These Turkey Smash Burgers are juicy with little fat and packed with flavor. Prepped and cooked to perfection in only 20 minutes, these turkey burger patties are a fan favorite. Pair them with your favorite toppings and side dishes and store them easily for your next meal.
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Ready in 20 minutes. The turkey mixture is prepared in 10 minutes and with a cook time of 10 minutes you'll have finished burgers in just 20 minutes. Serve them with my Roasted Potato Salad for the perfect easy meal.
- Made with minimal equipment. All you need is a knife, large mixing bowl, grill pan or large skillet and you're ready to go.
- Versatile turkey patties. These delicious turkey burgers can be paired with your favorite side dishes and topped with melty cheese or any topping of your choosing. Or throw them on top of a salad for some added protein. If you like this recipe, check out my Air Fryer Turkey Burgers and Healthy Chicken Burgers next!
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ground turkey- I prefer to use 93% lean and 7% fat for most of my cooking but for this recipe, I chose around 85% lean for a juicy burger.
- Cheese of your choosing- Depending on what toppings you choose, whether it be red onion and butter lettuce or your favorite, adding cheese like cheddar, goats cheese or provolone will add flavor to the burger.
- Yellow or white onion- I recommend white or yellow over red onions for this recipe as they're more sweet and flavorful.
- Garlic powder- Adding garlic powder and other spices to your smashed burger adds flavor to your meat mixture. Using minced garlic is okay, you'll just get a more pronounced garlic flavor.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
🔪Instructions
- Form your turkey balls. Grab a large bowl and combine the ground turkey with your spices and olive oil. You want to form the mixture into equal portions.
- Heat butter on grill or skillet. Heat the butter on a large grill pan or skillet over high heat.
- Smash turkey balls on skillet and cook. Add onions to the skillet and place the turkey balls atop. Smash the ball into onions using a stiff metal spatula or burger press to create a thin patty. Cook for 4 minutes and flip to the second side. Add your choice of cheese, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Start the sauce. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove burgers and serve. Place the burgers on the buns, top with your sauce, serve and enjoy with your favorite sides.
💭Recipe FAQs
Turkey burgers cook in about 8 minutes or 4 minutes on each side. You can use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 160F, let rest and serve when the temperature reaches 165F.
The color of cooked poultry doesn't always determine if it's safe to eat. The best way to ensure your turkey meat is cooked is to use a meat thermometer and have the temperature read 165F.
Use different spices to add flavor to your ground turkey. A few recommended ones are paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- No burger press no problem. If you don't have a burger press use a spatula, plate, meat mallet or even a cup!
- Use dark meat. Use dark meat or around 80-85% lean for a juicier burger.
- Use a griddle or cast iron pan. I prefer to use a cast iron pan over a hot grill as it allows for higher heat and a more even cook.
🥗Serving
Turkey smash burgers are the perfect recipe to pair with any of your favorite side dishes like Pesto Orzo Salad, Air Fryer Steak Fries, Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Italian Tomato Salad, Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes, and Air Fryer Roasted Garlic Carrots.
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🍳Recipe
Turkey Smash Burgers
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Grill Pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey, dark meat or 85% lean
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced thinly
- 4 slices of cheese, American, Cheddar, Provolone, etc.
- Lettuce
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 4 burger buns
Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish or finely chopped dill pickles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with the spices and olive oil. Form the mixture into 4 equal-sized balls using your hands.
- Heat the butter on a large grill pan or skillet over high heat.
- Place about ¼ cup of sliced onions onto the pan and top with a burger patty. Smash the ball into onions using a spatula or burger press (I recommend a piece of parchment paper in between) to create a burger patty. Repeat with all 4 patties.
- Cook for 4 minutes, flip the burgers and top each with a slice of cheese.
- Cook the burgers for another 3-4 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
- While the burgers are cooking, mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Remove the burgers from the pan and serve on a toasted burger bun with lettuce, tomato and some of the burger sauce.
Notes
- No burger press no problem. If you don't have a burger press use a spatula, plate, meat mallet or even a cup!
- Use dark meat. Use dark meat or around 80-85% lean for a juicier burger.
- Use a griddle or cast iron pan. I prefer to use a cast iron pan over a hot grill as it allows for higher heat and a more even cook.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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