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.
Christine says
THANK YOU SO MUCH from Germany…. -Regards Christine
Daniel says
can you use coke instead of dr. pepper ? cant stand the taste of dr. pepper
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, Coke should work well 🙂
Margie says
These Hamburgers Are Awesome! Than you soooo much for sharing your recipe. We also use it with our rib eye steaks! ❤️
Maia says
Hello, can I use diet Dr. pepper for this? It’s all I have
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using Diet soda, so I can’t say for certain how well it would work.
SCV says
This recipe is so good. We made ”Coffee Rubbed Homemade Burgers” We will be making this again. Cola and Coffee BBQ Sauce is so amazing. I also used the sauce a couple of days later for our chicken thighs, I didn’t want to throughout the leftover since my husband thought he needed to double the sauce to make sure we had enough, and we sure did. LOL, The chicken came out so good well, yes the sauce is a hit with us.
Hubby is now on a quest to try more of your hamburger recipes. The next one he said, will be the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburgers with bacon jam.
I was wondering why it is called The Cola and Coffee BBQ Sauce when you use Dr. Pepper in the actual recipe. Did you try it with Cola and decided Dr.Pepper was better? I’m just curious.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe.
The Chunky Chef says
So happy to hear how much you enjoyed this recipe! I called it Cola, since it will work with both the Dr. Pepper and regular cola (and wanted to avoid any trademark issues).
Carla says
I wanted to make these so bad…and they are DELICIOUS!!! I will be making them lot! A nice way to change it up this summer.
Kevin says
Really loved this recipe! The bbq sauce was amazing.
todd says
what kind of coffee are you using? instant or ground coffee?
THANKS Todd
Amanda says
I usually break open a k-cup, but you can use any coffee you’d like.
Laura says
I make the bbq sauce chicken all the time.
As for the burgers I recommend making stuffed with bacon & cheddar.
Sandra says
This is a huge hit at my house! Thanks!
Sandra says
I’m definitely making this again! It was a huge hit!
Catalina says
This burger looks amazing! I am so curious to make it!
Beth says
These burgers were so yummy and full of flavor! My husband and daughter really enjoyed this burger recipe! Very excited to make these burgers again! By far one of our favorites!
Amanda Livesay says
These burgers are so yummy! The coffee really does make them interesting.