Healthy Turkey Burgers
on Jul 01, 2022, Updated Apr 16, 2024
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Turkey Burgers tend to get a bad rap but this one is perfectly moist, beautifully seasoned and won’t fall apart! You just have try this recipe.
I love a good burger and this one reigns supreme. You can grill it, cook it on the stove, or even bake the patties in the oven. The result is the juiciest turkey burger that you have ever sunk your teeth into.
We love to eat these turkey burgers in the summer but we find ourselves making them indoors during other seasons too. There’s just something about a delicious burger, fries, and a summery pasta salad that makes it feel like summer, even if it’s not!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Turkey burgers are great option for those who need to watch their fat intake!
- Ground turkey is often less expensive than ground beef so turkey burgers are a wonderful way to have a favorite meal on a smaller budget.
- It calls for simple ingredients and has minimal prep time.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground turkey: the star of the show!
- Seasonings: Montreal Steak Seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt
- Finely chopped onion
- Bread crumbs
- Egg
- Burger toppings for serving: You can serve these just how you’d like your favorite burger: a bun, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ketchup and anything else you might like. I personally love them with pickles.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Turkey Burgers
Step #1. Add all of your patty ingredients to a bowl and gently stir to combine.
Step #3. Shape the chilled burger mixture into patties.
Step #2. Divide the mixture into your serving sizes and refrigerate.
Step #4. Cook on a grill or in a skillet on the stove just until they reach 165 degrees F on the inside. Serve hot with your favorite burger toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to prevent turkey burgers from falling apart you need to add something to hold everything together. This is called a meat binder. Similar to meatloaf, the meat binder, in this case, is an egg and breadcrumbs that will promote the turkey burger to keep its shape and structure.
There are so many options for side dishes when you are serving turkey burgers. You could serve French fries, coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, watermelon, potato chips-you can’t go wrong!
Refrigerating turkey patties will help them stay intact on the grill/stove. If you have the time, you can put the patties on a tray and put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes up to a couple of hours.
I bet you cooked them for too long. When grilling or cooking turkey patties, you want to be aware of the internal temperature. I like to use an instant-read thermometer because it takes out the guess work. You want the center part of the turkey patty to be 165° F.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to use a ground turkey that contains both light and dark meat. Ground turkey breast is leaner and will result in a drier burger.
- Be careful not to overmix your ingredients. Work them just until they come together or they can result in a tough burger.
- Keep your turkey cold until you are ready to mix the ingredients together to keep it from becoming sticky.
What to Serve with Turkey Burgers
- The BEST Crispy Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- Sourdough Hamburger Buns
- Deli-Style Broccoli Salad
- Grandma’s Quick Pickled Cucumbers – Refrigerator Pickles
- Zucchini Side Dish
More Turkey Recipes to Consider
Turkey
Turkey Pot Pie
Soups, Stews, & Chowders
Turkey Soup
15 Minute Recipes
Turkey Meatballs
Recipes
Turkey Meatballs
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Turkey Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, well beaten
Optional for serving:
- 4 burgers buns
- lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cheese
- ketchup, mustard
- anything else you like on a burger
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper that has been cut into 4 pieces (you need 4 pieces of parchment paper that are large enough to hold a burger patty, about 6×6 inches.
- In a medium bowl add the ground turkey, Montreal Steak Seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, onions, bread crumbs, and beaten egg.
- Gently stir the mixture just until everything is combine.
- Divide the mixture into 4 even pieces and set them on the prepared baking sheet, one piece on each piece of parchment paper. We aren’t making patties at this point, just blobs of the meat mixture on the tray.
- Place the baking sheet in the fridge and chill for 30 minutes (this will help everything stick together!).
- After the chilling time remove the pan from the oven. Lightly spray the top of the meat blobs with cooking spray or brush lightly with a light oil (like vegetable or avocado oil).
- Use your hands to gently pat the meat mixture into a patty that is about 4 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. Add a little more oil as needed.
- Preheat your grill or a large nonstick (or cast iron) skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Lightly oil your grill or skillet.
- Remove your patty from the parchment paper by picking up the paper, placing the patty side down on your cooking surface, and then peeling the parchment paper off the top.
- Cook on one side for 5-6 minutes and then flip and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Cook until the center of the patty reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. I LOVE using a thermometer when cooking turkey burgers because it assures you aren’t over cooking them and they stay moist! Highly recommend.
- Remove the burgers from the grill or skillet and serve as you would your favorite hamburger. You can serve them on a bun with all your favorite topping and condiments. They are also great in a lettuce wrap.
Video
Notes
- You can use homemade bread crumbs if you have them (I just pulse the tail ends of bread in my food processor when they are getting old, great way to use odds and ends of loaves). You can also use store bought plain bread crumbs or panko bread crumbs.
- I like to beat the egg well before adding it, it seems to incorporate better and I don’t over mix the meat trying to get it worked in.
- The onion needs to be cut finer than a chop, so cut it up small! Large pieces of onion encourage your patty to fall apart while cooking.
- Turkey can be really sticky and hard to work with. My parchment paper and cooking spray trick is my best hack at making ground turkey easier to work with!
- If you are gluten free I have had good luck using ground up oats (oat flour) in place of the bread crumbs (just throw some oats in the blender, process until flour, and then measure out what you need!).
Do you recommend using ground turkey breast or ground turkey that is breast and dark meat? I am wondering if using all turkey breast will turn out drier burgers? Also, I don’t always find ground turkey breast to be as flavorful. Please advise! Otherwise, this looks like a recipe I’d like to try soon!
I just got the general “ground turkey” at the store so I assume it was light and dark meat together…