This healthy venison burger is totally Whole30 compliant. They’re loaded with fresh veggies, topped with homemade special sauce and use grilled sweet potato buns.
Y’all I love burger night. We’ve been pretty busy this year, so throwing some patties and veggies on the grill and throwing a plate together has been basically my go to. When I made these Healthy Whole30 Venison Burgers with Special Sauce, J and I scarfed them DOWN.
I mean, juicy venison, plenty of fresh lettuce and tomato, topped with special sauce all piled between grilled sweet potato rounds. Count. Me. In.
I was also thinking about how grateful I am to have learned to work with wild game. Honestly, it’s brought my husband, Jared, and I a lot closer.
Not only am I really proud to be working with the food he brings home, I also have a new appreciation for the outdoor lifestyle.
Hunting takes up a lot of Jared’s time. Especially in the fall. Sometimes he misses events, he wakes up super early, and he’s gone most Saturdays from October to late November. It’s really easy to lose sight on the bigger picture, and quite honestly, get resentful.
When I started cooking with his harvests and using the meat, I started saving money on our groceries. Which made me CRAZY happy and it started to change my perspective.
Flash forward like a year and a half and I’m like “uhhm, when can you going hunting again?”. I’m really interested in what he’s doing, and it’s been so fun to get to know his passion at a deeper level. So yeah, you can say I’m pretty grateful!
Anywho…anybody ready to grill?
What makes these venison burgers Wholeo30 compliant?
These burgers are completely free from grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, sweetener, and preservatives.
I actually prefer my burgers without cheese, but if you’re a cheese lover, the special sauce will curb that craving.
How do you get healthy, ground venison burgers to be juicy?
The secret to juicy venison burgers is really just not overcooking them! I add some olive oil (aka fat because they’re lean) a seasoning blend and some apple cider vinegar to enhance the flavor, but otherwise, grill them so that they have a bit of give to the middle when you poke them. No hockey pucks!
How do you make the homemade “Special Sauce”?
I always keep a jar of Whole30 compliant mayo on hand, or you could make your own! All you need to do is mix in some tomato paste, diced pickles (yep, SO good), ACV, and seasoning! Et voila!
Love venison? Check out my e-cookbook – Field to Table! I’ve got 25 recipes, tips, tricks, a shopping list and my whole story about being an Accidental Hunter’s Wife included!
Print
Healthy Whole30 Venison Burgers with Special Sauce
These healthy venison burgers are totally Whole30 compliant. They’re loaded with fresh veggies, topped with homemade special sauce and use grilled sweet potato buns.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/4 cup Whole30 compliant mayo (like Primal Kitchen)
- 1 Tbsp. finely chopped pickles
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar, divided
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder, divided
- 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- Toppings of choice – lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, or if you’re using a wood pellet grill like a Traeger, preheat to 450F.
- Coat the sweet potato slices with 1 tablespoon of the oil and place them on the indirect upper rack of your grill if you have one. Let them cook for 10 minutes before adding the burgers to the grill. When you put the burgers on, flip them.
- To make the special sauce, in a small bowl mix together the mayo, chopped pickles, 1 teaspoon of the apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, 1/4 teaspoon of the garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Set aside.
- With your hands or a fork, mix together the ground venison, the remaining olive oil, the remaining apple cider vinegar, onion powder, the remaining garlic powder, the remaining salt, and the pepper. Incorporate everything well.
- Divide the ground venison evenly into 4 patties and form into discs.
- Place on the grill for 4-7 minutes a side (you made need to go a bit longer with a wood pellet grill). Remove when the burgers are just at medium, or slightly pink in the middle.
- When the burgers have cooked, remove the sweet potato rounds from the grill. They should be soft.
- To serve, stack the burgers and sweet potato rounds. Drizzle on the special sauce and add the desired toppings. Close everything with a sweet potato round lid.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 690 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 380 mg
Keywords: burger, venison, wild game, Traeger, whole30
This post was published in May 2016 and was updated June 2022
First of all, hi! My name is also Allie, I am also married to a hunter, and I also have a female black lab! Haha small world. Anyway, THESE BURGERS WERE THE GREATEST!!!
WHAT a small world!!! This makes my day! I’m so glad you loved the burgers <3
When you grind your venison do you keep it straight venison?
There’s usually about 10% fat added, usually pork.