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!
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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
- Chef’s Knife
- Color Cutting Boards
Notes
Nutrition
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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 made these last night for my husband and I. They were very fresh tasting, flavorful, and light. We both enjoyed them and I plan on making them again. The only change I made was to use roasted red peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes, since we like the peppers better.
Thanks for posting this. This is about the 4th or 5th recipe of yours that I’ve tried, and I haven’t found a bad one yet. Keep it up!
Wow, these were fantastic! Kids loved them… asked if we can make a weekly Greek turkey burger night! Yum!
OH. MY. GOD. I’ve been so excited for my next cooking night since I found this recipe, and they did not disappoint. This is probably the best burger I’ve ever eaten. Truth be told, I’m not super in to super meaty things (ie. burgers), but if every burger was like this, I’d be so on board. So much flavour, and the yogurt dill sauce is amazing. I whipped up some honey balsamic carrots for the side. I can’t wait for dinner tomorrow!!!
I made these on Saturday night on the Foreman. HOLY COW. They were incredibly good. So much flavor. I served them with a small side of a typical greek salad (romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onion, oil/vinegar dressing) and replaced hamburger buns with sandwich thins… the whole meal came in at under 500 calories.
What would be another cheese to use instead of Feta?
Well, the feta gives the burgers a distinctly Greek flavor. You could try some mozzarella or goat cheese, but it may stick to the cooking surface and definitely won’t have that classic Greek flavor.
Made these tonight! So tasty! The sundried tomatoes really made the burger have a sweet element. I had to substitute other herbs for the dill but everything turned out great! The guys had seconds!
Oh, I meant to add that I made one change to the recipe. I used ground chicken instead of ground turkey. Will try gt next time. Thanks again.
OMG, this was so awesome! I made this for the fam tonight and received kudos all around the table. I love your blog; so many great cheap ideas. Thanks for the inspiration.
I’ve been making these turkey burgers for 6 months now, about once a week! It is a FAVORITE in our house! I don’t change the recipe at all! These burgers are so amazing! I always tell myself I am going to double the recipe so I can freeze some for later, but that would never happen! we would just end up eating turkey burgers for like 4 days! I love your website, I pretty much stick to your recipes only when I cook, I have never been let down! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe and your amazing website! My boyfriend is a very happy man because of your recipes! :)
Made these today. Left out the egg and bread crumbs and they were perfect. I used the george foreman grill and let them cook on med/high for 12 minutes. Out of this world!!
Made these today. Left out the egg and bread crumbs and they were perfect. I used the george foreman grill and let them cook on med/high for 12 minutes. Out of this world!!
SHUT THE FRONT FREAKIN DOOR. These turkey burgers are so out of control good that I ate two before the rest were finished. I took your advice and nixed the egg and breadcrumbs. They held up perfectly on their own. No GF grill here, so I made them in a cast iron skillet with a smidgen of extra virgin olive oil, but other than that no other subs. Have you ever eaten something that would make you want to cry/slap someone/both? These burgers were it! I’ve never eaten a turkey burger this juicy. Winner winner turkey dinner for sure!
Amazing burgers…sooooo tasty and I’ve always been really against ground turkey (go beef!) but these changed my mind.
I will say that I did them in an iron frying pan. Next time, I’ll start them in that, and finish them in the oven. They got a little dark before I was comfortable they were done throughout!
Also, since I’m cooking for one and this is one of the spendier recipes, I divided it into sets of two (yes I eat two burgers at a time)and froze four and cooked two. Three meals, four bucks each for THIS GTFO
Just made these on a Foreman —- they were DELICIOUS! This recipe is a keeper for sure. Healthy and yummy.
has anyone made these on the grill? how did they turn out?