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!
These were A-mazing!!!! My 15 year old daughter raved about them as well. Will definitely be making these all summer!
We don’t eat turkey burgers in Greece. Just because you toss in feta or olives or something else doesn’t mean it’s Greek.
Call it Greek inspired or just a turkey burger with feta, please.
Who cares!!
Even in Greece there will be different variations to recipes. I’m sure you have not tried them all. Lighten up!
Food is food, so it’s NOT a big deal!!! No one placed a gun to your head, and forced you to eat anything, especially turkey burgers!!!!
Do you happen to know the calorie value?
This looks absolutely delicious! Think I’m going to have to try this and either freeze or refrigerate the uncooked burgers for later.
We used thin burger buns for a low carb option and then for breakfast we layered a scrambled egg patty onto our leftover burgers and it was delicious all over again! Thanks for the great recipe!
I made these last night and they were wonderful! I got a little carried away with the onion, but it was fine. I cannot wait to make these for my family again!
Can you substitute something for the bread crumbs? What would you recommend?
You might be able to do cooked rice. Day old cooked rice would be best, so that it’s just slightly on the dry side.
I can’t even remember how many times my boyfriend and I have made this recipe (he’s obsessed). It’s equally as delicious every time. So simple, and cheap. I bought turkey and yogurt x2 and doubled the recipe. Try it!
I made these, but instead of the yogurt sauce I mixed some olive oil mayo with lemon juice, and and it was fantastic! I also used whole wheat English muffins as buns, which worked well. My husband and I loved these!
These are amazing! Making them again tonight! Substituted sour cream for yogurt and we like the sauce sooo much! Also used fresh dill instead of dried. Best recipe of the moment!
These are very good, I made them the other night!
This was by far one of mine and my partner’s favourite meals we’ve ever cooked together. On the menu for next week! Great recipe, thankyou!!
Do you think these will freeze well? If so, should I freeze them raw or cooked?
I think I would freeze them raw, then make sure to thaw them in the fridge the day before.
These freeze amazingly. I put raw ones individually in a zip lock bag and freeze them. I just thaw out an hour or so before cooking, they thaw fast individually. Makes great portion control for when I’m alone.
Oh my goodness, these were so good. I used ground chicken breast and I didn’t have sun dried tomatoes so I used roasted red peppers. Everything else the same. I was so scared it would be dry and lack flavor. That was not the case. Even my daughter and husband both loved it. Will be in our rotation from now on!
These are sooo good! My 2 toddlers even agree! Made with cucumber and tomato mint salad. Don’t even need a bun.