A good turkey burger is hard to find! Ordering turkey burgers at restaurants is always hit or miss. Many times I have been completely let down when waiters or waitresses have delivered dry, whitish-looking pieces of meat that they attempt to pass off as turkey burgers. Sometimes the burgers even taste like they have been frozen for ages (even if they haven’t). Occasionally, I’ll find a good one that is tasty, juicy and looks appetizing – but sadly my experience is that most turkey burgers at restaurants are pretty lame.

I haven’t had too much luck with store-bought turkey burgers either. Most of the frozen turkey burgers are so incredibly thin, fall apart easily or include preservatives or other ingredients that leave them tasting like anything but turkey burgers. The pre-made and ready-to-cook turkey burgers, which are available in most meat sections of supermarkets, are most of the time okay; however, they are – let’s face it – a bit boring.

A Turkey and Veggie Burger Mashup

As the old saying goes: sometimes, when you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. So, I began experimenting and making my own turkey burgers with turkey ground meat and various other ingredients and seasonings. My favorite creation thus far is a turkey/veggie burger mashup.

Since it is impossible to find a pre-made veggie burger out there that is grain-free, Low FODMAPs diet friendly and soy-free, I decided to add my favorite (and diet compliant) vegetables to the turkey burgers. After a few tweaks here and there, I think I found a turkey burger recipe that will blow you away! I literally can’t get enough of these burgers. Here is the recipe:

The Ultimate Turkey Veggie Burger

This recipe yields 4 medium to large burgers. Double the recipe for larger families.

Kitchen Supplies You Will Need:

• 2 frying/skillet pans (or 1 frying/skillet pan and a grill or grill pan)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Grater
• Chopper or chopping knife (if you don’t buy pre-chopped veggies)
• Mixing bowl
• Spatula or grill utensil

Ingredients:

• 1 package of ground turkey (for best taste, look for ground turkey meat that is pinkish in color vs. white)
• 1 egg (egg whites only)
• 1/3 cup of diced celery (I buy pre-diced celery at the store to save time. For those of you on the Low FODMAPS diet, you may want to hold the celery or reduce the quantity – as celery is high in FODMAPS if greater than 5 cm of the celery stalk is used. If you don’t have any FODMAPS restrictions, you can substitute the celery for onions.)
• 1/3 cup of diced red and/or green peppers (I buy pre-diced peppers to save time.)
• 1/3 cup of diced carrots (As you probably guessed, I buy pre-diced carrots. You could also substitute with shredded carrots.)
• 1/3 cup of grated/shredded sweet potato (some folks on the Paleo diet do not consider sweet potatoes to be Paleo compliant while others do. (I eat them!) Simply skip this step if they are not part of your diet.)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (I prefer fine sea salt)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (or chipotle seasoning or any spicy seasoning… cut this back a bit if you are not into food that is too spicy; add a bit more if you like your food super spicy!)
• Cooking oil (avocado oil or other heat tolerant oil if you will by frying your burgers on the stove; olive oil is okay for sauteing the veggies. Click here for information about the best cooking oils.
• 1 cup of Arugula (optional)
• Juice from a lemon (optional)

Instructions:

1. If you didn’t buy pre-chopped vegetables, chop the celery, carrots and peppers using a chopper or knife. You’ll need 1/3 of a cup of each vegetable.
2. Peel the top portion of a sweet potato. Grate 1/3 cup of sweet potato using a grater.
3. Add two tablespoons of oil to a hot frying pan/skillet. (Olive oil is okay for this step because you will be using low heat.)
4. Add the celery, carrots, peppers and sweet potatoes to the pan.
5. Saute on low heat on the stove for 8 minutes. And remove pan from heat and let cool for 2 minutes.
6. Add one package of ground turkey to the mixing bowl.
7. Pour in the salt, pepper, thyme and cayenne pepper.
8. Add the vegetables to the turkey in the mixing bowl.
9. Crack one egg and add just the egg whites to the turkey mixture.
10. Mix all ingredients together well with your hands.
11. Form 4 medium/large patties.
12. In a separate frying pan, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil (avocado oil is great with this recipe).
13. Add the turkey patties to the pan. (I tend to cook 2 at a time.)
14. On medium-high heat on the stove, cook 6 minutes on each side. If your turkey burgers are not ready at that point, cook for an additional 2 minutes per side.
15. Serve over a bed of arugula (drizzled in a bit of fresh lemon juice) if preferred.

The burgers are also fantastic on the grill (or on a grill pan)! Heat the grill to medium and cook for approximately 10 minutes per side or until the interior of the turkey burger reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.

Enjoy!