Best Ever Turkey Burgers In 30 Minutes Or Less

Let's talk about turkey burgers. All too often, when someone serves a turkey burger it is dry, tasteless and might as well be a hockey puck. I wanted to remedy this. So, I came up with a turkey burger recipe that isn't dry and flavourless. It is the exact opposite, actually. What's even better than a recipe that takes something that usually isn't that good and makes it delicious? What about a recipe that takes something that isn't that good, makes it delicious, and makes it in less than 30 minutes? That's what I'm going to share with you today.

Jump to:

• Getting Started: Seasoning the Turkey
• Mixing, Forming, and Cooking the Patties
• Making the Cranberry Mayo
• Flipping the Burgers and Toasting the Buns
• Adding the Swiss Cheese
• Assembling and Serving the Burgers
• Conclusion
• Recipe

Getting Started: Seasoning the Turkey

To get started, I opened up a package of ground turkey, put it in a bowl, and measured out all of my other ingredients. They were ½ teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. 2 tablespoon each of bread crumbs and chopped parsley. 1 teaspoon each kosher salt (use ½ teaspoon if using table salt) and fresh chopped thyme. Finally, I added a few turns of pepper from my pepper mill. In total, it was probably about ¼ teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. I also added 1 whole egg.

The key to a moist turkey burger is the egg and bread crumbs. They help bind the mixture and retain moisture during cooking, preventing that dry hockey-puck texture. The herbs and spices do the rest of the heavy lifting on the flavour front. If you enjoy working with ground turkey, you should also try my turkey tacos -- another great way to make this lean meat shine.

Mixing, Forming, and Cooking the Patties

Once I had all of my ingredients measured and ready to go, I turned my pan on to medium heat. I used a non-stick pan, though it isn't necessary. It just happened to be on the top of the stack in my cupboard. I also added about 2 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. I did this before the pan was hot, just because I was about to cover my hands in raw turkey.

With the pan heating up I started mixing my turkey mixture only until all the ingredients were combined. Then I divided the mixture into half, then half again. Dividing the mixture in quarters rather than just grabbing handfuls gave me much more even burgers. I formed the burgers then added them into the pan.

I only cooked two of the four because it was just my wife and I. The rest of the burger mixture got saved for later.

Making the Cranberry Mayo

First things first, clean up the cutting board.

I love cranberry and turkey together and I thought that cranberry mayo would be great with this burger (I was right). Really simply, I took ¼ cup of mayo and mixed into it 2 tablespoon cranberry sauce. If you don't have any cranberry sauce, just boil 2 tablespoon dried cranberries, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ cup water until most of the water has dissolved. Let the dried cranberry sauce cool to room temp before mixing it into the mayo. If you're a fan of making your own spreads and sauces, check out my guide to homemade condiments.

Flipping the Burgers and Toasting the Buns

By 12:58 the burgers were ready to flip. This also seemed like a good time to toast the burger buns.

Adding the Swiss Cheese

At 1:01 pm the burgers were just about cooked. I sliced a few thin pieces of swiss cheese (you can buy pre-sliced) then topped the burgers with them. Once the cheese was mostly melted the burgers were ready.

Assembling and Serving the Burgers

To assemble the burgers, I spread the cranberry mayo on both sides of the bun. On the bottom of the bun, I also added 3 bread and butter pickle slices. On the top bun, I added a small handful of salad greens. I added the burger, put it all together, and served it with vegetable chips.

Conclusion

These turkey burgers are proof that lean meat doesn't have to be boring -- the herbs, egg, and bread crumbs keep everything moist while the cranberry mayo and bread and butter pickles tie it all together. For more quick recipes, give my Curry Chicken Pilaf or Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta a try.

Recipe