The Key To A Perfect Donut Breakfast Burger Is Picking A Unique Pastry

The donut burger may no longer be the trendy novelty it was back in the '00s. But Y2K nostalgia is still with us and so is this most in-your-face of sweet and savory breakfast mashups, a dish that makes chicken and waffles seem tame by comparison. The most important part of the donut burger is the donut itself, of course, since burgers are pretty much a dime a dozen. (We wish — these days you'll be paying over $10 for a bag of White Castle sliders.)

While some people opt for using plain old glazed donuts, recipe developer Lauren Schumacker makes a bolder choice with her easy donut breakfast burger recipe. She opts to pair a chocolate-frosted donut with sprinkles with a filling of bacon, eggs, and cheddar. (Plus a burger, of course.) As she tells us, though, "You can absolutely mix and match ... make it your own." She floats the idea of using a vanilla-frosted donut as a for-instance, but strawberry would be even more visually appealing as well as adding a fruity element that might go well with an accompanying glass of orange juice.

Schumacker does note, however, that not all donuts are created equal for breakfast burgering purposes. She suggests using a yeast donut but cautions against the cake kind. "Cake donuts are less like bread than the yeasted version," she tells us, explaining "[this] means they can fall apart more easily."

Even though you're advised to stick to the yeast family of donuts, this still allows for a certain amount of scope. Cinnamon rolls, too, can be used as burger buns and they would go well with the standard bacon/cheddar/egg burger combo that Schumacker favors using with her chocolate frosted donuts. Maple-glazed or pumpkin donuts would also work well with this filling combo, but you could instead go all-in on a more autumnal breakfast burger with these varieties by using cranberry sauce or apple compote as a topping and maybe even replacing or topping the beef patty with one made from maple-flavored sausage.

Even more creative breakfast burgers can be yours with a little bit of imagination. How about a peanut-coated donut paired with a peanut butter-topped burger? A coconut donut, a slice of grilled pineapple, and a slab of a certain notorious canned meat product could make for a breakfast version of a Hawaiian-style Spamburger, while a jelly doughnut + deli ham + Swiss cheese could be the basis of a Monte Cristo breakfast burger. You could even opt for a breakfast non-burger by using a long john as the bun for a hotdog. As long as the pastry you pick is sturdy enough to stand up to a meaty filling, your donut burgers will be ... Well, we can't really promise you perfection, but an adventure in eating might be a reasonable expectation.