Recipe: Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce
Lunch Recipes, Poultry Recipes
Turkey burgers can have a reputation for being dry and flavorless, but not these easy Greek turkey burgers with tzatziki sauce! Made with spinach, feta cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes and served with a simple dill yogurt sauce, there is a lot to love.
The next time you are hit with a burger craving, switch things up and make this flavorful Greek turkey burger recipe with tzatziki sauce. We love this mash up of Greek-inspired flavors and burgers. You may want to start putting that simple dill yogurt sauce on just about everything!
We love that these flavorful burgers are easy enough to put together on a busy weeknight since they take 30 minutes or less.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Lean Ground Turkey: use 93% lean, 7% fat ground turkey meat if you can find it. It makes healthier burgers with less fat, but they won’t be too dry. You can sub with ground beef, ground lamb, or ground chicken.
- Mix-Ins (Red Onion, Sun-Dried Tomato, Feta Cheese, Spinach): we are packing the flavor and nutrients into this Greek burger patty recipe with these Greek-inspired mix-ins.
- Creamy Homemade Tzatziki Sauce: to really elevate all the flavors in these Greek burgers, you’ll make a simple sauce for serving with plain Greek yogurt, cucumber, fresh dill, fresh lemon juice, and a bit of mint. Use fresh herbs for the best flavor. We like a chunkier tzatziki so we just chop the cucumber small, but you can also use grated cucumber.
- Burger Buns: we love serving these up with a bun (whole wheat buns are great) but you could also serve these healthy turkey burgers in a warm pita. You can also skip the bun altogether and serve on a salad or grain bowl.
How to Make Healthy Greek Turkey Burgers
- Form the Burgers: add all of the turkey burger ingredients to a large bowl and mix well with a large spoon to combine. Form into 4 large patties.
- Cook Burgers in Skillet: Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook the turkey patties about 5 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to check and make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix Up the Dill Yogurt Sauce: while the burgers cook, stir together the tzatziki sauce ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon.
- Assemble: add the juicy turkey burgers to buns and top with the dill yogurt sauce, red onion, lettuce, thick slices of tomato, cucumber slices, and any other desired toppings.
How Healthy are Turkey Burgers?
Although many people believe that turkey burgers are healthier than beef burgers – that’s not always the case. It really depends on the type of beef vs turkey you buy. If you buy 93% lean, 7% fat ground beef – the nutrition is essentially the same! It all comes down to personal preference and what will work best for the specific recipe.
What Do You Use to Keep Turkey Burgers From Falling Apart?
There are a few ways you can keep turkey burgers from falling apart: 1) use a binding agent like eggs or breadcrumbs, 2) chill burger patties after forming to help them hold their shape, 3) don’t move the burgers too soon, 4) use a wide spatula for flipping.
What to Serve With Greek Turkey Burgers
We like to serve these delicious burgers with a salad on the side; here are a few of our favorites: berry arugula salad, beet salad with cucumber, mint, and feta, or this crunchy detox kale salad. For a heartier side option – we love these air fryer sweet potato wedges.
Storage
Prepared turkey burger patties and the yogurt sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers for up to 3-4 days which makes it a great option for meal prep. You can also freeze the raw burger patties; just use parchment paper between each patty so they don’t stick together and store in a freezer safe, airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow frozen patties to thaw in the fridge before cooking.
Ingredients
- For the Burgers:
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Tzatziki Sauce/Dill Yogurt Sauce:
- 6 oz plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 a cucumber peel removed and diced
- 1 tbsp dill weed
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest (grated peel of lemon)
- 4 mint leaves minced(optional)
- For Serving:
- 4 bibb lettuce leaves
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 whole wheat burger buns OR 4 whole grain pita bread (8 pockets total)
Directions
- In a mixing bowl combine the ground turkey, egg, spinach, garlic, red onion, oregano, crushed red pepper, dill weed, salt, black pepper, Feta cheese, and Kalamata olives. Mix well and form into 4 burger patties and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine Greek yogurt, cucumber, 1 tbsp dill weed, fresh lemon juice, mint leaves, lemon zest, and stir together well.
- Heat a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and cook patties approximately 5 minutes per side or until internal temp is 165 degrees.
- Assemble the burgers, topping with the tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, and any other desired toppings.
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Calories: 350
Protein: 41 gram(s)
Fat: 8 gram(s)
Carbohydrates: 31 gram(s)
Fiber: 3 gram(s)
Sugar: 8 gram(s)
*Nutrition information includes the burger bun.
From the kitchen of: Get Healthy U
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(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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