These juicy and healthy ground turkey burgers are pan seared on a stovetop oven – no grill required! The patties are seasoned with pantry-staple ingredients without egg or breadcrumbs, then seared on a cast iron skillet for a nice char. They’re the perfect weeknight meal and take less than 30 minutes to make!
Homemade burgers are our go-to meal on busy weeknights, and lately we’ve been substituting ground turkey for a healthier option. It’s cooked perfectly and stays moist even without adding extra ingredients to keep the burger juicy. I’ve added soy sauce, garlic and onion powder to give the patties some extra umami flavor – they’re so good you won’t miss the ground beef!
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Ingredients and notes for turkey patties
Ground Turkey – I use one pound of 85/15 meat (ratio of turkey meat to fat). It has a bit more fat, so the meat doesn’t dry out as much and crumble when cooked. One pound of meat will make four, quarter pound patties.
Seasoning for turkey burger – Soy sauce adds salt and umami to the burger. It also gives the burger a nice caramelized color when cooked on the stovetop. Garlic powder, onion and pepper adds additional flavor and depth to the burger. You can experiment with your favorite seasonings as well.
Instructions
- Add the seasoning to the ground turkey and mix well.
- Make the turkey patties, about ½ inch thick, or a little bigger in diameter than your bun (as they’ll shrink up when cooking).
- Heat a cast iron skillet or a non-stick pan with cooking oil on medium to medium-high heat. When hot, cook the patties, about four mins on each side.
- Assemble your burger with your favorite condiments and toppings!
Pro Tips
- I find cooking the patties for more than a total of 8 minutes will dry out the meat.
- Don’t press down on the patty and squeeze out the juices, that’ll definitely dry out the burger!
- We love our burgers with a toasted brioche bun. They’re so soft, and full of rich and buttery flavor.
- These go great on the grill too, cook on medium high heat for 4 minutes on each side.
- If using lean ground turkey meat like 90/10, you can add 1 egg with ¼ cup panko crumbs to help bind the meat together. This will help prevent the patty from falling apart.
- Form your patties wider than the hamburger bun. They will shrink up when cooking.
Frequently asked questions
There are endless toppings to add to the turkey burger. Use avocado slices, jalapenos, caramelized onions, grilled onions, your choice of cheese, mayo and sriracha sauce, ketchup, lettuce, tomatoes and even pineapple slices!
I usually use 85/15 ground turkey meat, which is enough fat to keep the patty together. For leaner ground turkey meat like 90/10 and more, adding an egg and breadcrumbs to the meat will help bind everything together and prevent the patty from falling apart when cooking.
Yes, ground turkey meat does not have a lot of fat, so it will require cooking oil to pan fry it.
To test if the patty is done, you can gently press on the middle of the patty. If it feels firm, and if there are no red juices coming out of the patty, then it’s done!
Sides to serve with a turkey burger
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Stove Top Ground Turkey Burger
Equipment
- Cast Iron skillet or non stick pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey I use 85/15 (ratio of meat to fat)
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 hamburger buns I use brioche buns
- tomato slices
- lettuce
- cheese of choice
- mayo and ketchup or sauce of choice
Instructions
- Add onion, soy sauce, garlic powder and pepper to the turkey meat and mix well.
- Form the turkey patties, about ½ inch thick, or a little bigger in diameter than your bun.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or a non-stick pan with cooking oil on medium to medium-high heat. When hot, cook the patties, about four mins on each side.
- Assemble your burger with your favorite condiments and toppings!
Notes
- I find cooking the patties for more than a total of 8 minutes will dry out the meat.
- Don’t press down on the patty and squeeze out the juices, that’ll definitely dry out the burger!
- To grill: bring the grill to medium high heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
- If using lean ground turkey meat like 90/10, you can add 1 egg with ¼ cup panko crumbs to help bind the meat together. This will help prevent the patty from falling apart.
- Form your patties wider than the hamburger bun. They will shrink up when cooking.