Easy Turkey Burgers

Now, I know many people don’t gravitate toward turkey products at the grocery store, but hear me out:

It makes for good lunch meat.

Turkey breast can be cooked the same way as chicken.

You can bake a whole turkey and freeze what’s left for easy meal prep. Think wraps, sandwiches, or a mini-Thanksgiving dinner in July.

Ground turkey can be used the same way as ground beef. I enjoy it all the time in tacos and burgers!

It’s a less fatty option compared to red meat.

#turkeyisthenewchicken

Our household ate a lot of ground turkey for several months while I was suffering from gallbladder attacks, so we grew to like it.

One of the recipes I found while searching for ways to eat ground turkey is this one. This is by far the best turkey burger recipe I’ve found: it’s moist (sorry if you hate that word), flavorful, and super easy to make.

Let’s get into it.

Easy Turkey Burgers

Recipe credit to Downshiftology

Time commitment:

Prep - 10-15 minutes

Cooking time - Varies, but anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on how many patties you make, and if you’re doing side dishes)

Ready in less than 30-60 minutes!

Equipment list:

• Frying pan OR griddle pan (either this or this are great choices) OR grill if you want to get fancy

• Spatula for flipping burgers (this style is amazing for the task)

• Hands OR silicone spatula OR wooden spoon

• Teaspoon

• Tablespoon

• Meat thermometer (optional but I recommend one like this)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground turkey

  • TIP: 93% lean is the best for this recipe. 85% will be very liquidy, releasing more of the burger juices, and 99% is too lean and the burgers get really dry

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 3 minced garlic cloves (fresh or use pre-minced in water)

• 1 teaspoon salt (recipe calls for kosher, but feel free to use what you have on hand)

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 tablespoons of oil for frying (or fry the burgers in their own juices, which is what I do)

Toppings to serve with the burgers:

Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Mushroom
Pickles
Bacon
BBQ sauce
Fried onions (homemade or the premade kind you put on green bean casserole or Western burgers)
Fry sauce (kind of like mayo and ketchup mixed, if you’re not familiar)
Peanut butter and jelly (actually really great on a burger or grilled chicken sandwich!)

And don’t forget the buns!

Side dish ideas:

Salad
Baked beans
Macaroni or potato salad
Fries or onion rings or tots (veggie options are more popular now, don’t be afraid to give them a try!)
Chips
Fried or baked potatoes

Steps to get your tasty burgers:

1. Gather all your equipment and ingredients. Preheat the grill if you’re using one, and make sure your pan is ready to go on the stove. Also, if your ground turkey is frozen, make sure you have it thawed out.

   • TIP: This is a great time to preheat the oven or air fryer if you’re making fries/tots/onion rings.

2. In your mixing bowl, combine the pound of turkey, tablespoon of mayo, tablespoon of Dijon mustard, teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 3 minced garlic cloves, teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

   • TIP: Use your hands to mix! It helps to work everything together. If you don’t like raw meat on your hands, use gloves or a spatula instead.

3. Make the patties. Shape and size them however you’d like. They can be hockey pucks or smashed flat, ginormous or on the smaller side, you can put a thumbprint in the middle of them (I saw this tip somewhere, not sure of its value), whatever you prefer.

   • TIP: When making the patties, it helps to wet your hands to keep the meat from sticking. This includes if you’re wearing gloves too.

   • TIP 2: I typically make 6 or so medium-sized patties. I eat less this way and reduce my calorie intake, and have leftovers (these freeze well).

4. Preheat your pan on medium heat while you let the patties sit in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

   • TIP: I’ve heard the experts say that chilling meat like burgers before you cook it is helpful after it’s been abused (just not in these words).

   • TIP 2: This is also a great time to get your fries/tots/onion rings in the oven or air fryer to time them perfectly with your burgers.

5. If using the oil, add 2 tablespoons to the pan after it’s preheated, and wait until the oil is shimmery to start cooking.

   • TIP: Remember, if your pan sings to you or the oil looks shimmery, you’re ready to go. If you don’t see those signs, your pan isn’t hot enough.

6. Start cooking the patties, careful not to overcrowd the pan. Give the patties some room to breathe. Frying usually takes about 5-7 minutes per side, but look for the patties to turn golden brown on each side, or use a thermometer to gauge doneness.

   1. TIP: When taking the temperature of the patties, make sure you insert the probe into the middle of the burger. Measuring on the top, too close to the bottom, or around any sides will give you a skewed result. Ground turkey is safe for consumption when it reaches 165F.

   2. TIP 2: These tend to release a lot of juices because the turkey is naturally juicy and because of the fat in the mayo, so you may have to clean your pan out between batches since the juices will stick to the pan. I think the burned bits from the juices add flavor and give the burgers a fresh-from-the-grill taste, but if you don’t like the taste, clean out your pan between batches.

7. Reminder: If you start to see the burger juice burn on the bottom of your pan and don’t like its flavor, or if it gets in the way of your burgers cooking evenly, clean your pan out between batches or when it gets too sticky. Gently scraping with a silicone or rubber spatula will do the trick, or you can let the pan cool a bit and wash it.

   • TIP: I don’t recommend rinsing a hot pan after pulling it directly from a hot stove, but you could do that.

8. While your patties cook, start prepping your sides and condiments. Check on your fries/tots/onion rings!

9. Once your burgers are tested for doneness, serve them and wow everyone! They won’t believe they’re eating turkey.

   • TIP: Have someone else clean up the kitchen after dinner. You earned a night off from dish duty after serving some fantastic burgers.

   • TIP 2: These store well in the freezer and quickly reheat.