Turkey Burgers

Juicy Homemade Turkey Burgers

Just like a regular burger. Eat your turkey burger like a normal burger, on a bun with your favorite toppings. Try your burger with a little barbecue sauce on top, or sautéed onions and mushrooms and a slice of melted Swiss cheese. The possibilities are endless.

Skip the bun. While you could wrap the burger in a sturdy lettuce leaf, there are other ways to eat them. You can eat them plain, almost like a mini meatloaf. I like to chop a cooked turkey burger and put it on a salad with Thousand Island dressing. (Never had a burger salad? It may sound a little weird but it’s actually really good.) You could also add the burger to your favorite bowl meal for protein.

Wondering if a turkey burger is healthier than a beef burger? Both burgers add protein and other nutrients to your diet. Turkey burgers are lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories than beef burgers. If you prefer beef burgers, try air fryer burgers. It’s easier and healthier than frying them in a skillet.

Why make Your Own turkey burgers?

You may be thinking, Why go to the trouble of making your own burgers when you can just buy frozen turkey patties? While I admit you can’t beat the convenience, frozen turkey burgers are rather flavorless and can be pretty dry. If the only turkey burgers you’ve ever had are the pre-formed frozen patties, you’re in for a treat!

When you add an egg, oats, and seasoning, a turkey burger is juicy, tender, and so tasty! Homemade turkey burgers are much more flavorful and tender. There’s really no comparison. 

And it’s easy to make these turkey burgers! The meat mixture is similar to meatloaf but simplified. I’ll show you three easy methods for cooking your turkey burgers.

Ingredient Notes

• Ground turkey: We prefer ground turkey that is 85/15 or 93/7 for the best tasting burgers. Ground turkey breast (99/1) tends to be rather dry. A little fat helps the burgers stay juicy and flavorful. Freshly ground turkey tastes better than the ground turkey packaged in chubs and works better for burgers.
• Egg: Adding an egg to the burgers helps bind them together and adds richness to the flavor.
• Quick oats: We tested the burgers with both quick-cooking oats and old-fashioned rolled oats, and preferred quick oats because they blend in better. Don’t use steel cut oats or instant oatmeal. Breadcrumbs could be substituted for the oats.
• Worcestershire sauce: A tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce adds umami to the burgers.
• Seasonings: I add pantry seasonings to the burgers. They’re easy to use and handy. My blend includes dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. You could use fresh parsley, garlic cloves, and finely minced or grated onion instead but I like to keep things fast and easy!

How To Make Turkey Burgers

Make the meat mixture. Simply blend together all of the ingredients in a large bowl. If you don’t mind getting your hands sticky, use your fingers to squish it all together (or wear food grade gloves). The ingredients should be well-blended.

Form into patties. Make four evenly-sized burgers, about a half inch thick. Decide which cooking method you’d like to use: air fryer, broil, or pan fry (skillet).

Three Options for Cooking

• Air Fry: Place burgers in the basket of your air fryer. Set the air fryer for 380°F and air fry the turkey burgers for 8 minutes, carefully flip over, and air fry for 7 minutes more or until done. This is our favorite cooking method. It’s easiest and the burgers turn out perfectly.
• Broil: Preheat your oven broiler (High) with the rack in the top third of the oven. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup. Broil on high for 6 to 7 minutes, flip, and continue broiling 3 to 4 minutes or until burgers are done. Watch closely toward the end to make sure they don’t get too brown.
• Skillet: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. When the skillet is hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the burgers to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, or until browned and firm, then flip the burgers over and cook 5 more minutes, or until done. We found that medium low heat worked best for cooking the burgers; if you increase the heat, the burgers tend to get too brown on the outside before the interior fully cooks.

Serving Suggestions

Serve your turkey burgers with air fryer French fries or homemade air fryer tater tots. Don’t forget the French fry dipping sauce (it’s tasty on the turkey burgers, too). A salad is always a good choice. Creamy potato salad or healthy coleslaw (with yogurt dressing) are classic favorites. Having a picnic? Crockpot baked beans are a must!

Helpful Tips

How long should you cook turkey burgers? Like all poultry, turkey burgers should be thoroughly cooked. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the burgers reaches 165°F. That’s a bit more than beef burgers which are well-done at 160°F.

How do you keep turkey burgers from falling apart? Press the burger mix together firmly when making the patties. Make sure the burger is well-browned on the first side before you try to flip it.

Recipe Variations

Turkey burgers can be dressed up by using different seasonings and toppings.

• Pizza turkey burgers: Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, and bits of pepperoni. Top the pizza burgers with mozzarella cheese and marinara.
• Taco turkey burgers: taco seasoning and crushed tortilla chips instead of oats. Top taco burgers with guacamole, lettuce, and tomato.
• Caprese turkey burgers with fresh mozzarella (inside the burgers and on top), tomato, and basil.

Make the patties ahead and refrigerate for 24 hours, or freeze them for up to 3 months. They’ll be ready to cook up when you’re ready to eat.

To freeze, place the raw patties in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap or waxed paper and place in a freezer bag or container. They don’t need to be thawed before cooking.

Frozen raw burgers: Cook unthawed burgers as directed, adding a few minutes to the cooking time.

Cooked burgers: Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.

Frozen cooked burgers: For best results, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet until heated through.

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, lightly beat egg with fork. Add quick oats, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add ground turkey and mix with a fork or your hands, just until blended. Form into 4 uniformly sized patties, about ½ inch thick. The mixture will be quite soft.

  16 oz. ground turkey, 1 large egg, ¼ cup quick oats, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

• For all methods, cooking time will vary depending on how thick the burgers are made. Burgers should be well done, with an internal temperature of 165°F when an instant read thermometer is inserted into the center of the burger.

• Broil: Preheat oven broiler (High) with rack in top third of oven. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup. Broil on high for 6 to 7 minutes, flip, and continue broiling 3 to 4 minutes or until burgers are done. Watch closely toward the end to make sure they don’t get too brown.

• Air Fry: Place burgers in basket of air fryer. Set air fryer for 380°F and air fry burgers 8 minutes, carefully flip over, and air fry for 7 minutes or until done. (This is the method I prefer.)

• Skillet: Heat large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. When skillet is hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is hot, add burgers to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, or until browned and firm, then flip the burgers over and cook 5 more minutes, or until done.

• Ground turkey: We prefer ground turkey that is 85/15 or 93/7 for the best tasting burgers. Ground turkey breast (99/1) tends to be rather dry.
• Possible substitutions: If desired, you can use breadcrumbs instead of oats. For a stronger garlic flavor, use 2 to 3 cloves of garlic instead of garlic powder.
• To grill: The burger mixture is quite soft and falls apart easily, so we don’t recommend grilling the burgers unless you line the grill grates with foil. If you grill them without foil, try not to flip the burgers until they are firm and release easily.
• Make-ahead idea: Patties can be made a day ahead; refrigerate or freeze. They’ll be ready to cook up when you’re ready to eat. For frozen (unthawed) raw burgers, cook as directed, adding a few minutes to the cooking time.
• Reheating cooked burgers: Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. If the cooked burgers are frozen, it works best to thaw them overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet until heated through.
• Recipe retested and revised 2/2025.

Serving: 1burger, Calories: 172kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 423mg, Potassium: 421mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 101IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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