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    Mediterranean Turkey Burger

    February 13, 2024

    This easy Mediterranean turkey burger recipe, loaded with feta, onions and herbs and slathered in cooling homemade tzatziki, is one you’ll reach for time and time again.

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    Mediterranean Turkey Burger on a plate with feta, lettuce, tomato and tzatziki sauce

    Because, Who Doesn’t Love a Good Turkey Burger?!

    Our turkey burger recipe goes beyond the basic—and predictable—meat/cheese/bun burger formula and adds in unexpected, flavorful elements like fresh parsley, feta cheese, and a creamy homemade tzatziki sauce you’ll basically want to put on everything. Plus, our turkey burgers are easy to pull together (hello, last-minute dinner guests!) and a nice trade-up when you’re either tired of beef, or just plain don’t eat beef burgers.

    5 ground turkey burger patties on a baking sheet
    Mediterranean Turkey Burgers on a baking sheet with whole wheat buns, lettuce tomatoes and tzatziki sauce on a spoon

    How To Make Turkey Burgers.

    Our easy turkey burger recipe comes together in a snap, and it’s one kids can even help out with, thanks to the creamy tzatziki sauce that littles can mix together while you handle the meat. Simply combine ground turkey and grated onions with garlic, parsley, cumin, and oregano for basically the best turkey burger recipe, ever. Don’t believe us? It’s as easy and 1, 2, 3:

    1. Combine uncooked ground turkey with seasonings.
    2. Mix tzatziki sauce. Better yet, let’s the kids whip it up while you mix the meat.
    3. Cook turkey burgers, assemble, and eat.

    How To Cook Turkey Burgers

    No grill? No problem. Our favorite turkey burgers are cooked in a shimmer of oil on the stove top, in our trusty cast iron skillet. They’re easy going—you could just as easily toss them on the barbecue, or even a George Foreman, if that’s your jam. You can even bake our turkey burgers in the oven. We recommend baking them on a rimmed baking sheet at 425°F for 15 minutes. Whether you’re cooking them over gas, campfire coals, in the oven or stovetop, just make sure your turkey burger temperature reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. The easiest way to test for homemade turkey burger doneness is to insert a cooking or meat thermometer into the thickest part of the patty, and only removing the turkey burgers from heat once they reach that internal temperature of 165°F.

    Person holding a plate with a Mediterranean Turkey Burger With Tzatziki sauce on it.

    How To Season Turkey Burgers

    When it comes to turkey burger seasoning, you almost can’t go wrong! Our Mediterranean turkey burgers get their juiciness, herbaceous flavor from oregano, bright parsley, and grated onion—the latter of which ensures that we wind up with perfectly moist turkey burgers. But there are so many delicious variations on our turkey burger recipe—the key is to always mix something (or a few somethings) into the meat that will give the turkey burger moisture, since ground turkey is so lean.

    • Opt for a Greek turkey burger by mixing in fresh feta cheese and diced roasted red peppers.
    • Or, go for a Mexican turkey burger with black beans, cotija cheese, and chopped cilantro—and obviously you’ll need to top that with some homemade guacamole.
    • You can also keep your turkey burgers super classic. Just add grated onion, a little ketchup and some Worchestire sauce to the ground meat before forming patties.

    Are Turkey Burgers Healthy?

    Burger, healthy? Perhaps it’s not such an oxymoron. Take for instance, this Mediterranean turkey burger recipe. Using lean ground turkey and topping the turkey patty with a cucumber-and-Greek yogurt tzatziki sauce, makes this a healthy turkey burger recipe, for sure. But, if you’re choosing to slather your turkey burger with mayo and top it with bacon and extra cheese, then they may not be the healthy turkey burgers your doc wants you eating every day. Still! That also sounds delicious and we’re not here to judge.

    two Mediterranean Turkey Burgers With Tzatziki tomatoes on plates

    Tools to Make The Best Turkey Burger Recipe:

    • Small mixing bowl. One like this that doubles as a serving bowl is perf.
    • Food thermometer. True story: the hubs got me one for Christmas one year and I was like, “So romantic, thanks…” It took me less than two meals to realize it was legit the best gift, ever.
    • A solid cast iron skillet. Trust us when we tell you it’s hands-down one of the most versatile kitchen pans you will ever own
    two Mediterranean Turkey Burgers With Tzatziki tomatoes on plates

    Other Ground Turkey Recipes We Love:

    Buy a *little* too much turkey during your last freezer restock? Better pull some out to defrost and get cooking these three turkey recipes we also love.

    The Best Turkey Burgers Ever, Right?

    Show us how your Greek-inspired turkey burgers turned out and tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Hurry, while you’ve still got a bite left!

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    Mediterranean Turkey Burger

    Updated on February 13, 2024

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  30 min
    • Cook Time:  10 min
    • Calories:  420
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    Ingredients

    Tzatziki Sauce

    • 1 cup Greek yogurt
    • ½ English cucumber, grated
    • 1 tablespoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
    • 2 teaspoons Za’atar, (optional)
    • 1 garlic cloves garlic, minced
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

    Turkey Patties

    • 2 pounds ground turkey
    • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 small onion, grated
    • ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    Burgers

    • 6 hamburger buns, toasted
    • 1½ cup (prepared) tzatziki sauce
    • 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
    • 6 Romaine lettuce leaves
    • 4 ounces feta, crumbled

    Method

    1. Make the Tzatziki Sauce. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill, Za’atar, (if using), garlic, salt and pepper. If you have time, cover the sauce and place it in the fridge for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

    2. Make the turkey patties. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, oregano, garlic, onion, parsley, cumin, pepper, and salt. Mix well, until fully combined. Divide the mixture into 6 evenly sized burger patties, slightly larger than the hamburger buns.

    3. Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet set over medium heat. Season the outside of the patties with a sprinkle of salt. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes on each side or until they have reached an internal temperature of 165 °F on a food thermometer.

    4. Assemble the burgers. Layer the toasted buns with the tzatziki sauce, the patty, tomatoes, lettuce, more tzatziki sauce, and feta.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 420
    • Protein 37 g
    • Carbohydrates 23 g
    • Total Fat 20 g
    • Dietary Fiber 3 g
    • Cholesterol 111 mg
    • sodium 837 mg
    • Total Sugars 5 g

    Mediterranean Turkey Burger

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Autumn

      Do your nutrition facts take into account the bun or is that just the patty/tzatziki/toppings

      Hi Autumn, it includes the bun! The only things we don't include in our nutrition facts are items labeled (optional). Hope you enjoy!

    • Melissa

      If anyone has done these on the grill- how high a heat and approx total cook time.

      Medium high for about 6-7 minutes per side. Hope you eenoy Melissa!

    • Bianca

      What can I use if I don't have fresh parsley?

      You could use dried parsley if you prefer (4 teaspoons should do the trick). Hope you enjoy!

    • Heather

      My family is not big on onions (really at all) though we love gyros. Any suggestions for how to replace the moistness that the grated onion contributes with a different ingredient?

      You can just leave it out : ) It should still be fine! But you could also grate up some bell peppers or a little zucchini, but just ring them out first because zucchini has a lot of liquid in it.

    • Nichole

      Do you squeeze the juice/strain after you grate the onion?

      We did not for this recipe. Hope you enjoy Nichole!

    • CJ

      I made a big batch of these, using beef instead of turkey since it’s what we had. They were amazing! We sliced up the leftovers and ate them as burger bowls/salads and wraps (shawarma inspired) throughout the week. Even my toddler loved it!

      Thanks CJ, we are so glad you loved it!

    • Just

      I would give this recipe 5/5 stars. It was a very good Greek burger, and the sauce was spot on. I will be making this recipe again.

      Thank you, we are so glad you loved it!

    • Dani

      SO GOOD! I was out of buns, so I used a Trader Joe gluten-free everything bagel. Will be making again!

      Thanks Dani! We are so glad to hear that!

    • Debbie

      This is such a good recipe. Just made them and they were so tasty. Didn't have Za'tar so I made it (less the sumac but added coriander)

      I'm making sure I keep this one close at hand. Thanks so much *****A++++***

      Thanks Debbie! so happy you loved them!

    • Gala

      Loved it! Thank you for the recipe - it was easy to make, healthy, affordable and very very delicious! I added some lemon zest on top of the patti before serving and it was soooo good!

      Thanks Gala, we are so happy you loved these!