These moist and juicy Greek turkey burgers are a great choice if you are looking for a leaner, healthier option to a traditional burger. Bursting with Greek flavours like feta, mint and lemon, these burgers are topped with our easy cool and creamy homemade tzatziki that brings the whole burger together.
Turkey is a great choice when trying to make healthier versions of your favourite meals, because it's such a lean meat. Turkey mince makes great burgers because it doesn't get dry like chicken mince can. It pairs beautifully with Greek flavours and there are even some veggies hidden in them too.
We are in full-on burger mode at the moment and we have plenty of burger recipes to keep you going. Burgers get a bad reputation for being unhealthy, but it's really easy to make a lighter version - it's all about the flavours.
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Why you will love it
- Ready in just 20 minutes - Quicker than going to the burger shop or ordering takeaway.
- Good source of lean protein - 100g (3.5oz) of turkey contains 29g (1oz) of protein, which is 58% of your recommended daily value.
- Easy to adapt - Mix up the herbs and cheese, for lots of different versions.
- Go great at a BBQ - Impress at your next BBQ with something different.
Ingredients needed
- Turkey mince - using a less than 5% turkey mince helps to make these burgers really lean. You could use a higher fat percentage, but this would change the nutritional information.
- Feta cheese - It's not a Greek dish without feta, right? This adds plenty of flavour, and some creaminess too. Try to use authentic feta, as you really will taste the difference.
- Red onion - You can swap this for shallots, which will give a sweeter flavour.
- Spinach - This is an easy way to give the burgers a green vegetable boost. Make sure to finely chop it, if you want it to be more "hidden".
- Garlic - Fresh is always best, but you can use ready chopped garlic in a jar if you want to save some time.
- Mint - The perfect herb for a Greek dish. It really helps to lighten up the burgers.
- Parsley and Oregano - The perfect Greek herbs to use.
- Lemon - This adds some freshness to the burgers.
Step by step
One: Put the turkey mince, feta, onion, spinach, garlic, lemon zest, mint, parsley and oregano into a large bowl.
Two: Using your hands, mix it all together.
Three: Form the mixture in to 2 burger patties and then put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Four: Fry in a small amount of oil for 15 minutes, turning regularly. Alternatively, put them under the grill for 15 minutes, turning half way through.
Five: Serve on ciabatta rolls with lettuce, red onion rings, tzatziki and extra feta.
Greek flavours
As these are Greek turkey burgers, there were certain ingredients that were a must and feta is one of them. Crumbling some feta into the burger patties keeps them extra juicy and adds a lovely creamy and slightly salty flavour.
You get a real burst of lemon when biting in to these burgers too, which is something I love about Greek food. The lemon helps to keep them nice and light and fresh tasting too. Greek cuisine is all about the herbs as well, so you will find fresh mint and parsley the stars of the show there.
What to serve these burgers with
Tzatziki is a must! Use our really easy Homemade Tzatziki Recipe to top these burgers with and then you can add some lettuce, red onion and some extra feta when serving them in a bun. As for a side, we ate them with some vegetable crisps. But why not try our Baked Polenta Fries or Baked Sweet Potato Fries?
We served ours in a ciabatta bun, but you could serve them in a pita bread to keep it Greek.
FAQs
You can form the burger patties in advance then keep them in the fridge until you are ready to cook. They would be good in the fridge for about 24 hours. The tzatziki can be made in advance too, so then all you have to do is cook the burgers and pile everything up.
Yes, you can freeze turkey burgers. Put them on a tray and freeze them. Once they are fully frozen, you can stack them with baking paper between them and then put in a freezer bag. Once fully defrosted, they can be cooked as normal.
More Greek recipes
Now you’ve tried the best turkey burger recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Greek Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) Turkey mince
- 40 g (0.25 cups) Feta - crumbled
- 0.5 (1) Red onion - finely chopped
- 30 g (1 cups) Spinach - finely chopped
- 2 (2) Garlic clove - crushed
- 2 tablespoon Fresh mint - finely chopped
- 0.5 (1) Lemon - (zest only)
- 2 tablespoon Fresh parsley
- 0.5 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 4 tablespoon (8 tablespoon) Tzatziki
- 2 Ciabatta roll
Instructions
- Put 200 g Turkey mince, 40 g Feta, 0.5 Red onion, 30 g Spinach, 2 Garlic clove, zest of 0.5 Lemon, 2 tablespoon Fresh mint, 2 tablespoon Fresh parsley 0.5 teaspoon Dried oregano and 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper into a large bowl.
- Using your hands, mix it all together.
- Form the mixture into 2 burger patties and then put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil and fry the burgers for 15 minutes, turning regularly. Alternatively, put them under the grill for 15 minutes, turning half way through.
- Serve on 2 Ciabatta roll with lettuce, red onion rings, 4 tablespoon Tzatziki and extra feta.
Notes
- Make sure the turkey you get isn't too lean. It needs some fat in it to stop thee burgers from getting dry.
- For some extra Mediterranean flavour, add some chopped sun dried tomatoes in to the burger mixture.
- We served our burgers in ciabatta rolls, however you could serve them in pita breads to keep it Greek.
- Put the burgers in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cooking so they firm up and hold together (especially important if you are cooking them on the BBQ).
- To form the patties, use cold, slightly wet hands - this will stop the mince sticking to your hands.
- If you have a probe thermometer, the cooked internal temperature of turkey mince should be 165°F/74°C
Carol
These burgers were delicious, even with 3tbsp of fresh oregano from the garden! Didn't add spinach as didn't have any, next time will try it with dried oregano now I know how much. Thank you Dannii for your such quick response.
Dannii
I am happy to hear they turned out well :)
Carol walden
It mentions oregano in method but not in ingredients, am in the middle now of making it!! Help please !!
Dannii
It's just 0.5tsp dried oregano. I have added it to the ingredients - sorry about that.
Carol walden
Well hopefully 3 tbsp of fresh oregano will be ok also what temperature should burgers be cooked at? X
Dannii
It depends on how much you like oregano I guess :) On the hob at a medium heat.