger ingredients. I find the best tool for this is my hands.
- Divide meat into patties. Use your hands to make a large ball of the meat, then use the side of your hand to score the ball into thirds. Score each third in half, and you’ll have 6 roughly equally sized sections.
- Shape. Shape each section into a patty.
- Chill. This is optional, but recommended.
- Grill. Or cook in a cast iron or other heavy bottomed skillet.
- Cook onion and garlic. Just in until soft and translucent.
- Add ingredients. Pour in all remaining bbq sauce ingredients and simmer until thickened and glossy.
- Blend. For a smoother texture, add bbq sauce to food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Helpful Tip!
To prevent your burger from doming up in the center as it cooks, try making a silver dollar sized indent in the center of each burger. I just use my thumbs, but you can use a spoon or whichever tool you prefer.
Variations of this recipe
- Pan-seared – no grill or weather not cooperating? No problem! You can easily cook these burgers in a heavy bottomed skillet on the stovetop. The directions for that will be in the “chef tips” section below the written recipe.
- Smaller burgers – feel free to switch it up and make slider-style burgers with this recipe, just know that will change the cook time.
- Different bbq sauce – while I’m a huge sucker for this cola/coffee bbq sauce, you can use another recipe, like my balsamic bbq, or bourbon bbq, or your favorite store-bought brand.
- Toppings – I kept the toppings pretty simple for this burger, just bacon, lettuce, and the bbq. But, feel free to use your favorite burger toppings! Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.
FAQ’s
Eggs or no eggs in burgers; this is a situation where opinions can get pretty heated. However, this recipe doesn’t use any eggs, and they hold together well.
The main things you can do to keep your burgers together are to chill the burgers before cooking them, then when cooking, try to flip them only once. The more you handle them, the higher the likelihood of the burgers falling apart.
Heavy cream is my secret ingredient, and I use it just about every time I make a burger. It adds just the right amount of moisture, fat, and yields a super velvety and juicy burger.
Making coffee-rubbed burgers ahead of time
In my opinion, burgers tastes best when right off the grill, so I don’t advise making them entirely ahead of time.
However, all the components can be made ahead of time!
- Coffee-Rub – add all the rub ingredients to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
- Burgers – the patties themselves can be mixed and shaped, then added to an airtight container and refrigerated. I like to store the patties in between squares of wax paper, so the burgers won’t stick to each other.
- BBQ Sauce – make the bbq sauce, cool it completely and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Storage
Leftover burger patties should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 4-5 days.
Recipe was originally shared in 2015 and has been updated in 2021 with updated photos, additional information, and clearer instructions.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Coffee Dry Rub
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground coffee
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp paprika
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 Tbsp ground coriander
Cola and Coffee BBQ Sauce
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic roughly minced
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 6 oz Dr Pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp ancho chile powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 Tbsp brewed coffee
Burgers
- 2 lbs Angus ground beef 85/15
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream or extra bbq sauce
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Brioche or pretzel buns
- green leaf or arugula lettuce
- 8 slices cooked bacon
Instructions
Make the Dry Rub
- Combine coffee rub seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and mix together with a fork. Set aside.
Make the BBQ Sauce
- Melt butter over MED heat in a saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add remaining bbq sauce ingredients, stirring to combine. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
- Pour sauce into blender or food processor and puree. Set aside to cool.
Cook and Assemble the Burgers
- To a mixing bowl, add ground beef, heavy cream, salt, and black pepper. Mix well with your hands. Divide into 6 equal sections. Each burger will be about 1/3 pound.
- Use your thumbs to press a half dollar sized divot in the center of each patty (this will help prevent the burger from doming up while cooking).
- Liberally rub coffee seasoning mix over both sides of each burger.
- Preheat grill over MED HIGH heat and lightly brush grates with vegetable oil if desired. Grill burgers, for about 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is achieved.
- While burgers are grilling, toast buns on the grill as well.
- To serve, spread bbq sauce over the top and bottom buns, then top the bottom bun with a piece of lettuce, a cooked burger, a smear of more bbq sauce, some bacon, then top with the top bun.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- Recipe makes 6 (1/3 lb each) burgers.
Cooking Burgers on the Stovetop
- Heat a large heavy bottomed skillet (like a cast iron skillet) over MED HIGH heat.
- Once hot, add a small drizzle of vegetable oil and add buns, sliced side down.
- Toast until buns are golden brown, then set aside.
- To the hot skillet, add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. Once melted, add burgers, 3 at a time.
- Cook about 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is achieved.
- Repeat with remaining 3 burgers.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This shop sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Dr Pepper. All opinions are my own.
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
These Homemade Burgers sound delicious right about now! I’m drooling because of these!
Claire says
This is outstanding! My family have tried this for a lot of times already! Thank you for sharing this!
Adele says
Wow this sounds so good I can’t to have the chance to make them. Being a NC girl, I’ll sub out local Cheerwine soda for the Dr Pepper! Is the coffee in the tub just regular coffee grounds? Or do you need to grind it to a fine consistency?
Amanda says
I normally use a fine ground instant or packaged coffee, but in the past I’ve cracked open a few k cups and used those 🙂
Meagan says
This didn’t tickle our tastes at all. Just an overall weird flavor. Everyone has different tastes. What I love is that the BBQ sauce recipe is a great base recipe to play around with.
Cook and learn😃
Joe says
The perfect burger
Erika Speelman says
This burger is off-the-hook good. OMG!!! My husband and I do a different burger for college game day (Go Blue😉) and the best burger gets made again for the Bowl game. Needless to say, this was the first burger of the season and we’ve already declared it the winner!!!!
Kim says
Absolutely Awesome!!! I have made them 4 times now !!! The sauce is delicious, everything about these burgers is delicious.
Crystal J Early says
Forgot to ask, what would be a perfect side to go with this perfect burger.
The Chunky Chef says
French fries, potato salad, macaroni salad, pretty much anything 🙂
Crystal J Early says
I made these delicious burgers for my birthday last year and will make them again for a pre cruise party. Everyone loved them and I can’t wait to make them again. The sauce is to die for. I found slider pretzel buns and they were perfect because I will also be serving another sandwich type. Don’t become discouraged by the lengthy amount of ingredients; you’ll be glad you made them.
Julie says
Grilled these burgers on a charcoal grill and they turned out delicious! No complaints from my picky eater, my boys went back for seconds, and my only complaint was I should’ve brushed the amazing sauce on the burgers while they were on the grill!! For the sauce, I used an immersion blender. I plan to try this sauce on other meats, drum sticks tonight!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
Brittany says
My entire family loved it. Thanks!
Kathy Gallo says
I made these coffee rubbed burgers for our Christmas Eve gathering and they were a big hit!
I am certainly going to make them again!
Karen K says
One question, regular ground coffee not instant coffee, correct? Thiis burger looks absolutely scrumptious. I’ll be making very, very soon.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Karen 🙂 Any ground coffee should work… I usually cut open a k-cup and use that 🙂
Christina says
I made up my own burger recipe. A western beer burger. Its my guys’ favorite. But he said is pretty close.
I agree. This is possibly one of the best burgers ive ever had. I threw on some sharp cheddar.
The bbq wasnt very thick. Just added more tomato paste. I froze the rest for future. This sauce would be amazing in ANYTHING
Randi says
I am making these burgers as we speak. The BBQ sauce is amazing! I am going to jar the rest of the sauce! How long do you think it will keep?
The Chunky Chef says
I’m so glad you love the sauce! Ours never lasts long, but I would think if you kept it sealed, it should last 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator 🙂
Karyl Henry says
I’m not even hungry right now and this is making my mouth absolutely water!!! Looks amazing
Loraleigh says
OOOOO.MMMMMM.GGG. This recipe right here s the absolute best burger on Pinterest! BAR NONE!!! We didn’t have the coriander and we always use Sweet Baby Ray bbq sauce but this was soooo delicious! Yep I’m definitely making this one again, many times over!
Julie says
These burgers sound so good! I’m sharing this post on my blog at Heart Loves Home this week. I’m writing about creative ways to use coffee.
Kris says
Made these tonight and they were outstanding. I made brioche buns in lieu of pretzel buns but absolutely fantastic. Hubs said these could have only been improved if I had added crispy onion strings (will be trying that next time lol). Thank you for a killer recipe!!!!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kris 🙂 I’m SO happy to hear that you both loved them!! The crispy onion strings would be a perfect addition!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
I’ll have to try this rub on some other stuff. Looks good!