How to Make Turkey Burgers Taste Good

If you think turkey burgers are always dry and bland, here is a solution. It turns out that it is easy and affordable to make a healthy turkey burger that is juicy and full of flavor. This easy turkey burger recipe is a favorite summer recipe!

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Do you love turkey?

I confess, I am not a fan. The freshly roasted, juicy turkey with gravy on Thanksgiving is pretty good. Otherwise, turkey isn’t my thing.

Ground turkey is the worst possible version of turkey. Well, turkey livers might be worse.

Ground turkey not only isn’t that tasty, but it is exceedingly dry. Not really appealing.

Well, if you treat ground turkey like ground beef, it isn’t great. It will get you the protein that you need, and it is frugal and easy to prepare it that way. It is also dry and boring.

You can rescue ground turkey!

This turkey burger recipe converted even turkey-dissident-me into a turkey burger lover!

The thing is, you need to help the poor ground turkey along a bit. Not a lot– it can still be quick, easy, and inexpensive. Perking up that ground turkey is worth a few minutes of effort!

Here is the basic template for making ground turkey more palatable:

• add something to make it juicy
• add a lot of flavor– salt but also other things– employ a generous hand!
• add a good cooking fat

That’s it! It isn’t hard, expensive, or time consuming.

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How to Make a Tasty Turkey Burger

The secret to turning ground turkey juicy lies in adding zucchini. Yes, that humble little green squash. It is ideal– packed with moisture, but totally lacking flavor. It won’t throw off the taste.

If you like, peel it so there are no little green things that annoy some people.

There are other moisture-boosting options that work just as well as zucchini:

• summer squash– works the same as zucchini, but yellow
• onion– grate it small– it will add flavor, but in a good way
• mushrooms– they seem dry, but are packed with water and add mild flavor

Peel or don’t peel your zucchini, and shred it. I usually use a good-sized one or two little ones for 3 pounds of meat. You don’t need to be exact– a couple of cups grated is fine, give or take. I don’t measure.

If you have one of those huge, overgrown zucchinis from the garden… I’m sorry. They aren’t very tasty. We had one of those one year and it supplied us with zucchini bread for a year. Peel it and take out all the seeds– they are the most bitter part.

Stick the zucchini, the turkey, and all the seasonings into a big bowl and mix them all up. Here I used salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, dried parsley, and smoked paprika. Keep reading for other flavor combos.

Heat a skillet well, add some fat and get it really hot, then shape your patties and cook on each side until browned and cooked through. I usually make small patties so that each person gets 2 and teen boys survive on 3.

If you are serving on buns, make the patties bigger than the bun so they will fit pretty well after they cook.

I usually do 3 lbs of meat so we get the right amount for 2 meals. It’s flexible, though. Do more or less; the seasonings (except for the pepper) are in tablespoons, so figure on a teaspoon per pound.

Sometimes I cook them all up at once, and other times I do half and fry the rest up fresh for lunch the following day. You can also freeze some of the mixture.

These turkey burgers are good without toppings. They are great with toppings!

Here are a some favorite toppings:

• cheese
• ketchup (Try my fermented ketchup for gut benefits! It doesn’t taste weird.)
• caramelized onions
• fresh onion slices
• guacamole
• sliced avocado
• fresh mayo
• smoked paprika aioli
• lettuce
• tomato slices

Turkey Burger Variations

Neither the turkey nor the zucchini provide much in the way of flavor. While that is a downside, it offers an advantage, too; turkey burgers are a template for whatever flavors you want to add. This recipe is good and sort of classic. Here are some variations:

1. Tex-Mex Add a teaspoon of cumin and 2-3 teaspoons of chili powder. Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc. Or mix the salsa and sour cream for a special sauce.
2. Mediterranean Skip the smoked paprika and add a teaspoon or two of cumin plus a tablespoon of dried oregano. Serve with fresh tzatziki sauce and tomato slices.
3. Garden Basil Leave out the smoked paprika and add a few tablespoon of finely chopped, fresh basil. (Don’t use dried– wait until fresh is available!) Top with caramelized onion and avocado slices, or whatever you like. This is my favorite version!

How do I know how much seasoning to add when you give a range?

If you aren’t sure whether to add 2 or 3 teaspoons of chili powder, for example, you could wing it. I know that one person in my family doesn’t like spicy, so I might go with 2 and try 3 next time.

If you want a good result the first time, and you really aren’t sure, here is what I do:

• start with the lower amount
• heat up the skillet and fat
• make a tiny, thin sample burger– the size of a quarter or even smaller will cook super fast
• cool it and try it; you will know if you need more

Questions About Turkey Burgers

Can I use other ground meat?

Sure! Ground chicken is similar, but any ground meat will work. If you use fatty meat like beef or pork, you may not need any cooking fat.

What type of fat is best to use?

Whatever you have and like is going to work. Bacon fat is the winner in terms of taste, but butter, ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil, high quality lard or tallow, etc. are also good. Be sure the smoke point is high enough– I don’t like to use olive oil for this recipe because it smokes.

Can I reheat turkey burgers?

You can reheat them– heat a little fat in a skillet and pop them in. People here eat them cold and don’t complain, but they are better warm.

You can even freeze and then thaw and reheat them. I prefer to keep some of the raw meat mixture aside and cook them fresh the next time, but it works fine to reheat.

Try other ground turkey recipes:

Chicken Apple Breakfast Patties— make with turkey

Turkey Breakfast Patties— a more classic sausage-like taste

Carrot Breakfast Patties— good when you are out of zucchini but do have carrots