Grilled Turkey Burgers
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If turkey burgers have never quite wowed you (let’s be honest, they can be pretty dry), this game-changing version might just win you over—there’s a clever trick that makes all the difference.
Most grilled turkey burgers are dry and tasteless, leaving you yearning for the real deal. Not these! I add turkey sausage—a trick often used in meatballs—to amp up the flavor and keep the burgers incredibly juicy.
The best part? Thanks to the highly seasoned sausage, you can throw them together in minutes with just five ingredients—no chopping, slicing, or dicing required.
These turkey burgers aren’t just a second-best substitute for steakhouse burgers—they’re delicious in their own right. You can customize them however you like with your favorite cheese and burger fixings.
“These are so delicious…We added sliced mozzarella cheese and topped with bruschetta and drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.”
What You’ll Need to make Grilled Turkey Burgers
- Turkey: I use an equal combination of Italian turkey sausage and 93/7 lean ground turkey. The sausage boosts the flavor and fat needed to make flavorful and juicy turkey burgers. My favorite brand is Shady Brook Farms. You can choose hot or sweet Italian sausage depending on your preferences.
- Black pepper: Ground black pepper enhances the flavor of the meat.
- Worcestershire sauce: This popular condiment adds a combination of savory and tangy flavors along with a hint of mild spice.
- Dijon mustard: The unique flavor of Dijon mustards adds balanced flavored with a slight bite, some sweetness, and hints of acidity.
- Hamburger buns: Choose your favorite! From sesame seeds to brioche rolls, the options are endless.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Variations
- Add Some Cheese: Top your burgers in the last few minutes of cooking with your favorite sliced cheese. From sharp cheddar to Swiss cheese, and even pepper jack cheese for a spicy kick, the sky’s the limit. You can also mix some shredded cheese directly into the meat mixture.
- Smoky Burgers: Top with crisp bacon, homemade BBQ sauce, and cheese for extra flavor.
- Southwest Burgers: Add some diced green chiles to the meat mixture and top with pepper jack cheese and fresh guacamole.
How to Make Turkey Burgers Step-by-Step
Step 1: Prep the burger mixture. Use kitchen shears to cut through the casings on the sausage and peel it away from the meat. Add it to a bowl with the ground turkey, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard.
Step 2: Mix together. Use your hands to mix together all the ingredients until well combined. Be sure you don’t handle the meat too much as this can make the burgers tough.
Step 3: Shape the burgers. Divide the meat into 8 even portions and shape into patties about ½-inch thick. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Step 4: Prep the grill. Clean the grill and set it to preheat on high. Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and use tongs to carefully rub the oil over the grates several times until glossy and coated.
Step 5: Grill the burgers. Place the burgers on the grill and close the grill. Allow the burgers to cook for five minutes to form nice grill marks on the first side. Flip the burgers over and continue to cook, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes more.
Step 6: Grill the buns and serve. Heat the buns on the grill if desired. Serve up your freshly grilled turkey burgers on the buns with your favorite burger toppings.
Jenn’s tips for the best grilled turkey burgers
- Perfect Grill Marks: Allow the burgers to cook without moving to achieve nice clean grill marks on your burgers.
- Don’t Overcook: Unlike beef burgers, turkey burgers need to be fully cooked—but go too far, and they dry out. Grill to 160°F, then let them rest for 5 minutes. They’ll hit the safe temp of 165°F as they rest, and stay nice and juicy.
- Make Ahead: You can mix the turkey burger meat mixture together up to two days in advance. Shape the burgers and store well wrapped on your baking sheet, or you can stack them with a piece of parchment between the burgers. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook.
- Store and Reheat: If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
- Add a tasty sauce: Stick with the old standards, ketchup and mustard, or experiment with more unique flavors like spicy relish, Russian dressing or honey mustard sauce. Adding a simple sauce is an easy way to make grilled turkey burgers even better.
- Burgers and fries: Regular french fries or sweet potato fries are always a classic combo with burgers. You can also enjoy some roasted potatoes or baked sweet potatoes for a healthy baked option instead.
- Salads galore: Summertime grilling is the perfect time to pile on the salads. Potato salad and macaroni salad are heartier salads that work well or you can opt for lighter salads such as my summer avocado salad and creamy cucumber salad.
- Don’t forget dessert: No cookout or picnic is complete with something sweet! Chocolate chunk cookies, fudgy brownies, and tangy lemon bars are a few of my favorite classic desserts.
Can I Make Grilled Turkey Burgers on the Stove?
Absolutely! The best way to grill them inside is to use a cast iron grill pan for grill marks and slightly charred flavor, similar to the grill. Make sure to preheat the pan over medium-high heat and grease the grill pan before adding your burgers. Let them cook covered without moving for five minutes to give the grill marks time to form. Then flip and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. You can also try my recipe for skillet turkey burgers which uses just ground turkey and cooks on the stove.
More burger Recipes to love
Turkey Burgers
These juicy, flavor-packed turkey burgers come together in minutes and are guaranteed to win over even the most devoted beef burger fans.
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds Italian turkey sausage (I use Shady Brook Farms hot or sweet varieties)
- 1⅓ pounds 93/7 lean ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms; one package equals 1⅓ pounds)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Remove the sausage meat from the casings. The best way is to use kitchen shears to cut through the casings and then peel them away from meat. Place the sausage meat in a large bowl along with the ground turkey, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Use your hand to mix together until well combined. The mixture will seem quite wet; that's okay. Form the meat into 8 even patties about ½-inch thick. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Clean the grill and preheat to high. To grease the grill, lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over the grates several times until glossy and coated. Place the turkey burgers on the grill and cook for five minutes, covered, until nice grill marks form. Flip and continue to cook, covered, for 3-5 minutes more, until the burgers are cooked through. Heat the buns on the grill, assemble the burgers, and serve.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The uncooked burgers can be frozen for up to three months. (Freeze the burgers on a baking sheet or plate so their shape sets, then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag for easy storage.) Defrost the burgers overnight in the refrigerator prior to serving and then cook as directed.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 burger
- Calories: 338
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 22
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 701 mg
- Cholesterol: 104 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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absolutely delicious!
Good dish overall but a bit heavy. The turkey sausage gives a very “sausage-y” taste to the burger. I topped them with the Roasted Tomato-Peach Jam – highly recommend!
Not sure why people find turkey burgers dry and bland. I cut down on eating beef several years ago, so now I use turkey in a lot of my recipes — meatloaf, chili, burgers, spaghetti sauce, etc. I buy both the 85% and the leaner 95%, depending on what I’m making. For the burgers, it makes more sense to use the “fattier” ground turkey, since you’ll have a moister burger. Once I have the meat shaped into patties, I put them into a saute pan with a bit of olive oil, which also helps them to stay moist. Then I sprinkle with salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, a little garlic powder, sometimes chili powder and even a little cayenne. Sometimes I mix in the spices before I shape the patties, almost like you would when making a meat loaf — when I do it that way, I add some minced dry onion as well. But more often than not, I just sprinkle them on in the pan. Either way I do it, my turkey burgers are not bland!!