Ultimate Turkey Burgers

By Lucy Parissi

5 from 4 votes

, Updated Oct 13, 2022

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These tasty Turkey Burgers will be a hit with everyone – quick and easy to prepare, healthy, juicy and delicious! Simple the best turkey burger recipe, whether you are cooking on the grill or indoors.

Serve with my Light Brioche Burger Buns

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Recipe in collaboration with Thermapen

Burger lovers, attention please: I have THE best turkey burger recipe for you! These juicy homemade turkey burgers are healthier and leaner than their red meat counterparts, but will still satisfy your burger cravings. 

What’s more, you can pan fry them or cook them on the barbecue without fear of drying them out. Ready to make the ultimate turkey burgers?

Ingredients

These homemade burgers are super easy to make and use easy to find ingredients. Let’s take a look at what you will need

• Ground turkey (turkey mince). I like to use turkey breast mince which is the leanest option at only 3% fat to keep these burgers as healthy as possible.
• Grated Parmesan – my secret ingredient to add flavour to these homemade burgers! I use packs of ready grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for ease.
• Fresh breadcrumbs made with wholemeal bread. 
• A large egg to help bind the burgers.
• Minced red onion – I usually blitz mine in a mini food chopper but you can also grate it by hand using a Microplane or box grater.
• The seasonings – salt, garlic granules and a little English mustard
• Herbs – I like to use a little fresh basil but you can also try parsley or chives if you prefer.

Useful Tools

• Thermapen to ensure safe cooking whether grilling or pan frying. Get an awesome 20% off all full price products on thermapen.co.uk with the code SGBBQ-20
• Burger press – optional but great for making uniformly sized burgers!
• Mini food processor (mini chopper) for mincing onion and making breadcrumbs. One of the kitchen gadgets I use most often!

PERFECTLY GRILLED TURKEY BURGERS

Grilling burgers on the BBQ can put THE FEAR into many… We all know that eating undercooked burgers can have all kinds of unpleasant or even dangerous side effects.

You can’t just Google “how long to cook turkey burgers” – there’s simply too many factors that could affect the cooking time.  

But you can grill with 100% confidence by making sure you cook your turkey burgers to the safe internal cooking temperature of 75C / 165F. 

I always rely on my trusty Thermapen whenever I am cooking meat. It is extremely easy to use, with a super fast 3 second response time and it can read a temperature range of -49.9 to 299.9°C.

So take the guessing game out of barbecuing and always ensure perfect, and perfectly safe, results.

HOW TO MAKE TURKEY BURGERS

Step 1: Blitz wholemeal bread in a mini food chopper until you have fine breadcrumbs. This is a great way to use slightly stale bread, especially the end of the loaf slices! Put your breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Add roughly chopped red onion and basil leaves to the mini chopper (no need to clean) and pulse until the onion is minced then tip into the bowl with the breadcrumbs.

Step 3: Now put the turkey mince, egg, mustard and seasonings into the bowl and mix well using your hands.

Step 4: Form the burger patties. This turkey burger recipe makes four large burgers or six smaller ones. I like to use a burger press to make sure they are all a uniform size. You can also simply use your hands if you prefer of course. Make sure to brush the burger press with a little oil so the patties will easily fall out.

Step 5: Place the patties on a platter, cover and chill for 30 minutes or until you need to cook them. 

HOW TO COOK TURKEY BURGERS ON THE BARBECUE

Step 1: Preheat your barbecue. If you are using coal, wait until the flames have died down completely and the coal has turned ashy before grilling. You want even medium heat.

Step 2: Brush your burgers with a little rapeseed oil. Turkey burgers are less dense than beef burgers and liable to fall apart more easily so you want to make sure they won’t stick to the BBQ. Dip some kitchen paper in oil and wipe your barbecue grill as well.

Step 3: Place the patties on the grill and cook for about five minutes, or until you can easily lift them off the grill without them sticking. Don’t try to force them before they are sealed, they might get stroppy and start breaking up!

Step 4: Flip the burgers over and continue to cook until they register an internal cooking temperature of 75C / 165F when checked with your Thermapen at the center. 

HOW TO PAN FRY TURKEY BURGERS

Step 1: Heat a little rapeseed oil in a non-stick griddle pan over medium heat. You can also use a cooking spray if you prefer, but make sure you coat both the pan and burgers to avoid sticking.

Step 2: Fry for around 5-6 minutes per side and ensure the burgers are perfectly cooked to 75C /165 F by checking them with your Thermapen. 

Serving Suggestions

Serve your turkey burgers on brioche burger buns with ketchup, yellow mustard, tomato, lettuce, onions and gherkins – or just use all your favourite burger fixings!

They are also delicious simply served with salad – try my Greek Pasta salad, Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad or Tabbouleh on the side!

Storing and Freezing

You can keep the uncooked burger patties in the fridge for up to a day, in a covered container.

The uncooked patties can also be frozen so that you can always have a healthy meal ready and waiting. Wrap well to avoid freezer burn and use within 3 months, thawing the burgers overnight in the fridge before cooking.

HAVE YOU MADE MY TURKEY BURGER RECIPE? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!

If you enjoy turkey recipes, check out my Roast Turkey Crown, Leftover Turkey Curry, Leftover Turkey Pasta and healthy Turkey Meatballs.

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5 from 4 votes

Ultimate Turkey Burgers

By Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes

These lean homemade turkey burgers are great if you are following a healthy diet – quick and easy to prepare, juicy and delicious!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Chilling: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 52 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• ▢ 500 g (1.1 lb) lean turkey mince
• ▢ 120 g (scant 2 cups) wholemeal bread crumbs three slices toaster bread
• ▢ 1 red onion roughly chopped
• ▢ 6 basil leaves
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 6 tbsp grated Parmesan (can use boxed or freshly grated)
• ▢ 1 tsp English mustard
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic granules
• ▢ rapesed oil as needed, for cooking

Instructions 

Make the burgers

• Put the bread in a mini food chopper and pulse until you have fine breadcrumbs. Put your breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl.
• Add roughly chopped red onion and basil leaves to the mini chopper (no need to clean) and pulse until the onion is minced then tip into the bowl with the breadcrumbs.
• Now put the turkey mince, egg, mustard and seasonings into the bowl and mix well using your hands.
• Form the burger patties. Brush the burger press with a little oil and form four large patties. You can also use your hands to make six smaller burgers if you prefer.
• Place the patties on a platter, cover and chill for 30 minutes or until you need to cook them.

Grilling on BBQ

• Preheat your barbecue. If you are using coal, wait until the flames have died down completely and the coal has turned ashy before grilling. You want even medium heat.
• Brush your burgers with a little rapeseed oil. Turkey burgers are less dense than beef burgers and liable to fall apart more easily so you want to make sure they won’t stick to the BBQ. Dip some kitchen paper in oil and wipe your barbecue grill as well.
• Place the patties on the grill and cook for about five minutes, or until you can easily lift them off the grill without them sticking. Don’t try to force them before they are sealed, they might get stroppy and start breaking up!
• Flip the burgers over and continue to cook until they register an internal cooking temperature of 75C / 165F when checked with your Thermapen at the center.

Pan Fry

• Heat a little rapeseed oil in a non-stick griddle pan over medium heat. You can also use a cooking spray if you prefer, but make sure you coat both the pan and burgers to avoid sticking.
• Fry for around 5-6 minutes per side and ensure the burgers are perfectly cooked to 75C /165 F by checking them with your Thermapen.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve your turkey burgers on brioche burger buns with ketchup, yellow mustard, tomato, lettuce, onions and gherkins – or just use all your favourite burger fixings! They are also delicious simply served with your favourite salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 1440mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 182IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.

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