Ground turkey can be kind of, well, boring if you don’t dress it up right. That’s why I made these turkey burgers with a twist and 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!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- Color Cutting Boards
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!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!
Made this with pork and a jarred sun dried tomato pesto instead of sun dried tomatoes. It was fantastic! Also made some oven fries and the cucumber tomato salad as sides. Yum!
Why is it in the recipe and the directions it does not include an E gg as an ingredient. Yet in the picture where it shows all the ingredients together for the turkey Greek burgers it has an egg in it. Which is right? I’ve made it several times without the egg and just noticed the picture today when I was making them.
The recipe was updated a while back and my new version does not require an egg. You may be seeing an old photo that someone pinned to Pinterest? The new recipe and new photos do not include egg.
Super good. I made these burgs kinda oblong to fry them. I put them in a pita, topped with your Mediterranean slaw and the lemon dill yogurt sauce and (a little of your Mediterranean cucumber salad). Gals. Guys. Just do that. And maybe start a new … wait. Listen close… what is that… Those are church bells twangin. I just married this sammich.
19 oz of ground turkey? I made it many times….one of our favorite burgers! I lost recipe so glad to find this recipe again…goanna print. Please let me know about measure for ground turkey. Thank you!
Yes, some brands package ground turkey in 19oz. packages, for some reason. If you can only find a 16oz. package that will work just fine.
These were fantastic, even though I messed up and forgot the oregano. The flavors are awesome and recipe is easy to follow. I did have 1 ‘substitute’ as I used sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, as that was what I had on hand. I feel like that was okay for me personally, as the only available ground turkey at my local store was super lean. The sauce recipe was yummy too!
Cook time was a little longer for me, but I believe that was because my burgers were a little thicker. This recipe would also make yummy slider-style burgers for hors d’oeuvres.
Can this recipe be used to make as a meatloaf instead of burgers? If so, what do recommend for baking temperature and time? Do you think breadcrumbs or eggs should be added?
You could probably do a meatloaf version of this, but I’d need to do some testing before offering suggestions. But I’m really glad you asked because I’m going to put that on my list of recipes to make! :)
I’ve now made this recipe at least 4 times. It somehow always gets better than the last. This week I’m using it as a meal prep and made the mixture into meatballs to top my salads with this week for lunch. Can’t wait!!
I like to make these burgers with ground pork. I also use fresh spinach…wash and chop it up and MW at 50% power for about 2 minutes in a bowl…then squeeze out extra liquid with the back of a spoon. Yummy recipe! It’s a keeper!
DELICIOUS! Followed to a T, only wish I had doubled the recipe!
Hi Beth, just about to make this and my mouth is already watering! Wondering if the sauce keeps well? I’m cooking quite a few burgers to eat throughout the week, and thinking if I should make the sauce each day or if I can make it in a larger quantity now. Thanks!
Hi Rox, yes, the sauce does keep well in the fridge for 4-5 days. :)
Pro tip: mix leftover cucumber slices with leftover yogurt dill sauce and add a tiny splash of vinegar to make cucumber salad for the next day’s lunch! This was so yummy! Hence why there were only some cucumber slices left over!
They were amazing! So flavorful, will definitely make again!
Love this recipe. I always double the yogurt sauce and pair with a tomato/cucumber salad. Do you think these burgers would freeze well, either raw or frozen?
Yep, you could freeze them either way! They’ll probably taste best if frozen raw, so that they don’t essentially get cooked twice from reheating.
Why did you take out the egg and breadcrumb and garlic out of this recipe? Especially because the breadcrumbs help keep the burger from becoming too dry (something that can happen easily when working with ground turkey)
I don’t find that they’re necessary to hold the burger together and they’re still quite juicy without the extra ingredients. I had written about not needing them (and regretting adding them) in the original text of the blog post. And I find the garlic flavor is a little more even throughout the patty when using garlic powder rather than fresh. But hey, cooking is all about doing it the way you personally like, so make sure to do it the other way if that’s what you prefer! :)
Are these freezer friendly Beth?
Yes, you can freeze either before or after cooking, whichever you prefer. :)