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
How to Make Turkey Burgers
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. Use your hands to mix together all the ingredients until well combined.
Step 2: 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 and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook, up to two days ahead of time.
Step 3: Grill the burgers. Start by cleaning the grill and preheating it on high. Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil, then use tongs to rub the grates a few times until they’re glossy and well coated. Place the burgers on the grill and close the lid. Let them cook for 5 minutes to get those nice grill marks, then flip and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
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.
Step 4: Grill the buns and serve. If you’d like, toast the buns on the grill until lightly golden. Serve the freshly grilled turkey burgers on the buns with your favorite toppings—classic ketchup and mustard and bread and butter pickles, or go for something a little different spicy relish, Russian dressing or honey mustard sauce.
Serving Suggestions
- 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.
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.
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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A good recipe if you are looking for a spicier version of the standard turkey burger.
I made these burgers for my partner and I last night. They were possibly some of the best burgers I’ve ever made. The Worcestershire sauce gave them a great flavour as well!
Delicious.
I love turkey burgers but usually they are too dry – these were great! They were the exception! Had super flavor and not at all dry! I did freeze them after cooking (did that on purpose so I could take for lunch to work) and they heat up perfectly. Try them! Thanks again for another terrific recipe!
Very interesting idea to use turkey sausage. I’m going to have to try this.
I love turkey burgers with a little bit of minced jalapeno peppers added to them, and served with goat cheese and roasted red peppers on top. I LOVE them without the bun even! (less carbs & calories)
I haven’t had the best of luck with turkey burgers. I’ll have to try this one out…thanks!
I’m always looking for good turkey burger recipes! This looks great!
My husband, 2 boys, and I loved this! The 3 of them are avid “beef” burger eaters, so they did say it tasted more like sausages than burgers and requested that I add grilled onions and peppers and put it on hoagie rolls next time. But, they couldn’t get enough of it! Thank you so much!
[…] turkey burger is… adding turkey sausage to the meat! I first read about this on the blog “Once Upon a Chef”. After trying it a few times, it can’t be beat. I’ll never make them another way […]
Someone previously asked if they would freeze well uncooked and I was wondering the same thing . If not, could you cook them and freeze, then defrost and just heat in the microwave?
Hi Heidi, I think you’d be fine to freeze these raw. Hope that helps!