Every once in a while I get a very specific craving for a turkey burger. Not just the patty itself, but the bun, tomato, and the whole deal. I wanted to do something a little different this time, so came up with these super yum Green Chile Turkey Burgers, infused with green chiles, cumin, and pepper jack cheese. They did not disappoint.
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These Green Chile Turkey Burgers only take about 10 minutes to mix up and then depending on how you cook them, just a few minutes more until they’re ready to eat. It doesn’t really get better than that for a quick, flavorful weeknight dinner! I topped my burger with sliced tomato and avocado, but completely forgot to buy the lettuce. The avocado slices were absolutely to die for with this burger, but are completely optional if avocados are out of season or otherwise too expensive. But you know, lettuce would be good too, I guess. :)
Pairs well with:
- Cumin Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Cowboy Caviar
- Warm Avocado and Corn Salad
- Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Cumin Lime Coleslaw
Green Chile Turkey Burgers
Servings 5Ingredients
- 19 oz. pkg ground turkey ($4.49)
- 4 oz. can diced green chiles, drained ($0.69)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2-3 green onions, sliced ($0.13)
- 2 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded ($0.61)
- 5 hamburger buns ($2.91)
- 1 large tomato (optional) ($0.95)
- 1 large avocado (optional) ($1.50)
Instructions
- Place the ground turkey, green chiles (drained), sliced green onions, shredded pepper jack, cumin, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients until well combined. Divide and shape the mixture into five patties. The mixture will be fairly wet.
- Cook the burgers in a skillet, on a grill, or using an indoor grill like a George Foreman, until they are cooked through (internal temperature of 165ºF) and well browned on the outside. Cooking time will depend on the method, size, and thickness of your patties.
- Serve each patty on a bun with a slice of tomato, a couple slices of avocado, and a smear of mayonnaise.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Green Chile Turkey Burgers – Step by Step Photos
These burgers are incredibly simple. You only need a few ingredients to add TONS of flavor to the ground turkey. All you need is one 19 oz. package of ground turkey, 2 oz. shredded pepper jack (about 1/2 cup), 2-3 green onions sliced, one 4 oz. can of diced green chiles (drained), 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp salt. To measure the cheese I just cut an 8 oz. block of cheese into quarters then shredded one of them. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl…
Then mix them all together until well combined. This mixture is pretty wet thanks to the green chiles, but I was still able to form them into patties. They held together well when cooked.
Divide this mixture into five equal portions (that’s about 1/4 lb. per burger) and form them into patties.
Cook the burgers in a skillet, on a grill, or on an indoor grill like the George Foreman, until they are cooked through (internal temperature of 165ºF) and browned on the outside. I suggest using an instant read thermometer to make sure. They’re not very expensive and incredibly useful in the kitchen.
Top your Green Chili Turkey Burgers with whatever you like. I added a slice of fresh tomato, some avocado, and a light smear of mayo. SO GOOD!
Outstanding! Seemed a touch dry so added egg and 1/2 c oatmeal. Cooked in air fryer. First time I have not had turkey burger fall apart in air fryer. Wife and daughter loved them
I made these tonight. Should I rate them even though my recipe was quite different? :) I only had 1# of turkey, and I really needed 8 servings to last for 2 dinners. I added 1/2 cup texturized veg protein, 1/2 cup broth, 1 cup oats, 1 egg to bulk it up. I pretty much doubled the seasonings since I was doubling the protein, but I still only put 1 4-oz can chilies. I left out the cheese for my 2 lactose sensitive guys.
So it was BASED on this recipe but highly deviated :) They were delicious and moist. A little crumbly but they stayed together. I would make these again & I would bulk them up with TVP again to save money but still have protein—
I made a few changes. I added 1/4 teaspoon of oregano an chili powder. Plus one egg an 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs mixed in. Two minutes on each side on the stove top in a cast iron skillet an two minutes on each side of a sheet pan uncovered and baked off in the oven. Two minutes on each side as well. Slathered on bbq sauce an a drizzle of honey.
I made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious! I replaced the 1/2 teaspoon of cumin with a 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder instead. They turned out great! I will be making this again. 😋
I made these burgers precisely as the recipe is written. We loved them. I have been trying to get my husband to like ground turkey, something we both have struggled with over the years. He liked this burger, as do I. It is very flavorful, and the additions make the texture of the turkey well-suited for a burger.
As if this recipe was not easy as it is, I placed the extra 3 in the freezer for an easier weeknight dinner. Thanks so much for creating this great burger.
I really love this baseline recipe. I made this the other night with a couple of tweaks based on what I had on hand. Instead of green chilis, I chopped up a chipotle pepper in adobo, which added a nice smoky, spicy flavor. I also added an egg and maybe a table spoon of breadcrumbs. I used monterey jack instead of pepperjack to balance out the heat from the chipotle. I also used a pineapple and poblano guacamole that I found at Aldi instead of the plain sliced avocado. Finally, instead of mayo I used a sweet n spicy mustard. They were a hit at my house!
SO BOMB!!! And the best part is that they were so easy. Just throw everything together, mix it up and the hard work is done. I added 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs and omitted the cheese in the meat mixture. My toppings were barbecue sauce and melted cheddar. I followed the advice of another commenter and made them in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway through and adding the cheddar slices for the last 2 minutes. Absolutely delicious, quick and easy. Beth has done it again.
Very tasty with great flavor. I added an egg to help bind the burgers and keep them from falling apart.
These were great. My whole family loved these burgers. I cooked them on the stove top first then finished the burgers in the oven.
I made use of what I had on hand an the listed ingredients. So flavorful an tasty.
Unbelievable. I made use of what I had an the listed ingredients. So flavorful an tasty.
I’ve made these a few times and I love them!
Tasted great but they fell apart. Any tips on preventing that in the future?
Sorry to hear that Liz! You could always add an egg to help bind the meat.
I added a half cup of plain bread crumbs an they were fine.
I made this for dinner last night and they were delicious! I wish I doubled the recipe so I had one for lunch today 😢, Adding this recipe to my regular rotation.
Hi Beth, if you were to freeze these would you freeze them raw, or cook them and then freeze them? Thanks for all your insanely good recipes!
Hi Matt! Honestly you could do either. If you freeze them raw, I would place them on wax or parchment paper so they don’t stick together. If you freeze them cooked, they’ll be easy to reheat and eat in a pinch!
Amazing! I didn’t have green chiles so I used green salsa instead and they were still delicious.
I’ve made tons of your recipes and they’ve all been delicious but I’ve shamefully never left a comment. I’m leaving one now because these were the best turkey burger’s I’ve ever made! I had about 16 ounces of turkey so I added about 3 ounces of bacon but kept the rest the same. Your website has saved me during a lot of lean years so thank you!
This was delish and held together really well. I make a batch up when the turkey is on sale and freeze them. They are great to have on hand. I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe.
That’s fantastic!
This looks really good! I’ve bought all the ingredients, but could only find ground turkey in 1 1b (16 oz.) packages. Any tips on adjusting for a slightly smaller amount of turkey?
Hi Ben! Up in the recipe you can adjust the servings to 4 and that should leave you with just the right adjustments to the ingredients for 16oz of ground turkey. Enjoy!
Has anybody tried adding egg? They are so good but I’m pretty clumsy and most of burgers broke apart
I added egg and they still fell apart. :( Maybe breadcrumbs.
Made this tonight with ground chicken (just can’t bring myself to like ground turkey). So good!!
Very yummy! I used a George Forman but would maybe try a different cooking method next time as my last 2 burgers fell apart :( any advice? Thanks! My grill is also kind of old ha :)
I made these for my partner and he said it was the best burger he has ever eaten! I am so proud because I’ve never cooked with turkey before, let alone ground turkey. Neither had I ever tasted a turkey burger (I’ve only started cooking about a year ago and as I child it was pretty much always pantry food, so this is a great accomplishment for me).
I had to change a few things because we don’t have canned green chilis here, so I just diced finely some jalapenos and it was great! Pepperjack cheese would have been so good too but we also didn’t have any of that at that time so it was just regular white cheddar (it was still really delicious though!)
The patty was so amazingly moist, and seriously even just by itself it is finger-licking good.
For condiments I made myself my own spicy mayo sauce, topped with a slice of tomato, avocadoes and a slice of white onion and for the bread I went for Brioche-style buns. My partner despises avocados because of their texture, but he loved it in the burger (I offered him a bite without telling him first and he admitted to loving it. He didn’t skip it either when he made his own. hehe. That’s how good it was all together)
De-li-cious! 11/10 would make again, it tops any burger I’ve ever eaten!
Thank you for this recipe!
I am going to try these for lunches. Any ideas for a condiment to make to put on them? I usually make Tzakziki for greek turkey burgers, wondering what would go well with these.
Guacamole or lime crema. :)
These were amazing and super easy to make! After not having a home cooked meal for 3 weeks, this was the perfect combination of quick and tasty! I did have to add some bread crumbs to help the patties stay together better. The cheese and green chiles were an awesome combination and the burger itself was super hearty. 5 patties was just the right count for this recipe too!
Great flavor! I was feeling lazy and baked the 6 thin patties I made in the oven for 15 min at 425 degrees. A lot of liquid came out of them so they sure weren’t pretty,but they were so good! They were still moist. I didnt drain the green chilies at all. Will definitely make again.
Mine were too soggy to hold up even after I made sure to get most of the liquid out of the green chillis. I blame the ground turkey I bought. Ended up eating my scrambled turkey “burger” in a lettuce wrap with normal burger fixings like avocado, jalapenos, red onions and tomatoes. Super yum.
Very good! Next time I will drain the chiles better, seemed too wet like they were about to fall apart. Topped them with sliced avocado and mayo. Yum
Made these last night! SUCH a winner. I used ground chicken (organic and raised without antibiotics was on sale, so I couldn’t pass it up) and it worked SO WELL. I topped with a slice of pepper jack instead of using shredded in the burger, and served with chipotle roasted purple sweet potato wedges (I just tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder — highly recommend as a side!).
Added tomato, avocado, and a little mayo to the burger. Another winner of a recipe.
This is my new favorite. I like it so much I have the extras for lunch….YUMMY YUMMY!
Hello, I found your site 2 1/2 weeks ago and made a list of 8 to 10 recipes to try. I made the Green Chile Turkey Burgers on first and have followed with some others that are out of my comfort zone (Asian style) dishes. After about 4 recipes my wife expressed that she didn’t know where these recipes are coming from but keep them coming. But she has mentioned these burgers over all the rest. They will be made on a more frequent basis for sure. I have on opinion based question…I was thinking of making these into meatball form with some pasta, can you think of any light gravy that could go over it? I have made some jalapeño pickle gravy before and thought maybe to try that recipe and sub out the pickles for chopped green chile’s? Any opinion?
Hmm, I’ve never had a pickle gravy so I’m not sure about that, but maybe a creamy/cheese sauce made with pepper jack?
You should use the sauce from the white bean and spinach enchiladas recipe on this site. SO. GOOD!!
Oooh, great idea!
Putting these on my next meal plan, but I’m planning to sub ground beef because I just can’t even with the ground turkey. Idk what it is…I think maybe the smell of it? But I’ve wanted to try this recipe forever because the flavors sound great!
It’s the texture for me, really gross, but I force myself through it for turkey burgers for lunches. lol
Perfect! Moist and flavorful. Wouldn’t change a thing.
I made the Green Chile Turkey Burgers for dinner last night, and honestly, they’re delicious. I served the turkey burgers with French fries. I will definitely make these again. Thank you for this awesome recipe, Beth. :-)
I’m looking forward to making the turkey burgers this week. :-)
I actually make mine much simpler than this. 1lb ground turkey, 1 small can of green chilis, and s+p. No joke. They’re really good for how few ingredients there are in there. I usually top them with whatever cheese I have and a little bbq sauce and eat them with or without a bun. I’ve also skipped the s+p and just added maybe a tb or less taco seasoning. They come out kinda orange, but they’re SO good topped with salsa.
Made these for dinner last night. They are easy to make and super delicious. The pepper jack cheese and the green chilies are nice and warm for a cold fall evening. Yum.
Hey Beth,
Love your recipes! How well would these patties freeze? I am only cooking for two!
They should freeze great! :)
If you are lazy like me, frozen tater tots also go well with this. :)
Made these last night for a dinner guest and they were so good! One of our favorite recipes from your site so far. Thanks!
I enjoyed these very much. They were moist and had good flavor. I topped them with avocado and added sliced pepper jack instead of putting in the burger. Served with a side mixed green salad and dinner was served. Thank you – it was yummy.
Yum — these were the most flavorful & juicy turkey burgers we’ve made! Only issue was they were a bit hard to flip on the grill. For toppings, we added sliced jalapenos. And instead of just slicing an avocado, I mashed it with lime juice and chopped herbs. Served with your chili roasted potatoes as recommended. Delicious.
Yum, I’m drooling. I’ve gotta try this soon!
These turkey burgers were phenomenal. My boyfriend prefers beef instead of turkey. When I made these, he couldn’t even tell they were made from turkey meat. Very flavorful and delicious! A must try.
You never fail me! These were great. I usually don’t care for ground turkey but they were juicy and super flavorful. I will definitely make them again.
These were incredible! I used some fancy shredded cheddar jack cheese I found on sale and some crushed red pepper flakes rather than pepper jack cheese. I sauteed some onions while I was mixing the burger and cooked the burgers in the same pan. A dab of one’s favorite BBQ sauce is the perfect thing on these. While the rest of the family ate these as burgers, I just ate mine without the bun, with the onion, some avocado, tomato… So delicious! I had mine with a baked yam with some Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash and it was the perfect side. I already can’t wait to make these burgers again.
Just made these to have for lunch this week. I had never made burgers in a skillet before but these were so juicy and amazing it’s my new go to method! Topped with tomato, avacado, and some chipotle mayo. Heaven.
I only had a 16 oz package of ground turkey so we made 4 patties. They were awesome! Topped with a slice of pepper jack, homemade grainy honey mustard, avocado, tomato, red onion, and lettuce! Very tasty and satisfying. Thanks for another winner!!!!
Awesome burgers! Used pickled jalapenos instead of avocado and my 15yr old loved it.
Made these last week and they were fantastic! I added some avocado, tomatoes and siracha mayo, they were perfect :-)
these look delicious! do you think it would affect the recipe much if I left out the cheese?
Nope, in fact I meant to mention that and forgot. I think it would be equally as awesome without the cheese, although I’d probably add a pinch of red pepper flakes to make up for the lost heat.
omg. looks so delicious
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We enjoyed these a lot! I made them tonight for dinner and served them with a little spicy calabacitas saute on the side. We put mayo, avocado, sliced tomato, and herb salad mix on the buns. They would be good with a garlic aioli too.
these look yummy! thinking about doing a meatloaf instead – do you think the recipe would require anything extra to hold it together?
I think I would add about a 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs because the mixture is so wet from the green chiles.
I made these tonight but omitted cheese & bun to make them paleo. I highly suggest sautéed mushrooms on the side. They were so delicious that my fiancé asked to me to make more patties and freeze them for future meals.
Excited to share this recipe with friends and family!
Thanks, I wanted to know if I could freeze them.
This looks yummy!
Can I recommend a condiment? Bobby Deen has a recipe for Chicken Creole Burgers with Bayou Mayo. The Bayou Mayo would be great on this. It calls for diced chives, cajun seasoning, and lemon juice mixed into mayo. Of course they recommend Paula Deen’s Creole Pepper Blend, but I usually use Emeril’s Bayou Blast and omit the chives. In my opinion the chives aren’t really necessary.
Yum – these look incredible! Definitely going onto the meal plan very soon.
Also, just wanted to mention that I usually read your posts through an RSS reader (The Old Reader), but lately the images don’t show up on there. They show up fine when I come to your website, but just show up as broken images on the reader. Not sure if it’s something on your end or on TOR’s end. :[
Thanks for the heads up! I’ve heard from some others that the problem is happening in Feedly, too. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. :/
Wow, this comes at a perfect time, I needed something to make Wednesday evening. I even have some green onions and pepper jack on hand, and a can of green chiles in the cupboard just waiting to be used. Just need to grab the ground turkey and buns.
Plus I haven’t had burgers in AGES due to wanting to cut red meat out of my diet as much as possible, so this is great!
Oh and the image with the recipe title in it has an extra ‘E’ in Green. Unless you’re supposed to extend the word for emphasis. :) Greeeeeeen Chile Turkey Burgers
Hahaha, I noticed that mistake just before I went to bed last night and let out a big “ARRRRGH!” haven’t had a chance to go back and fix it yet. :)
I Love ground turkey! I can’t even remember the last time I used ground beef. Will definitely give these burgers a try. looks yummy!
Yummy!
Good gracious, these look delicious! Can’t wait to try them out!
Hmm. I usually hate the way ground turkey smells and tastes BUT you haven’t failed me yet so I suppose I’ll have to try them!