Juicy & Tender Homemade Turkey Burgers

Say hello to the best homemade turkey burgers! These ground turkey burger patties are thick, juicy, tender and well-seasoned with curry powder, rosemary, fresh garlic, and diced onion.

I've included instructions for cooking the turkey burgers on the stove in this recipe, but they're just as good on the grill too!

I'll be sharing a few simple, practical preparation tips and cooking techniques below, like adding salt to the outside of the burger patty right before putting it on the pan, rather than adding salt to the turkey mixture. I'll explain why as we go. Let's get into it.

This really good turkey burger recipe is more about technique than anything else. From here, you can take it and adapt it to suit your personal tastes.

The turkey burger patties are seasoned with curry powder, rosemary, garlic, and onion and are super versatile. Pair them with any of your favorite turkey burger toppings (or use some of the suggestions I've included below).

Try serving these turkey burgers on my soft brioche burger buns or homemade Kaiser rolls with any of these classic burger sides, or go green with a simple lettuce and walnut side salad.

🍔 Are Turkey Burgers "Good"?

Bear with me for a moment here while I walk you through my issues with this question. I know, "no personal stories, just the recipes" blah blah blah. But this is important. And you can click the "jump to recipe" button or use the table of contents (above) to skip it if you want. But I hope you don't.

(TW: some discussion of diet culture) Back in 2013, the most exciting cooking my husband and I did involved trekking down to the grassy run behind our apartment where we had a mini charcoal grill set up.

Cornish game hens, sausages, steak, chicken thighs, veggies — we grilled everything. Except for turkey burgers. My husband insisted he "just didn't like them." But he also couldn't remember the last time he'd tried one. So I set out to change his mind.

Why was I so obsessed with turkey burgers? I liked them, yes, but I was also still shaking off the grips of diet culture and thought turkey burgers were a "good" food that was "healthier" than whatever he was grilling.

(I use air quotes not because turkey burgers aren't "good" or aren't "healthy" — they might be for some people! — but because now I know better than to ascribe moral values to food, and I know that "healthy" is ultimately a meaningless way to describe food. Healthy is relative, and different people have different nutritional needs!)

My husband showed me how to start the charcoal fire and the importance of keeping half of the grill cool and the other hot. And I shaped ground turkey into patties (with some other seasonings too, I'm not a heathen) and we grilled them and they were good. We became turkey burger regulars!

But it was when we moved to Baltimore and stopped by Gary's Turkey Burger stand at the farmer's market that we learned the true potential of a turkey burger.

Gary's towering turkey patties with cheese were moist, tender, juicy, and packed with lots of flavor. They were topped with thick slices of cheese and crispy bacon. Basically everything you don't expect turkey burgers to be. Lines for Gary's began around 7 a.m. You'd put your name down and return 30 minutes later to pick up your order. It was worth it.

While we waited, we learned some secrets of a quality turkey burger straight from the legend himself. Gary told us that he added curry powder to the ground turkey mixture and explained how to keep patties flat while they cook. In the winter, when the market was closed, we made our own version of Gary's burgers at home.

Unfortunately, Gary's Turkey Burger stand is no longer serving up burgers, but his legacy will always live on in our delicious memories and turkey burger recipes.

So, look, my point is this: I can't tell you if eating these turkey burgers is good for you personally or if eating them will make you a good person (though if you make them and post a photo on Instagram and tag me or leave a review on this blog post, I will think you're a good person). What I can tell you is this ground turkey burger recipe makes really good, well seasoned turkey burger patties.

They taste good and I like eating them because I like them. That's it. That's the whole story. But if you've been suffering through dry, crumbly turkey burgers because you feel like you should because they're "good for you," I'm here to show you just how tasty turkey burgers can be.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

Here's what you'll need to make these turkey burgers. Nothing fancy here, you should be able to find most of these at your local grocery store. See recipe card for quantities.

• Ground Turkey - Most ground turkey is 90% lean or higher. For turkey burgers, we're looking for an 80-85% lean ground turkey meat. Fat provides flavor and moisture, so if you want juicy, flavorful turkey burgers, you definitely want to start with a less lean ground turkey mixture.
• Onion - White, yellow, or sweet onions work best for these turkey burgers, but red onions or shallots will also work in a pinch.
• Garlic - You can mince or microplane the garlic cloves for these turkey burgers. You want them to be pretty finely chopped so they incorporate evenly.
• Curry Powder - Curry powder is a spice blend that can vary by brand. I like using a madras curry powder which is slightly spicier than a standard curry powder. Emphasis on slightly. It's not really spicy. You can pick it up in most grocery stores, but if yours doesn't have it try Amazon or Spicewalla.
• Black Pepper - Freshly cracked or pre-ground, either one is fine!
• Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as a salty as other brands of salt, including other brands of kosher salt. If you're using a different brand of salt, cut the amount of salt in half!
• Rosemary - Fresh rosemary brings out the savory flavors in these turkey burgers.
• Burger Buns - I love a squishy bun with a densely seeded top, but you do you! Potato buns, kaiser rolls, brioche buns, or pretzel rolls are also great with turkey burgers.
• Your favorite burger toppings - Lettuce, mayo, onions, bacon, mustard, etc!

Best Seasonings for Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers can handle taking on a lot of flavor — don't be afraid to be bold with your seasoning additions! Curry powder and fresh rosemary are my favorite turkey burger seasonings but you can definitely get creative with your preferred seasonings!

• Smoked paprika and garlic powder with a pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes.
• Garlic and onion powder with a fresh, finely minced Italian herb like basil, oregano, or thyme.
• Ground ginger and thinly sliced scallions (use the scallion whites to replace some of the onions in the mix and the greens more as an herb-y addition).
• Za'atar - A middle eastern herb blend featuring the oregano-like za'atar plant, plus sesame seeds and sumac.
• Chili powder or any of your favorite taco seasoning blends.
• Jerk Seasoning - A mix of warm and smoky flavors like smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, brown sugar, cayenne, cinnamon, etc.
• Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme - aka the Simon & Garfunkle special. Use fresh or dried herbs for a savory, herby turkey burger patty.

When it comes to seasoning your turkey burger patties, you can use all fresh or all dried herbs, but I like using a mix of both when I can for more depth of flavor.

🥣 Instructions

Mixing the seasonings into the ground turkey for these turkey burgers is pretty straightforward. You just mix everything together.

Overmixing your ground turkey and turkey burger seasonings, however, can result in tough, dense burgers. Extremely not what we are here for.

I recommend using your hands for this step, but a bowl scraper or sturdy spoon will work fine too. Squish and fold the meat and turkey burger seasonings together in the bowl just until everything is well combined.

You're looking for an even distribution of onions throughout the mixture, but you might still see some streaks or patches of curry powder. That's fine.

Otherwise, proceed to the shaping instructions below to learn how to make turkey burgers that stay flat while cooking.

🥄 How to Shape Burger Patties That Stay Flat

This simple technique will get you well seasoned turkey burgers that stay flat while cooking. (This tip will work with any kind of meat-based burger btw! You're welcome!)

Seasoning the burgers on the outside helps keep them juicy! We'll season the other side once the patties are in the pan.

How Long to Cook a Turkey Burger

Turkey burgers take about 5 minutes per side to cook on the stovetop. Depending on how hot your pan is, this may take a little longer. I

f your pan is too hot, you may need to reduce the temperature so the outside of the burger doesn't overcook before the center can cook through all the way.

To cook a turkey burger on the stove: Preheat your bare skillet over medium heat (this is especially important if you're using a stainless steel pan). Then add a generous glug of oil — enough to fully coat the bottom of the pan in an even layer.

When you place the turkey patty in the pan, flip it over so the side with the salt and the divot are face down in the pan. Then season the flat side, which is now facing up.

Seasoning turkey burgers this way (instead of mixing the salt into the meat) prevents the salt from sucking moisture out of the meat before it cooks. By seasoning the outside of the burger you'll end up with a much more tender, juicy turkey burger.

As the turkey burger cooks, it expands. The divot will flatten out, giving you a nice flat turkey burger that's evenly thick throughout.

Without the divot, you'd end up with a rounded turkey burger patty! No one wants that.

When the turkey burgers are browned nicely on both sides and completely cooked through, top the patties with cheese and/or bacon.

You want to add these toppings while the turkey burger patties are still in the pan so the cheese melts onto the burger. If you're using bacon, the melting cheese will help hold the bacon in place.

To speed up the cheese melting, add a splash of water (about a tablespoon) to the pan and cover it quickly. Leave it alone for about 30-60 seconds. The steam will melt the cheese faster.

To cook turkey burgers on a grill: Use medium to medium high direct heat. Cook for 6-10 minutes per side, covered, flipping only once. Just like on the stove, you're looking for the burgers reach an internal temperature of 160-165°F. These are fairly thick turkey patties so be patient. Depending on your grill temperature and how thick your turkey burger patties ended up, they may need more or less time.

Turkey Burger Internal Temperature

Unlike beef burgers, turkey burgers must be cooked all the way through. No medium rare, pink centers here.

Turkey burgers must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Because there is always room for some carryover cooking once you remove the turkey patties with cheese from the pan or grill, you can pull the burgers off when they hit 160°F.

However, if you want to be extra safe, wait to remove them from the pan or grill once they hit 165°F.

🧀 The Best Cheese for Turkey Burgers

Wondering what to put on turkey burgers? When it comes to turkey patties with cheese there are so many options to choose from, it's hard to pick one single BEST cheese for turkey burgers. You really can't go wrong.

What other cheeses do you think go best with turkey burgers? Let me know in the comments!

👩🏻‍🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

The recipe I'm giving you today is more about technique than anything else. Flavor-wise, think of it as a solid foundation. From here, you can take it and adapt it to suit your personal tastes. That said, there are a few steps of the process that should not be skipped.

• Unlike beef burgers, turkey burgers must be cooked all the way through. No medium rare, pink centers here.
• Do not add salt to the turkey mixture. Salt removes moisture from the meat and can make burgers tough instead of tender. Add salt to the outside of the burger patty right before putting it on the pan.
• If you want to add BBQ sauce, use a basting brush to apply it in the last minute of cooking, after each side of the patty has cooked. This works best if you're cooking them on a grill. But you can make it work on a skillet too — it might just get a little messy! Wait until the last minute or less of cooking and reduce the heat slightly so that the sugars in the BBQ sauce don't burn.

💭 Food Safety - Turkey Burger Doneness

Turkey burgers must be cooked all the way through and should not be medium, medium rare, or pink inside. Turkey burgers need to be cooked all the way through. If you're using an instant read thermometer (aka a meat thermometer) you want the internal temp to reach 160-165°F in the center of the burger.

💭 Top Tip

If you want to taste the turkey burger mixture to see if you need to adjust any of the seasonings, scoop a tablespoon into a hot skillet. Season the outside with a pinch of salt, cook it up and give it a taste. Then you can make any adjustments to the seasonings before you cook the rest of the burgers.

📖 Recipe

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