On April 19, 2026, National Garlic Day, kick it up a notch by adding garlic to your next cheeseburger. It will taste good and help keep the vampires away.
Well, we are not going to worry too much about vampires right now. What we really want to focus on is making a great cheeseburger...with garlic.
Now, garlic is pretty intense. In its raw form, garlic is texturally crunchy, has a pungent aroma, and a sharp and slightly spicy flavor.
If you plan on using raw garlic in your cheeseburger recipe, use it sparingly or combine it with other ingredients that will help soften the flavor profile. Basically, use the raw garlic in a supporting role to enhance the flavors of your other ingredients.
A good example of garlic in a supporting role is a spicy garlic aioli. A nice mayonnaise-based spread with a hint of garlic can really bring a new dimension to your cheeseburger.
Sometimes, raw garlic can still be a bit overpowering, making your cheeseburger taste like a garlic sandwich rather than a beefy, cheesy cheeseburger.
Roasted garlic or garlic confit are great ways to prepare your garlic and make it the star of the show.
When you roast or confit your garlic, the flavor changes dramatically. Your garlic goes from being sharp and pungent to something that is more mellow, sweet, nutty, and rich.
Plus, it becomes soft and spreadable. Easy to add directly as a spread or to incorporate into other recipes.
Start with a garlic dijonnaise. A creamy, subtle garlic spread ads that perfect richness and a light garlic flavor to your cheeseburger.
If you want to go "all in," take some of that roasted or confit garlic and spread it directly on your toasted burger bun. You will get an intense roasted garlic flavor without the bite found in raw garlic.
You can even take some of that soft sweet garlic and combine it with your favorite crumbled or shredded cheese and use it as a cheese topping while you are preparing the burger patty. Yum!
For National Garlic Day, do yourself a favor and include some garlic in your next cheeseburger recipe.
Tag us on FB or IG with #cheeseburgerguru and show us how you are using garlic in your cheeseburger recipe.