When it comes to turkey burgers, you’re probably thinking dry and boring. Not so, friends. With the right approach—aka flavorful toppings and fillings—turkey burgers can be juicy, indulgent and just as exciting as any beef version. (And don’t forget they’re lower in fat, too.) Here are 20 turkey burger recipes that prove our point, from jalapeño smashburgers to tzatziki-topped to Mediterranean-style.
20 Turkey Burger Recipes You’ve Never Tried Before (That Aren’t Bland or Boring)
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Published Aug 3, 2023
1. Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, low carb
This burger has tons of bright, herbal flavor in the meat, and a yogurt sauce to bring everything together. Want an even more flavorful meal? We recommend using skipping the 99 percent lean ground turkey in favor of something with a little more fat, which will keep the burgers from tasting bland or dry.
2. Bacon Jalapeño Smashburgers
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
While this recipe actually calls for ground chicken, we’ve had plenty of success swapping in equal amounts of ground turkey. As long as you have a cast iron skillet (or any skillet, really), you don’t need to light a grill.
3. Moroccan-Spiced Turkey Burgers with Creamy Feta Sauce
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <500 calories
The turkey burgers are seasoned with warming spices like cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and cinnamon—all excellent contrasts to the cool, creamy feta sauce.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
According to recipe author Erin Clarke, these turkey burgers are the “best ever” because you’ll use 93-percent lean ground turkey and bind the patties with breadcrumbs and egg. Both tactics will guard against dryness.
5. Mediterranean Turkey Burger
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Loaded with feta, onions and herbs and slathered in homemade tzatziki, these burgers are anything but boring. (And if you want to use store-bought tzatziki, we’ll never judge.)
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Homemade guacamole and juicy pico de gallo are the ideal safeguards against boring burgers, if you’re following blogger Gaby Dalkin’s rules. (We are.)
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, <500 calories, <30 minutes
This burger is equal parts juicy and spicy, thanks to the addition of chipotles in adobo and a sweet nectarine salsa.
8. Jalapeño Curry Turkey Burgers
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <500 calories, high protein
This isn’t your average, plain turkey burger. As if the spiced patties weren’t enough, there’s also a crunchy slaw topping and tahini curry sauce to savor.
9. Jalapeño Cheddar Guacamole Turkey Burgers with Crispy Onions
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, beginner-friendly
A little bit of spice, a touch of cheese and a lot of avocado are the secret to this irresistible recipe. Who said turkey burgers were flavorless?
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, crowd-pleaser
It turns out, our favorite things about the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich (crispy pickled veggies, an umami sauce) also make for some seriously tasty fusion food.
11. Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <20 minutes, beginner-friendly, high protein
Even though turkey is known for being lean (and can dry out when you cook it), the addition of spinach here keeps it nice and juicy.
12. Grilled BLT Turkey Burgers
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
It’s hard to go wrong with the classic combination of bacon, lettuce and tomato. Even better, these babies are ready in about 20 minutes.
13. Pesto Turkey Burger Sliders on Sweet Potato Buns
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: low carb, paleo, gluten free, <30 minutes
Oh hey, paleo and gluten-free dinner. Since they’re mini, these guys cook up in an instant (20 minutes, to be precise).
14. Thai Turkey Burgers with Spicy Sriracha Slaw
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: low carb, high protein, <30 minutes
Who needs a bun when you’ve got mango-broccoli slaw and a gingery sriracha dressing? You can pair the burgers with cauliflower rice if you’re watch your carbs, or white rice if you’re not.
15. Chipotle Barbecue Turkey Burgers
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
Blogger Katie Workman knows that when it comes to any burger, you can’t skimp on the sauce. Here, it’s a tasty blend of mayo and chipotle peppers in adobo.
16. Turkey Burgers with Creamy Gorgonzola and Chili-Garlic Slaw
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, special occasion–worthy
We’ve officially found summer in a sandwich. We can think of about a hundred ways we’d repurpose the spicy slaw in this recipe. (In our opinion, it would be just as good on a fried chicken sammie.)
17. Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Bacon Hawaiian Turkey Burgers
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, kid-friendly
Packed with barbecue sauce, aromatics and spices, these grillers will please even the most stubborn beef eater. (The grilled pineapple topping doesn’t hurt either.)
18. Caprese Turkey Burgers with Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella and Heirloom Tomato
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, special occasion–worthy, <30 minutes
Who knew our favorite warm-weather salad made for an excellent burger topping? We’ll be making these from Memorial Day to Labor Day (and beyond).
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, kid-friendly
According to blogger Alex Snodgrass, the secret to repairing the turkey burger’s bad rap as easy as adding a dollop of mayonnaise to the meat for extra fat and flavor. (Smart, right?)
20. Stuffed Southwest Turkey Burgers with Pepper Jack and Guacamole
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, high protein
Because the Pepper Jack and green chiles go inside the turkey burgers instead of on top, you’re guaranteed to get bursts of spicy, creamy flavor in every bite.
