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 fantastic! I left out the sundried tomatoes just because I’m not fond of them… And I didn’t use the egg or breadcrumbs. They were the most delicious burgers I’ve ever made!! Amazing I will definitely be making these in the future!!
Can you cook it all together as a meatloaf?
Probably! That’s a great idea. :)
So I made a huge batch because I had 3# of ground turkey to use up… I cooked half of the mix as burgers and the other half I made into meat loaves.
I omitted the breadcrumbs (because I didn’t have them anyway), and added a cup and a half or so of cooked quinoa (that I cooked in veggie broth for flavor) and an extra egg. I formed it into little freeform loaves on a sheet pan and topped with a sun dried tomato ketchup. Baked at 350 for 45-60 minutes, depending on size, until no longer pink in the middle. Very tasty and got great reviews!
These look great, gonna try them this week for dinner for the family. One tip I have for working with ground turkey, wear gloves! It doesn’t stick to food prep gloves at all. Life Changing!
I made these last night – we LOVED them! So, so good, and pretty easy to make. I REALLY love tzatiki sauce, so I almost made that instead, but the dill sauce was much easier to make, so I figured I’d give it a try – SO glad I did! I love dill, and this sauce was perfect for the burgers. Great recipe!!!
I made these last night, but with a twist. Instead of burgers I turned the mixture into meatballs (I got 25 or so about an inch and a half in diameter) and baked them in the oven until done.
To serve with them, I cooked some Orzo on the stovetop in chicken broth (two cups orzo, four cups broth) and once the orzo was cooked and the mixture smooth I added in a few tablespoons of pesto I had leftover from another recipe, and some Parmesan cheese I also had on hand.
I served the greek turkey meatballs on top of a pile of the pesto Parmesan orzo, with a dollop of tzatziki with the meatballs. The flavor was intense, but really good. I may not have needed the pesto, or at least not as much, but it was very much a ‘what do I have left in the fridge’ sort of thing. I don’t regret adding it, but even in its absence just the cooked orzo with Parmesan would have been fine.
What an AMAZING idea! I made the burgers last night and loved them, but next time I might have do this instead!
Sounds delicious!!! :-)
I just made these and I loved them! They tasted just like a gyro, but super easy! I used the ingredient list for 6 which calls for 1.25 pounds of turkey. I ended up using 2 pounds to get heartier patties to appease my husband to eating turkey burgers. ;) I went with slightly less sun dried tomatoes, slightly more spinach (~3oz.), used 1/2 a red onion (I love it!) and 2/3 a cup of feta. I toasted the buns in a pan with butter and it was amazing!
GREAT recipe! The sauce was perfect with it, and we had a few leftover burgers that froze well.
Super delicious, and the sauce was to die for!
Can you make these ahead and freeze them?
Yes, you could certainly mix up the meat, form them into patties, and freeze them. :)
Love these burgers! So good!
Hello, This is a great recipe, have been preparing it as meatballs especially for appetizers–and they are delicious. However, since we are all on “programs,” we need know the nutrition details (protein, sat fat, fiber, etc) Or if you have the weight watchers Smart Points per serving, that would be so very helpful! Thanks so much for a great recipe, and even better when we know the nutritional composition.
So amazingly good! I just made them!
Tried it, came out delish, although, I omitted cheese, still came out great
Thank you for your recipe
How long do these need to cook? Would you be able to add the cook time to the actual directions please? Your recipes are the best and I’m so appreciative of you and your site!
It really depends on the size and thickness of the burger and which method you use to cook them, but in my George Foreman I usually go for about 7 minutes (make sure it’s pre-heated). Either way you’ll want to check it for doneness in the center and adjust as needed.
These were wonderful! I actually included extra sun dried tomatoes and added a little of the oil from the jar to the burgers, and they were so moist. Yummy recipe.