Want a healthier version of classic beef burgers? Turkey burgers can be an excellent alternative. They’re tasty, hearty, and just as satisfying when they’re made correctly. While you can cook turkey burgers the same way as beef burgers—on the grill, in a frying pan, or even in an air fryer—this guide covers a different way to cook turkey burgers: in the oven.
Oven-baked turkey burgers are quick to make and leave little mess to clean up. Plus, the oven cooks the burgers evenly while still keeping them juicy.
Tips and Tricks for the Very Best Oven Baked Turkey Burgers
As you get ready to make turkey burgers using this guide, consider the following tips to help boost your results:
- Be sure to add a binder: A binder is an ingredient that holds together other ingredients. In the case of turkey burgers, you typically use egg and breadcrumbs, which, when combined, become glue-like. This holds the ground meat together so your turkey burgers won’t crumble as they cook.
- Only mix until combined: Turkey burger ingredients only need to be mixed for a short time, just enough for all the spices and other ingredients to distribute throughout the meat. If you overmix, you’ll warm up the turkey and make it more difficult for the ingredients to stay together when you shape the burgers.
- Make the burgers the same size: Even cooking is important, especially with ground meat. Shape each patty into the same size to help each one cook for the same length of time as the others.
- Protect the burgers from sticking: Place your patties on a pan lined with parchment paper to keep them from sticking to the pan. You should find that they’re easy to remove from the parchment paper after cooking.
The Preparation Process
Turkey burgers have similar preparation as beef burgers, so if you’re familiar with making regular burgers, you’ll be able to make a turkey burger just fine. The key is to add plenty of seasoning and make sure you have enough binding ingredients to hold the burgers together.
Start with one pound of ground turkey meat. Then, add an egg and about ⅓ cup of breadcrumbs. When the egg and breadcrumbs combine, they become a binder for the ground turkey. Next, add your seasonings and flavoring agents. In our recipe below, we use salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Dijon mustard, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until they’re well combined. Avoid overmixing, which can make the turkey mixture warm and mushy, which may prevent the burgers from binding well.
Get Creative with Toppings
Just like beef burgers, you can get very creative with turkey burgers. From condiments and veggies to cheese, bacon, and other tasty additions, the sky’s the limit when it comes to customizing a turkey burger, so feel free to experiment with your favorite toppings. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:
- Mediterranean-style: Add sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, and romaine lettuce to a turkey burger to weave in Mediterranean flavors.
- Southwest-style: Make a chipotle mayo by combining regular mayo with a couple of teaspoons of canned chilies in adobo and a splash of fresh lime to add to a burger. If desired, top the burger with crumbled tortilla chips and pepper jack cheese.
- Spice it up: Top your turkey burger with jalapeños, green chiles, buffalo sauce, hot sauce, or other spicy additions to kick it up a few notches.
- Other toppings to try: You don’t need a theme to mix up your turkey burger toppings. Simply try some options, like avocado, potato chips, hummus, cole slaw, or pickled onions, to find what you like best.
How to Assemble
Ask burger enthusiasts the right way to assemble a burger, and you’ll probably get a mixed bag of answers. Some people prefer to use toppings, like avocado and lettuce, to top the burger with. Others like to place the toppings and sauces on the bottom bun and add the patty to the top of the toppings, claiming that the patty helps hold the toppings on the burger better.
You’ll find that the same two sides exist for turkey burgers. Neither option is right or wrong; they’re just personal preferences. So, whatever way you like to assemble your beef burgers is the method you can use to assemble turkey burgers.
Oven Baked Turkey Burger Recipe
Turkey Burger Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Topping Ingredients
Note: All ingredients below are optional, but we added several suggestions to inspire your final burger. Feel free to omit or substitute any toppings or sauces to customize your burger.
- Hamburger buns
- Pepper jack or Colby cheese slices
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Onion
- Avocado
- Pickle chips
- Mayo
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- BBQ sauce
- Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all turkey patty ingredients. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix all ingredients until just combined (don’t overmix).
- Shape the mix into four patties of equal sizes. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press on the tops of each to flatten them slightly. Then, use a regular spoon to gently press in the middle of each patty, leaving a slight indentation on the top.
- Cover the patties and baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the burgers reach 160-165°F and no longer run pink juices.
- Rest for 3-5 minutes at room temperature before serving.
What to Serve with Oven-Baked Turkey Burgers
Turkey burgers can pair with many of the same sides you’d serve with beef burgers, including french fries, cole slaw, potato salad, or a fresh greens salad. Roasted vegetables, sweet potato fries, grilled tomatoes, corn on the cob, and sautéed zucchini or squash are also excellent ideas.
For ease of clean-up, consider making sides that you can pop into the oven while your turkey burgers cook, like roasted asparagus or Brussels sprouts, baked zucchini or sweet potato chips, scalloped corn casserole, or macaroni and cheese.
To Sum Up
When you crave a burger but want something a little different—and potentially lower in fat if you choose a lean turkey variety—a turkey burger is an excellent alternative. They’re just as easy to make, and you can pop them right in the oven instead of firing up the grill or stove. Use the recipe above to help you create homemade turkey patties to transform into burgers using your favorite toppings and sauces.
Turkey Burger FAQs
Oven Baked Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
For the Turkey Burgers
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Toppings- Note: All ingredients below are optional, but we added several suggestions to inspire your final burger. Feel free to omit or substitute any toppings or sauces to customize your burger.
- hamburger buns
- pepperjack or colby cheese
- lettuce
- tomato
- onion
- avocado
- pickle chips
- mayo
- ketchup
- mustard
- barbeque sauce
- sriracha sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all turkey patty ingredients. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix all ingredients until just combined (don’t overmix).
- Shape the mix into four patties of equal sizes. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press on the tops of each to flatten them slightly. Then, use a regular spoon to gently press in the middle of each patty, leaving a slight indentation on the top.
- Cover the patties and baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the burgers reach 160-165°F and no longer run pink juices.
- Rest for 3-5 minutes at room temperature before serving.