Defy expectations with these juicy, flavorful, and healthy Mediterranean turkey burgers! With fresh herbs and a delicious blend of spices, they pair perfectly with all of your favorite mezze-style side dishes.
Turkey burgers often get a bad rap. While they may be a lighter option to beef burgers, many are bland and terribly dry. It doesn’t need to be that way! These turkey burgers are tender, juicy, and the opposite of bland. They’re also gluten free – no bread crumbs required. A combination of spices and fresh basil add a Mediterranean touch. They’re a little Spanish (smoked paprika), a little Middle Eastern (cumin), a little Italian (fresh basil and garlic)… it’s a flavor symphony. My family loves these burgers. I think you will too!
This recipe contains a little applesauce, which helps the exterior of the burgers to darken and caramelize, adding some extra moisture and depth of flavor. Don’t be scared off – it adds very little sweetness to the finished dish. However, you can omit it if you prefer.
Now that summer is here and grilled meals are becoming part of the weekly routine, I love having a healthy option to add to the repertoire. This recipe creates four standard-sized burgers, but my family likes them slider-sized (dividing into six or seven burgers), served alongside a mezze-style meal filled with tasty salads and dips. Add a zesty lemon herb sauce or herb tahini on the side for even more flavor!
Side Dish Suggestions:
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey (you may substitute ground chicken if you prefer - dark meat is best)
- 1/4 cup finely minced fresh basil (you may substitute fresh cilantro or parsley)
- 2 tablespoons very finely minced onion
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1/4 tsp fresh garlic, very finely minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons applesauce
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
NOTES
Instructions
- Place ground turkey in a medium mixing bowl along with the basil, onion, egg, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper and applesauce. Stir ingredients with a fork and/or clean hands until the spices and herbs are well blended with the meat.
- Divide the meat into 4 patties (or 6-7 patties if you are making slider-sized burgers). The patties may initially seem overly soft, but will firm up as they cook.
- If cooking on stovetop in a nonstick skillet or grill pan, grease the pan with 2 tbsp olive oil, reserving 1 tbsp olive oil for basting. Heat the oil over medium until hot. Place the patties gently in the pan.
- Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, flipping every 3 or 4 minutes and basting with olive oil periodically.
- You may need to adjust the heat a little lower once the burgers are browned to your liking, to avoid overcooking the outside of the patties. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness (165 degrees F in the center of the thickest part of the patty). As soon as they reach 165 or higher, remove from heat to avoid overcooking - you don't want your burgers to turn out dry.If grilling, grease the preheated grill well before you start cooking. Grill over medium flame using the same instructions as above. Whether cooking on the stovetop or the grill, I like to baste the burgers with olive oil periodically to keep them nice and moist.
- Serve these Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with or without buns. We usually enjoy these without bread, and serve them with side salads and mezze instead.
Nutrition
Tori, first of all thanks so much for your digital cookbook. My family and I are going to try everything.
As you had stated in your recipe, the turkey burgers are very soft and did not cook quite the way I imagined they would, therefore, instead of continuing to try to salvage the “burger” look and form, I went ahead and scrambled the turkey mixture in the skillet and browned it as needed.
Using the scrambled turkey, I stuffed it in pita bread with diced cucumbers and tomatoes with sour cream. I did this in a wrap as well and both turned out fantastic. It gave a sense of Be’er Sheva shawarma that I remember so well.
Thanks again,
Steve
Sounds delicious! Next time, feel free to add some breadcrumbs to the mixture to help it hold together better. Glad it worked out regardless!
These turkey burgers are a crowd pleaser. I confess I was never tempted to eat a turkey burger, but then I saw this recipe and loved the list of ingredients so I decided to try it out on my friends, all of whom are foodies and know a good thing when they taste it. To a person, everyone loved them and wanted the recipe. They’re moist, packed with deliciousness and although sticky to handle, once in the frying pan, they hold together and brown beautifully. This recipe converted me. It’s right up there with my favorite—lamb burgers. Thank you Tori for this amazingly good recipe.
Excellent although I could not understand the apple sauce!
The applesauce adds just a tiny hint of sweetness that balances the spices… it also allows for a darker “finish” to the burgers so they have a more grilled flavor. Glad you liked them!
This was amazing!!! I cant wait to eat my leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Fabulous! Really nice texture and flavor! I used parsley and cilantro mix AND air fryer, no oil, 4 minutes per side at 375! Tori, you have become my Go To… thnx!
I have tried many of your recipes each one wonderful…Thank you. I am trying these today and know they will be just as tasty as your other recipes.
Enjoy Teri!
followed the recipe to a T…..delicious
Happy to hear it Gideon!
Hi Tori ! Have you tried using Air Fryer with the Mediterranean Turkey burgers ?
Shalom !
Lydia Carlson
I don’t have an air fryer, so no – but a lot of people love them! If regular burgers work in your air fryer, than these should work just fine too.
Very much enjoy turkey burgers.
Lean protein keeps my family satiated; until the next meal.
Thanks.
I have been looking at your videos and everything is done and presented with such geshmaack (sounds better in Yiddish, but it’s taste, presentation, delishesness all in one) I plan to try your Mediterranean burgers, with some of your sides. So so glad I came upon your site and look forward to making many of your recipes.
Thanks Tori for all that you do. Edie