We’ve mentioned before that a love of cooking runs in the family, and our son/brother Greg is a great amateur chef. Not only has he mastered some of the traditional Greek recipes like moussaka, spanakopita, and yaprakia, but he also finds creative ways to incorporate Greek flavors into everyday dishes, such as this recipe for Spanakopita Egg Cups (click here for recipe) and this recipe for Greek-Style Turkey Burgers!
These turkey burgers are going “Greek” with the addition of feta, cucumbers, red onion, cool creamy tzatziki sauce and traditional Greek spices! Our Greek-Style Turkey Burgers, hot off the grill, make the perfect summertime meal. Nothing beats a juicy grilled burger in the summer! In addition to being healthy and low fat, we love how quick and easy these burgers come together! Clean off that grill, fire it up and make these Greek-Style Turkey Burgers today!
What’s in These Greek Style Turkey Burgers?
- Lean ground turkey breast
- Egg
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Feta cheese
- Greek Spice Blend (click for recipe here)
One ingredient you won’t find in our recipe is bread crumbs. Adding in an egg and a drizzle of olive oil will help hold the burgers together. Here’s a little secret too, place the burgers in the freezer before grilling. Freezing the burgers for just a short amount of time before grilling helps the burger to stay together and stay as juicy as possible.
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It’s Time to Make the Burgers!
We promised a super easy recipe and here it is! Simply combine pattie ingredients in a large bowl. Divide the mixture into four portions and mold into patties. After shaping, place patties on a plate or tray and then freeze them for 15-20 minutes. Burgers will not be fully frozen. While patties are firming, it’s time to make the spinach topping and Tzatziki sauce. Add olive oil to a saute pan and heat over medium. Add the spinach and garlic and saute until spinach has wilted, approximately 3 minutes. That’s it for the spinach topping, quick and easy, right?!
Toppings
- Garlic
- Fresh spinach
- Tzatziki Sauce (click here for recipe)
- Cucumber
- Red onion
Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients
- Greek Yogurt
- Cucumber
- Dill
- Fresh lemon juice
- Garlic
- Salt & Pepper
The final burst of Greek flavoring on the burgers comes from the traditional Greek Tzatziki Sauce! The creamy goodness of the sauce adds just the right amount of tanginess and a refreshing break from the ketchup and mustard routine! You can make the sauce the day before or while the burgers are firming in the freezer. Click here for recipe details. If you are looking for a short-cut, feel free to purchase Tzatziki sauce from a Mediterranean grocery store, most stores carry a variety of brands, and are quite good!
Let’s Grill
These Greek-Style Turkey Burgers can be cooked on an outdoor grill (preferred method) or inside on a non-stick grill pan. Secret number two-be sure to oil your grates if you’re cooking on an outside grill. This prevents the burgers from sticking to the grates due to the low-fat content of the meat. To oil the grates, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. Grill the burgers over medium heat until cooked through and no longer pink inside, approximately for 5-6 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the patty should register 165 degrees. Do not overcook the burgers, they tend to become dry if overdone.
Assembling Your Burger
Now, here comes the most exciting part! Place the cooked burgers on the bottom half of each bun, topping each burger with a tablespoon of tzatziki sauce, (more if you don’t mind the delicious sauce runny down your chin, ha, ha)! Top the sauce with 2-3 slices of cucumber, followed by the sliced onion rings and then the cooked spinach. It’s time for a sprinkle of feta cheese, okay maybe a bit more than a sprinkle, we’ll leave the amount up to you! Top with the other half of the bun and serve! We hope you will enjoy these burgers as much as we do!
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Greek-Style Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp red onion chopped
- ½ + ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1 ½ tsp greek spice blend
- 5 ounces fresh spinach
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium cucumber sliced
- 1 red onion sliced in rings
- 4 burger buns
- tzatziki sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the ground turkey, egg, one tablespoon olive oil, chopped red onion, and ½ cup of feta cheese and greek spice blend and mix thoroughly. * See Note
- Divide the burger mixture into 4 portions and mold into patties.
- Place burgers on a baking sheet or large tray lined with parchment paper. Place sheet in the freezer for 15- 20 minutes, burgers will become firm but will not freeze.
- Prepare the spinach topping by adding one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the spinach and garlic and cook until wilted, approximately 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- If you are preparing homemade tzatziki sauce (recipe here) go ahead and do that at this point while the burgers are in the freezer.
- Slice the cucumber and red onion into rounds and set aside.
- To prevent the burgers from sticking to the grates, you must oil the grates. To oil the grates, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. Over medium high heat, grill the burgers through and no longer pink in the middle, 5-6 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to confirm that the burgers' internal temperature is 165 degrees.
- To serve, place a burger on the bottom half of each bun. Top with 2 tablespoon of tzatziki sauce, then 3 cucumber slices and 2 onion rings. Add some of the sauteed spinach on top, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. Top with the other half of the bun and serve.
