During our many family vacations to Kauai, we noticed a small burger shack not too far from our North Shore rental condo while driving to one of our favorite beaches. Painted bright yellow on the outside with a wrap-around porch, the line stretched all the way from the order window, down the steps, and onto the grass below.
A couple of days later, on our way back from hiking the Na Pali Coast, we spotted only a few people in line, so Mom quickly whipped the car into the parking lot nearby. We hurried to join the small queue before the lunch rush arrived, and after placing our order, we stood in the waiting area next to the kitchen’s grill.
Those walls were completely covered with license plates, bumper stickers, and signed photos of celebrities who had previously visited (like Guy Fieri from the Food Network!). A little while later, the waitress at the pick-up counter shouted our name and handed over a big paper bag.
We found seats outside and immediately passed around the food and napkins. As we bit into those hot juicy burgers, everyone’s face broke out in a smile. Although on the greasy side, they totally hit the spot after our long, steep, and sweaty hike that morning, and my parents called them some of the best burgers they’ve ever had!
When I started talking with my neighbors about their own Kauai vacation last week, I remembered that little burger shack from our trips… So to satisfy my craving in a healthier way, I made a batch of these Ultimate Healthy Turkey Burgers!
They’re just as moist and juicy as the traditional beef ones from the burger shack, even with no eggs or breadcrumbs. Even better? You just need 5 ingredients — and they have 26g+ of protein!
When I cooked them for my family a couple years ago, my dad somewhat skeptically took his first bite… He’s the king of grilling and pretty particular about his beef burgers, but he could NOT believe how juicy these turkey burgers were — and then proceeded to polish his off in record time, calling these the best turkey burgers he’s ever had!
I’d say that’s the best kind of compliment! 😉
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY TURKEY BURGERS
So let’s go over what you’ll need to make these ultimate healthy turkey burgers!
You just need 5 ingredients (no eggs and no breadcrumbs!): 99% lean ground turkey, frozen spinach, dried basil, freshly ground black pepper, and coarse sea salt (like this — more on that in a minute!).
I love the 99% lean ground turkey because I want my burgers to have as much protein as possible. And with my two secret tricks, you don’t actually need ground turkey with more fat to have an extremely juicy burger! Trust me… If my dad, the king of extra juicy high-fat traditional beef hamburgers, loved these, then you know the 99% lean ground turkey works really well! 😉
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY TURKEY BURGERS
Like I previously mentioned, I have a few tips and tricks about how to make the best healthy turkey burgers. They make sure your burgers turn out incredibly juicy and delicious!
The first secret trick is… Adding spinach to the burgers! I prefer using frozen and thawed spinach instead of chopping and cooking my own fresh spinach because it’s so much faster (and cheaper!).
They key is to press out as much liquid as possible once you’ve thawed the spinach. If you don’t, the spinach adds too much water to the burger patties, and they fall apart while cooking! But by pressing out as much liquid as you can ahead of time, the spinach adds the perfect amount of moisture to the patties to keep them nice and juicy.
I keep the seasonings really simple: just basil and black pepper on the inside. You can totally add your favorite seasonings instead! Cajun seasoning, a little rosemary, chipotle pepper (if you love spicy food like my dad!)… The sky is the limit! These healthy turkey burgers are like a blank canvas and so easy to customize!
Once you’ve mixed those four ingredients together and shaped your healthy turkey patties, it’s time for my second secret trick… Liberally sprinkle the burger patties with coarse sea salt (like this!) before cooking! The coarse sea salt adds a big pop of flavor and also creates a crust, which seals moisture into the burgers to keep them exceptionally juicy. Such a great trick, right??
Because I don’t own a grill (hopefully someday, if Dad will teach me how to work it!), I cook my burgers on the stove inside. I think you could easy grill them if you prefer, though! So I sprinkle the top side with salt, put the patties top-side-down in the pan to cook that salted side first, and immediately salt the second side.
I came up with this recipe a few years ago (will you forgive me for not sharing it sooner? please??), and it immediately became my favorite meal prepping recipe! I cooked my healthy turkey burgers on Sunday, then reheated them throughout the week for dinner.
I have a third secret trick for reheating these burgers! Put them on a microwave-safe plate. Completely soak a paper towel sheet with water, wring it out, and lay it on top of your healthy turkey burger, tucking it in around the sides of the burger. Microwave on high for 1 minute. The wet paper towel prevents the healthy turkey burger from drying out, so it still tastes just as juicy as when you first cooked it!
It may be a little last-minute but… These are totally perfect for a healthy 4th of July BBQ meal, too! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your ultimate healthy turkey burgers!
The Ultimate Healthy Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (83g) frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 pound (16oz) 99% lean ground turkey
- ¾ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Firmly squeeze as much moisture as possible from the thawed spinach. Add the spinach, turkey, basil, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Shape the mixture in four patties about 3 ½” wide and ½” to ¾” tall.
- Lightly coat a large pan with nonstick cooking spray, and briefly preheat over medium-low heat. Just before adding the patties to the pan, liberally sprinkle the tops with sea salt. Place them salt side down in the pan. Liberally sprinkle the “new” top unsalted side with sea salt.
- Cook the patties for 2-3 minutes per side, flipping just once, or until fully cooked through. (Just don’t overcook!)
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy BBQ Bacon Chicken Burgers
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread
♡ Healthy Sun Dried Tomato Basil Cheeseburgers
♡ Healthy Jalapeño Cornbread Mini Muffins
♡ Spicy Baked “Fried” Chicken
♡ Healthy BLTs with White Garlic Sauce
Amy- I’ve been meaning to comment on this post for a while but keep forgetting. I’ve made this recipe several times, and OMG they are incredible!
It started when I found a recipe for turkey meatloaf on another site- and it called for 1.25 lbs of lean ground turkey. I didn’t want to waste the other .75 lbs so I made a smaller batch of these for my hubby and I. And we both loved them. So the next time I made the turkey meatloaf- I bought even more extra and made some to take to my mother-in-law (I had made some black bean burgers awhile back that she loved, but frankly were a lot of work).
She texted that night saying she LOVED them and wanted the recipe so I sent her the link).
Then last weekend she texted saying she made some for my grandfather-in-law (late 80s) and he loves them as well and wants her to make more!!!
So they are a HUGE hit!
Also, may be a “no no”… but I freeze the burgers raw and put them in the fridge the day before to thaw. They take a little longer to cook (6-7 min per side) but are still very juicy and tasty.
Oh my goodness!! Brooke, your sweet comment just made my entire MONTH!! Truly! ♡ I’m so incredibly honored that you, your husband, and your extended family love these turkey burgers that much! I have the biggest smile on my face right now. Thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know — and for sending the recipe link to your mother-in-law too! Sending you a big virtual hug — you’re such a kind soul and a true gem!!
I am on a low sodium journey. What would you suggest as a substitute for sea salt?
We haven’t tried using anything other than sea salt for these burgers, Neil, so I wouldn’t want to lead you astray! You’re welcome to play around with using less and/or something else though if you’d like! I would be curious to hear what works well if you give this recipe a try! 😉
I can’t wait to try these. For medical reasons I am on a very low fat diet and miss having summer burgers with my family!
I’m so happy to hear you’re excited about these burgers, Deborah! We’d love to hear what you think if you end up trying this recipe!
These are THE best turkey burgers I have ever tasted! And I’m somewhat of a turkey burger connoisseur since I don’t eat red meat. So easy to make. Totally delicious. I’m so glad I tried them and extremely happy you posted such a phenomenal recipe! Thank you so much 🙂
WOW!! I’m honored, Karen!! That’s such high praise, especially hearing that you don’t eat red meat and have already consumed plenty of turkey burgers. Thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know and rate this recipe. It truly means a lot! ♡
I feel like a shmuck giving this recipe such a bad rating, but I have to be honest. I was excited to tey this first recipe by Amy. But they were just terrible. Main reason being that when Amy said to use the salt liberally, I took it very literally and used LOTS of it. Way too salty!! Perhaps. Amy, you could include a photo of how much salt you put on the raw burgers. Because when you say “sprinkle liberally”, there’s too much room for interpretation. So disappointing. 🙁
It means a lot that you tried our recipe, J! That sounds disappointing and not like how these burgers are supposed to turn out. We’d love to help fix those issues! In order to do so, we have some questions for you. 🙂
How was their consistency and texture? Was that okay, and it was just the salt level that was off?
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use the same coarse sea salt that we linked to in the Ingredients list? If not, what did you use instead? (ie regular table salt, flaky sea salt, etc!)
Approximately how much salt did you use per side of each burger? (ie ⅛ teaspoon, ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, etc!)
How wide in diameter were your raw patties?
What kind of pan did you use to cook them? (ie nonstick, light metal, dark metal, cast iron, etc!)
Did they develop a tan “crust” on each side? (See the second and fifth photos in our blog post above for a “crust” visual!)
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but we’ll have a much better idea of what to do differently, if you decide to try making another batch, once we know your answers to all of them!
Also, in case it’s helpful… We’ve found that rubbing and rinsing the fully cooked burgers underneath cold water helps “clean off” some of the salt and makes them taste less salty as a result! If you haven’t attempted that with your current batch, perhaps it’s worth a try?
Consistency was perfect. No substitutions made. Coarse sea salt sed, though not the same brand from your link. Didn’t measure the salt – just went with my interpretation of “liberal”. Patties were about 4″ wide. Cooked in mon-stick pan.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these turkey burgers, D! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know, it really means a lot! 🙂