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Whether you fire up the grill or turn on the stovetop, nothing beats the flavor of a good home-cooked burger. While some people avoid red meat as a healthy food, including small amounts in your diet is a great way to get protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. Plus, sometimes, a juicy burger hits the spot.
You could shape the patty and season the beef yourself, but sometimes, you need a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table. Having a stash of frozen burger patties on hand makes lunch or dinner as simple as it gets, whether you sandwich them between two buns, a big lettuce leaf, or crumble them on top of a salad.
While some frozen burgers have high-quality ingredients like 100% beef, others are loaded with preservatives and additives that add extra sodium and fat, two nutrients most Americans get too much of. We’ve compiled a list of some of the highest-quality frozen hamburgers and a couple you’ll want to avoid. Read on, and for more, don’t miss 12 Fast-Food Chains That Use 100% Ground Beef in Their Burgers.
7 High-Quality Frozen Hamburgers
Best: Grass-Fed Bubba Burger
Nutrition (Per 1/4-pound burger):
Calories: 240
Fat: 17 g (Saturated fat: 8 g)
Sodium: 65 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 21 g
You can’t beat the quality of a Grass-Fed Bubba Burger. The single ingredient is 100% USDA grass-fed beef. The patties contain no seasonings or added salt, leaving you free to season these burgers however you’d like, taking total control of the flavor and sodium. While each burger has 8 grams of saturated fat, or 40% of the daily value, it’s much less than many frozen burgers.
Best: Omaha Steaks Grass-Fed Ground Beef Burgers
Nutrition (Per 1/3-pound patty):
Calories: 370
Fat: 26 g (Saturated Fat: 10 g)
Sodium: 110 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 32 g
These 6-ounce frozen burgers from Omaha Steaks are 100% grass-fed and include only 85% lean beef. In just one serving, they provide 20% of the daily value of iron. This frozen burger has the most protein per ounce, as it’s lower in fat and higher in protein.
Best: Tribalí Foods Mediterranean Style Beef Patties
Nutrition (Per 1/4-pound patty):
Calories: 220
Fat: 15 g (Saturated fat: 6 g)
Sodium: 470 mg
Carbs: 5 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 17 g
Tribalí Foods Mediterranean Style Beef Patties have a bright and aromatic flavor, perfect for serving with pita bread, on salad, or wedged into a massive lettuce leaf. These burgers have no preservatives or fillers and are flavored with fire-roasted garlic, onion, lemon peel, and mint. Each burger has 17 grams of protein, is gluten-free, and has just 6 grams of saturated fat.
Best: Pound of Ground Burger Thins
Nutrition (Per 2.6-ounce patty):
Calories: 190
Fat: 16 g (Saturated fat: 6 g)
Sodium: 50 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein:13 g
Each burger thin from Pound of Ground is 2.6 ounces, a bit more than half the size of a typical quarter-pound burger. The only ingredient in this patty is 100% beef, meaning you won’t get extra sodium from preservatives or fillers. Each patty is just 190 calories and has 13 grams of protein, which you can add to any salad, grain bowl, or sandwich.
Best: Eel River Organic Beef Burger
Nutrition (Per 1/4-pound patty):
Calories: 260
Fat: 22 g (Saturated fat: 8 g)
Sodium: 75 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 19 g
These quarter-pound burger patties from Eel River Organic are Animal Welfare Certified and contain only 100% grass-fed and grass-finished organic beef that has been pasture-raised.
Best: Grass Run Farms Natural Ground Beef Patties
Nutrition (Per 1/3-pound patty):
Calories: 380
Fat: 30 g (Saturated fat: 11 g)
Sodium: 100 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 26 g
Each 1/3-pound patty is made from 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef. Grass Run Farms says it never feeds its cattle animal byproducts and guarantees its beef is all pasture-raised and harvested in the United States. While this option does have more calories and fat than other choices on the list, that’s mostly because it’s a larger patty. With the larger size comes more protein, as each pre-portioned burger has 26 grams.
Best: Good and Gather All Natural Beef Patties
Nutrition (Per 1/4-pound patty):
Calories: 240
Fat: 17g (Saturated fat: 7 g)
Sodium: 90 mg
Carbs: 0g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 21 g
These quarter-pound burger patties from Good and Gather come in a 3-pound package that includes 12 individually frozen burgers. The only ingredient is 85% lean beef, with zero added fillers, preservatives, or artificial colors.
The Unhealthiest Frozen Burgers To Avoid
Worst: Extra Value Beef Patties
Nutrition (Per 1/4-pound patty):
Calories: 300
Fat: 28 g (Saturated fat: 10 g)
Sodium: 380 mg
Carbs: 5 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 16 g
Extra Value Beef Patties may include beef as the first ingredient, but they are loaded with fillers like beef heart, water, textured vegetable protein (which contains soy), and preservatives. In addition to the added ingredients that reduce the amount of beef used, each patty has 50% of the daily value of saturated fat.
Worst: Wahlburgers Bacon Cheddar Angus Beef Burgers
Nutrition (Per 1/3-pound patty):
Calories: 450
Fat: 38 g (Saturated fat: 15 g)
Sodium: 360 mg
Carbs: <1 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g)
Protein: 26 g
The Wahlburger Bacon Cheddar Angus Beef Burger is one of the unhealthiest frozen burgers on the market. With 15 grams of saturated fat and 2.5 grams of trans fats, just one patty is detrimental to your heart health. The World Health Organization states that trans fats are responsible for 500,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease each year worldwide. They recommend less than 1% of all calories come from trans fats, or just 2.2 grams per day on a 2,000-calorie diet.
