These light and juicy turkey burgers are going Greek with the addition of sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, feta cheese, and a creamy homemade tzatziki sauce, for a delicious lunch or dinner.
Ground Turkey Gives These Burgers a Healthy Twist
I’m all about making easy swaps in the kitchen to prepare dinners that are a bit more wholesome but still cure your cravings.
I mean, my mom’s famous potato salad is still my #1 side dish with burgers, but an amazing Mediterranean orzo salad or healthy quinoa salad swapped into the mix is a great idea too. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
When the burger cravings strike during my mindful eating mode, and I’m somehow able to harness the willpower not to make my favorite garlic burgers, I turn to this Greek burger recipe instead.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Since there is so little fat in ground turkey, I add an egg and some olive oil to the turkey mix as binders so they don’t fall apart when grilling.
- I refrigerate my burgers for at least an hour after shaping them to firm up and hold up when cooking. You could also prepare these and let them rest in the fridge before cooking/grilling for up to 2 days.
- These burgers can be cooked inside on a non-stick grill pan or outside on a traditional grill. Be sure to oil your grates well if you’re cooking outside so the burger patties don’t stick due to that low-fat thing again.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ground turkey — I like Kroger’s Simple Truth brand of ground turkey because while low-fat, it isn’t fat-free so it still has flavor and is always fresh in the meat case.
- Fresh spinach — Roughly chop before adding to the burger mixture to prevent biting down on any big, stringy pieces.
- Sun-dried tomatoes — You can use either the ones in a bag or the ones packed in oil. (If using the latter, drain well before mixing into the patty mixture.)
- Red onion — Mince finely so there are no big chunks in the burgers.
- Feta cheese — Buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself for maximum creaminess and flavor.
- Garlic — Press of mince two cloves to flavor the burgers.
- Egg — Ground turkey is fairly lean, so the egg is essential to binding the patty mixture together.
- Dried oregano — Infuses the burgers with lots of Greek flavor.
- Tzatziki sauce — I prefer to make my sauce and then refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes so the flavors meld.
How to Make Greek Turkey Burgers
- Combine the raw burger patty mixture. The Greek-inspired flavors are pretty classic. Fresh chopped spinach I buy already washed and stemmed (such a time-saver), sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese are all added to the mix, plus olive oil and an egg to bind the ground turkey together.
Heidi’s Tip: While many meatballs, meatloafs, and any other meat-ish dish that call for eggs as a binder are simply cracked right into the mix, I prefer to whisk my egg separately in a bowl with the oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Then, I add it to the burger mix to make a more homogenous blend by forgoing a fork and simply digging my hands straight into the mix.
- Refrigerate burgers before grilling. 30 minutes to an hour firms them up and makes for easier grilling.
- Make the tzatziki sauce. Do this while the patties chill. To avoid a watery tzatziki sauce, don’t forget to squeeze the water from the grated cucumber before mixing.
- Grill the burgers inside or outside. So long as they’re grilled over medium heat, you’re good. They’ll need to be cooked for roughly 5 minutes per side.
FAQs
You can freeze the raw turkey burger patties after forming. Frozen turkey burgers will last up to 3 months.
You can use ground chicken instead, no problem.
Besides the creamy tzatziki sauce, add a few slices of red onion, tomatoes, and lettuce and dinner is served.
What to Serve With Greek Turkey Burgers
Heidi’s Tip: We love the Greek-inspired flavors of these burgers, but I’ll make these classic Turkey Burgers when we want something a little simpler!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Greek Turkey Burgers Recipe
Turkey burgers made with the Greek flavors of garlic, oregano, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese are a delicious option for burger lovers everywhere.
Servings 4 burgers
Calories 389kcal
Ingredients
For the Turkey Burgers:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ cup fresh spinach leaves , chopped
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped
- ¼ cup red onion , minced
- ¼ cup feta cheese , crumbled
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- 1 egg , whisked
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 soft whole-wheat hamburger buns
- Bibb lettuce leaves
- Sliced red onion
For the Tzatziki Sauce:
- ½ English cucumber , grated on the large side of a box grater (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt , (I use 2%)
- 1 medium clove of garlic , grated or minced (about ½ teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill , minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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In a large bowl, add the ground turkey, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and feta. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, egg, olive oil and dried oregano and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper then pour over the turkey and mix with your hands to combine.
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Divide the burger mixture into 4 portions and mold into patties. Place on a cutting board or plate dividing the patties with parchment paper and refrigerated for 30 minutes up to overnight. You could also individually freeze the patties at this point for up to 3 months.
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Gather the grated cucumber together and place in a paper towel, press the water out of the cucumber and place in a medium-sized bowl. Add the yogurt, garlic, red wine vinegar, fresh dill, salt, and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
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Heat a non-stick grill pan over medium heat and spray well with cooking spray.
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Place the turkey burgers on the grill, cover with an upside down sheet pan or lid and cook for about 5 minutes per side. Be sure to watch the burgers and monitor your heat as the burgers will brown quickly if the heat is too high.
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Slather buns with tzatziki sauce and garnish with lettuce leaves and red onion. Or serve bunless in the bibb lettuce leaves.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 720mg | Potassium: 822mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 611IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 4mg
More Irresistible Burger Recipes To Try
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This post is sponsored by Kroger. As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.