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 would u cook the patties in the skillet for…?
It will really depend on the size/thickness of your burgers, the type of skillet you have, and the exact heat of your skillet. It’s kind of one of those things you have to play by ear. If you have a meat thermometer that might be the easiest way to tell when they’re done.
This was really good! Even with having to sub out some ingredients it was a hit with my emerging eater. I’m going to put it on my rotation for him. My little one has a feeding tube and is now able to eat solids by mouth, no liquids, and has a milk allergy. I had to use diary free cheese and panko crumbs. I didn’t have a red onion and I used a bit more spinach and Italian seasoning. I started off sautéing them in a pan but half way through the little one was needing me so I transferred them to the broiler. I put a sprinkle of fiesta cheese on top of my patty. We ate it with vegetable rotini that was tossed with minced sun dried tomatoes, olives, capers, olive oil and Italian seasoning, coconut milk yogurt and fresh cucumbers and carrots. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
ohhhh myyyy these are soooo good!! I had to leave out and sub some ingredients because I am trying to empty my fridge before we leave for vacation Saturday (hooray!) so I used the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, roasted peppers, red onion, and seasonings…I had to sub zucchini for cucumber…we skipped the sauce only because of trying to empty the fridge, and ate them over a bed of Quiona and sautéed zucchini!! Omggggg!! Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch tomorrow!! Will be trying the full recipe when we return, can’t wait!!
Oh my! So so so good. And I want to hug you because my two year old, who refuses to eat just about everything, at this burger. And loved it! Soooo good!
Could I use fresh baby spinach and if so,how much would you recommend? Thanks!!!
You could, but you’d probably want to sauté it down until it looks wilted like the frozen spinach, otherwise it will make it difficult for the burgers to hold together. I’d use about three big handfulls (about 3 cups?) of fresh spinach. That will wilt down quite a bit when sautéed.
about two or three cups of fresh spinach will do. no need to wilt down just roll the spinach up and give a nice chop :)
Can I just say, thank you for the step by step pictures! Not saying they’re always needed, but I hate when sites post 50 pictures of JUST the final product.
Will definitely be making these soon! Was there a certain amount of time you kept the burgers on the Foreman grill or is it more wait til it browns?
How long can the yogurt sauce last in the refrigerator?
Probably about 5 or 6 days.
Just made this for lunch. IT WAS AWESOME! I skipped the yogurt sauce (it’s just not my thing) and used my grill pan to go it on the stove top. I didn’t change the recipe at all and it was amazing! Will DEFINITELY make again!!
these burgers are so amazing!!! They reheat so well….I have had one for lunch everyday this week! I wasn’t a fan of the dill sauce so I topped it with a little of ketchup and mayo!
We had these for dinner tonight (minus the dairy ingredients because I’m allergic) and I thought they were so good! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Do you know the calorie count on one pattie?
375 w/ bun
Just made these for dinner and everyone loved them! They didn’t even notice the onions! Yum yum!
Hi I have made these a couple of times, they are really good. I use fresh garlic and didn’t have sundried tomato so used roasted red pepper I think it added a bit more moisture. Thanks for a great recipe.
Just made these for dinner and wow were they good! My husband said he had his doubts about “turkey” burgers but was pleasantly surprised. They were also very filling – we wanted to have more so bad but couldn’t do it! Thank you for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Just made these for dinner and they were great! I really like them without a bun too, just slathered in the yogurt sauce :) i baked them in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through and they were perfect. Thank you for the awesome recipe!