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!
Absolutely delish!!! I will definitely be making these again…I don’t care for Greek yogurt & I thought I would give it a try again and well nope…so next time I will try a different sauce (that’s just a personal side note) so yummy. Thank you for an easy and amazing recipe!!!
I made this recipe with a few substitutions and omissions. I used Tuscan kale instead of spinach and omitted sun dried tomatoes cause I didn’t have any. I also made this as a meat loaf and used the garnish sauce for serving..and let me just say it is phenomenal!!! So flavorful!!
During this quarantine time, I am doing grocery pick up instead of going into the store. Last night I came home with 4 packages of ground turkey instead of a family pack of chicken legs! I have NEVER cooked with ground turkey. Going to try these tonight because I actually have most of everything else on the list (give or take). Thanks so much for helping as I cook new things based on what’s on hand
This is full of fantastic flavor! I especially love the sauce! I had to add more breadcrumbs because my frozen spinach had a lot of moisture, so I’ll likely thaw and drain my spinach before adding it next time. Also, use plenty of oil if cooking these on the stovetop instead of the grill, because the turkey doesn’t have much fat and will stick to your pan if you don’t keep it moving or add oil. P.S. I served this with the Moroccan spiced sweet potatoes recipe and it was a great pairing!
This is full of fantastic flavor! I especially love the sauce! I had to add more breadcrumbs because my frozen spinach had a lot of moisture, so I’ll likely thaw and drain my spinach before adding it next time. Also, use plenty of oil if cooking these on the stovetop instead of the grill, because the turkey doesn’t have much fat and will stick to your pan if you don’t keep it moving or add oil. P.S. I served this with the Moroccan spiced sweet potatoes recipe and it was a great pairing!
Why would you call these burgers “Greek burgers”?
I am from Greece and even though we do make chicken or turkey burgers, this is not a traditional Greek food. Plus in our burgers we do not add spinach nor sun dried tomatoes.
These turkey burgers got a biggg stamp of approval from my “turkey burger expert” of a bf. I had some leftover whipped feta dip from the Super Bowl and used it instead of the yogurt sauce and omg… delicious. *chef’s kiss* Add these to your rounds ASAP!
Recipe looks amazing! What is the Calorie count per burger?
Thank you.
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
5 star recipe! I absolutely loved this! My swaps were: fresh dill for dried, no bread crumbs, red bell pepper instead of sun dried tomatoes, and half arugula and spinach (I ran out of spinach lol), everyone loved them and they ate super healthy and clean!
The flavors in this recipe are so tasty! I used fresh spinach and instead of burgers I made these into meatballs. Cooked in my air fryer at 375 for 15 minutes. So good!
These were amazing! I forgot the sundried tomatoes, and they were still Incredibly flavorful!!
This has become a biweekly staple in my wife and I’s rotation. We actually serve over a bed of fresh baby spinach for a healthy option. 5 stars!
These were delicious…So flavorful! I EVOO’d my hands lightly before I made the mix into patties…Also added a little oil to the pan. They came out great! Will def make them again & again! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
These were AMAZING! My whole family loved them. Since I am eating low carb I had them without the bun and didn’t miss it at all. So much flavor!
This recipe is super great, lots of flavor and it is healthy
Made these last night by my daughter’s recommendation. LOVED them. I think the sun dried tomatoes is what makes them so delicious. Definitely making them again. Great idea to make them into a meatloaf. Less work.