My favorite turkey burger recipe makes the juiciest, most flavorful turkey burgers! Thanks to our secret ingredient, these burgers so delicious, and will absolutely not dry out when you cook them.
This is the best turkey burger recipe I’ve made. It requires only 6 ingredients and about 30 minutes to prepare. The secret to the best juiciest turkey burgers is to add mushrooms. I use the same trick for moist turkey meatloaf.
If you don’t love mushrooms and think this mushroom turkey burger recipe might not be for you, trust me. You don’t really taste them. Instead, the mushrooms add a more flavorful, savory, meaty flavor to these seriously good turkey burgers.
Key Ingredients
- Ground turkey: For the juiciest turkey burgers, I use ground turkey with a bit of fat, so I look for 90% to 93% lean ground turkey, which will have a combination of dark and breast meat. Ground turkey breast does work for this recipe, but the burgers will not turn out as juicy.
- Mushrooms: My secret to keeping our turkey burger moist and flavorful. Most varieties of mushrooms will work, but I usually use baby bella or cremini mushrooms.
- Garlic and ketchup: These add a little extra flavor to the burgers. It might seem odd to add ketchup, but it is loaded with lots of flavor. It’s sweet and vinegary and adds a bit of color. When I have it in the fridge, I love using homemade ketchup.
- Fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce: These are both secret weapons for enhancing flavor in almost any savory dish. I use them a lot in our recipes. Use whichever you have on hand.
How to Make the Best Turkey Burgers
I love how simple this recipe for turkey burgers is to make. First, you’ll cook your mushrooms. I chop them small and cook them in oil until they release all their moisture and shrink. From there, I stir in garlic, ketchup, and fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce.
I stir this mushroom mixture into ground turkey and then form it into burger patties. This method differs from my juicy burger recipe, where I only use ground beef, salt, and pepper. Ground turkey is just not as flavorful as ground beef, so adding this flavor-packed mushroom mixture makes such a difference in how great these turkey burgers turn out.
I cook my turkey burgers in a nonstick skillet (which keeps them healthier since I don’t need too much oil). They take 4 to 5 minutes per side, but you can use an internal temperature thermometer to check they are done in the middle (you are looking for 165°F).
What to Serve with Turkey Burgers
We’ve enjoyed these so many different ways. My favorite is on top of an English muffin with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. If you are up for it, try making homemade English muffins! I also really love this homemade burger sauce. These turkey burgers are also excellent without the bun and served on a salad.
During the summer, I love this tomato and mozzarella salad, and in the fall, these burgers are excellent on top of this creamy tahini kale salad. I also love these turkey burgers with a side of dill pickles, creamy pasta salad, or baked French fries.
Seriously Good Turkey Burgers Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These easy homemade turkey burgers have become one of our favorite things to make. Lean ground turkey can be a bit bland, so we add lots of umami and flavor by stirring cooked chopped mushrooms into the burger mixture. The magic of the mushrooms doesn’t stop there. They also help keep the turkey burgers juicy and moist. If you are not a mushroom fan, don’t worry you don’t really taste them. Instead, they make the burger taste more meaty.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) ground turkey (90% to 93% lean)
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces (170g) mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoons ketchup, try homemade ketchup
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. (You’ll use this same skillet later to cook burgers.)
2Add the finely chopped mushrooms to the skillet. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. The mushrooms will initially release liquid, which bubbles away as they cook. The mushrooms are done when all the liquid has boiled away.
3Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the fish sauce (or Worcestershire sauce) and the ketchup. Set aside until warm, not hot.
4Gently mix the mushroom and garlic mixture into the ground turkey. The mixture may be sticky.
5To test the seasoning, heat a pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of the burger mixture. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, flipping once, until thoroughly cooked through. Taste the mini patty. If it seems under-seasoned, sprinkle a little salt on the turkey burger patties just before cooking them.
6Form the turkey burger mixture into 4 patties (or more for sliders).
7Heat another tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the burgers, then cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until an internal thermometer reads 165°F when inserted into the middle of a patty.
8Transfer to a plate and let rest, lightly covered with foil, for 5 minutes. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Mushrooms: We usually add one or more of the following: white button, cremini or baby bella, shiitake and portobello mushrooms.
- Food processor: To quickly chop the mushrooms or to make them extra small, use a food processor.
- Freezing the burgers: To freeze uncooked patties, prepare them as directed then individually wrap each patty. Freeze. To cook them, thaw the burgers then cook as directed. To freeze cooked patties, prepare and cook them as directed then line up on a baking sheet. Slide the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze until partially frozen, about 30 minutes. Wrap them with plastic wrap (place a piece of wax paper if wrapping multiple patties together) then store in the freezer. To serve, reheat in the microwave or oven.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
These really were delicious. I added a bit more pepper and some oregano.
Oregano is a great idea! 🙂
These are the Best turkey burgers ive ever had! When i crave a burger these are my go to!! Thank you!
Wow, Michelle, I am so happy you agree!
These are the best turkey burgers ever and so simple to make, just 6 ingredients. I have also adapted the recipe and used pork or beef with the same fantastic results. You don’t have to make burgers, the ingredients can be shaped into meat balls, I made a delicious sweet and sour pork changing the turkey mince for pork mince and forming the mixture into balls and cooking them in the air fryer for 15 min. Just try different meats, I have found they all work. I made beef burgers for our evening meal tonight and the first thing my family said to me was you can make these again! M.D. eat your heart out these burgers have real flavour.
So happy you enjoy them! Thank you for coming back.
WOW!!! amazing burgers, I don’t like mushrooms but you don’t know they are there, I added a quarter of an onion finely chopped. Will be making these for the next bbq 😀
Hi Sally, we love the mushrooms in these. Adding onions is a great idea!
I never met a turkey burger that I liked, until now. As written except that I sautéed a wee bit of finely diced onion with the mushrooms. They were real good!
This is awesome!! First time I tried your Blueberry Muffins, 2nd time I used apple and pear, was delicious!! Now… I ate 2 burgers. I was full after the first one, but… IT WAS TOO GOOD!! I love this blog, like seriously people should try out more of your recipes, like finally, not wasting ingredients, time and money on recipes that don’t work!
You have made our day! Happy Cooking 🙂
Really delicious! I was so surprised how meaty and delicious they taste, without the dryness I’ve experienced using Turkey mince previously.
Absolutely delicious & moist! I added 2 cups of chopped mushrooms & some leftover chopped (probably just 2 tablespoons) red onion. I did the trick of putting a deep thumbprint impression in the middle of each patty (there’s just three of us so I went for broke & made three large pattys) & grilled on our indoor electric grill until JUST at 160 degrees then lightly tented & let rest while I air crisped some seasoned potato wedges. Then right before constructing the burgers to everyone’s liking (can’t go wrong with fresh arugula & sliced red onion & dijon mustard, I melt a slice of cheese on each one to warm back up. PERFECTION!
These were easy and delicious. Didn’t miss beef burger at all
The best Turkey Burger I ever had!
Delicious! I agree – most flavorful Turkey burgers, and best consistency, and the mushrooms are the key. I had fish sauce, so I used that. Wanted to bake rather than fry them. It ended up being 40 minutes in a 375 oven, turned once, before the liquid that leached out evaporated, and the burgers had a slight crust. My husband and I ate them on English muffins with lettuce, tomato and a mayo, ketchup and sriracha sauce I whipped up. We’re saving the 2 extra baked ones for another meal. BTW, I made your herby bean salad for the side. Was great too! Thank you.
Absolutely the best Turkey burger! Thank you! Sonia
Totally enjoyed these turkey burgers! They were flavorful and juicy and this is my new go to recipe!