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!
How long did you cook these on the george foreman? I am looking forward to making them!
I usually do about 6-7 minutes.
This is pretty interesting mix. I’m gonna give it a try. I often add ground flaxseeds into mine. Not only it’s full of goodness like Omega 3s, but it actually makes your burger more moist.
The only thing I found strange is your avoidance of fats… like selecting leaner meat, low-fat yogurt, etc. Fat is crucial for our bodies and especially for the brain – you might wanna rethink your stand on it. :) http://greatist.com/health/saturated-fat-healthy
These look great. I’m not a sun-dried tomatoes fan. Do you think they are critical?
Nope! They just added a little something extra to an already good burger. :)
This recipe is amazing! I made a couple patties, and put the rest of the batch into the freezer. They kept extremely well. Still so flavorful.
Every recipe I’ve tried from Budget Bytes has been amazing, and this one didn’t disappoint either. I’m not typically fond of sun-dried tomatoes, so I was a little on the fence with the idea of throwing them in something, but no regrets. I could only get seasoned tomatoes, but the flavor was subtle enough that I don’t think it did much to change the taste. Overall verdict? So good I almost want to cook another right now…and I just had one.
I’ve just got my first freezer (EXCITING – officially an adult now :P) and I’m completely clueless about what’s good to go in it. Would these freeze well? Looks like it’d be pretty easy to make single servings instead of the batch if not. They look amazing!
My cooking abilities leave much to be desired…luckily my man does most of the cooking or else I would starve. That being said, I attempt making a meal every so often. When I saw this recipe posted on Buzzfeed’s “7 easy dinners to try this week”, it looked super delish and not too difficult (as the title would imply), so I decided to give it a try. The prep was easy. That yogurt sauce is legit! I’ve been spreading the leftover on pita with hummus and sun-dried tomato tapenade. I found the burgers easy to mold without using the egg or breadcrumbs. I love that I was able to sneak some veggies in the patties too. Super yum. I enjoyed them, but more importantly, my boyfriend was very impressed. I will definitely be making these again soon!!!!!!!
I’m trying to figure out what the green is in the patty? Spinach? I didn’t see that in the ingredient list. These look amazing!
It’s the 2 oz. of spinach, which is listed in the ingredients between the onion and feta. :)
Amazing! Trust me… grill on the bbq instead of an indoor grill!
These were so very good! I wonder if the recipe could be used to make meatballs?
Probably, yes! :)
I think that this was one of the BEST recipes that I’ve ever put into my mouth! It’s a keeper! I might make it into a meatloaf next time and see how that works. Great recipe!!!!
Wow these were great!! I didn’t use bread crumbs nor egg and they turned out perfectly. I ate mine without a bun and without the sauce and it was great. So much flavor!! My whole family loved it.
I just wanted to express my delight in finding your website. I too am from Louisiana, and I was lucky enough to have a mother who taught me how to cook, how to save money, and how to make use of my freezer. With that said, my family taught me how to make these amazing meals that wasn’t so amazing for my waistline.
I was so tired of typing “budget friendly healthy meal recipes” in Google. Now I don’t have to! I will be purchasing your cookbook very soon!
Thank you for all your recipes! They are fantastic! Keep up the good work!
So great! Thanks for the recipe.
Very tasty. I used fresh garlic instead of jarred and no egg or crumb and it held together fine. Round number two is tonight.