Ground turkey can be kind of, well, boring if you don’t dress it up right. That’s why for these Mediterranean Turkey Burgers I added fun add-ins to the burger patty for maximum flavor and color. And instead of the ketchup and mustard treatment, these juicy burgers get a homemade lemon dill yogurt sauce, crunchy slices of cucumber, and a few slivers of red onion. If you’re looking to change up your burger game, these Mediterranean Turkey Burgers are it!
Can the Turkey Burgers be Grilled?
Yes, you can definitely grill these burgers instead of cooking them in a skillet. An outdoor grill or even an indoor countertop grill, like a George Foreman grill, will work great.
Why 19 oz. of Ground Turkey?
I’ll never understand why, but some brands sell ground turkey in 19 oz. packages instead of one-pound packages (if you work in that industry and know why, please let me know). If you can only find a one-pound package of ground turkey, you can still make this recipe. I wouldn’t adjust any other ingredients, just make four patties instead of five and they’ll be a little extra flavorful.
What to Serve with Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
Since I had a half cucumber and red onion leftover from the recipe, I used them to make a small batch of my Super Fresh Cucumber Salad. It’s the perfect light side to these burgers. You could also serve them with something like Herby Potato Salad, Mediterranean Coleslaw, Steak Fries, Mediterranean White Bean Salad, Quinoa Tabbouleh, or a simple green salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, and a vinaigrette).
Can I Use Fresh Spinach?
Yes, you can use fresh spinach in this recipe instead of frozen, if you prefer. I suggest chopping the spinach until it’s in small pieces so it’s easier to mix into the meat. You may also want to sauté it briefly in a skillet to get some of the water out. You’ll want about ¼ cup once sautéed.
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
Servings 5Ingredients
Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt ($0.50)
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp dried dill ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
Turkey Burgers
- 19 oz. ground turkey* ($3.89)
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes ($0.83)
- 1/4 cup minced red onion ($0.08)
- 2 oz. frozen spinach (1 cup when frozen) ($0.25)
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta ($0.57)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
For Serving
- 5 hamburger buns ($3.04)
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced ($0.75)
Instructions
- Make the lemon dill yogurt sauce first. Stir together the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, dried dill, and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare the add-ins for the turkey burgers. Finely chop the sun dried tomatoes, mince or finely dice the red onion, crumble the feta, and then thaw and squeeze all the moisture out of the frozen spinach (2 oz. will be about 1 cup when frozen, ¼ cup when thawed and squeezed dry).
- Add the ground turkey, sun dried tomatoes, red onion, feta, spinach, dried oregano, garlic powder, and salt to a bowl. Mix the ingredients together until evenly combined.
- Divide and shape the turkey mixture into five burger patties. Make them flatter and wider than usual because they will shrink up and in as they cook.
- Heat ½ Tbsp cooking oil in a skillet over medium. Once hot, add three of the turkey burgers and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining cooking oil and the rest of the burger patties.
- To serve, smear some of the lemon dill yogurt sauce on a bun. Add a turkey burger, some sliced cucumber, and sliced red onion, then enjoy.
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Video
How to Make Mediterranean Turkey Burgers – Step By Step Photos
Make the lemon dill yogurt sauce first, so the flavors have a little time to blend. Stir together ½ cup Greek yogurt, ½ Tbsp lemon juice, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp dried dill, and ⅛ tsp salt. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use. And yes, you can use plain non-Greek yogurt if needed, it just makes a less thick sauce. :)
Prepare the burger add-ins. Chop about ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes (I use the dry pack, not the kind packed in oil), mince or finely dice ¼ cup red onion (save the rest to slice and place on the burgers), crumble 1 oz. feta (about ¼ cup), and thaw then squeeze all the moisture out of 2 oz. frozen spinach. The spinach is about 1 cup when frozen, ¼ cup after it has been thawed and squeezed dry.
Place 19 oz. ground turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, feta, spinach, 1 tsp dried oregano, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl (sorry, I forgot the oregano, garlic powder, and salt until after the photo was taken).
Mix the ingredients into the ground turkey until it’s all evenly mixed.
Divide and shape the meat mixture into five burger patties. Make the patties thinner and wider than you’d expect because they do shrink up and inward as you cook them.
To cook the burgers in a skillet, add ½ Tbsp cooking oil to a skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add a few of the burger patties and cook on each side for 5-7 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through. Repeat with the second half of the oil and the remaining burger patties.
To serve, spread some of the lemon dill yogurt sauce on a bun, add a cooked burger patty and a few slices of cucumber and red onion. Enjoy!
I tried adding fresh cilantro chopped instead of the spinach and added some red-wine vinegar (about 1 tbsp) for a kick. It was YUMMY that way too. My kids liked it both ways and beg for this weekly. Thanks so much!
yum!!! amazing! thanks for sharing the recipe and good to know that it has worked well without turning out a dry patty!
I think this may truly be the best burger I’ve ever made! I used fresh spinach and slow roasted my own tomatoes, but other than that I followed your recipe. I fully expected these burgers to be a little dry but they were super moist! I loved the dill sauce as well! So happy I made this, as it will now become a simple recipe to add to the rotation! Thanks so much!
Tina
Soooo good! I made these for my family and it was a huge hit! I’m recently teaching myself how to cook and this impressed everyone! This blog is great :)
This looks delicious! I’ve got some reduced-fat feta in my fridge that I’ve been trying to find a good recipe for.
These were great! Thank you!
Unreal. They were SO good. Thanks for another awesome recipe Beth.
Wow, here’s one of those shrinking packages for you: the Fage I just bought yesterday is 6oz, not 7. Stupid food prices.
This was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!!
We make home made burgers regularly. It’s a lot cheaper than buying gourmet burgers which cost $10-12 NZ each. I’m the same when it comes to making burgers. I start off with a small handful of ingredients but then get over excited and the burger ends up being a towering monstrosity. I’ve never seen ground turkey here in New Zealand, but it seems to be a nice change from other minced meats. Though I bet it would be pretty expensive if I managed to track it down. Turkey isn’t all that common here. It’s more like a luxury item…Yup, just tracked down some turkey at my local supermarket. They only do smoked turkey and it’s $30 per kg.
You could probably do it with ground chicken. I’d think it would taste similar.
Looks good! Oh, and for a change up, substitute mint instead of dill for the tzatizki yogurt sauce. That’s how I prefer it :)
I gotta try these! I always make turkey burgers and love to try new ones. I find the key to good cooking with ground turkey is to always get all white meat – it’ll say it on the package. Otherwise it tastes funny and smells even worse.
oooh yum! i love trying new ways to cook turkey burgers. this recipe is next up for sure!
This recipe sounds great. Some of my favorite ingredients: spinach and feta. Can’t wait to try this Greek inspired burger.
oh..my…God! This may be just the tastiest burger EVER made! I must try it and the yogurt dill sauce looks to die for!…wow, I just got really excited over a burger..haha! Can’t wait to try it!