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Undeniably one of the best turkey burger recipes around, these Thai turkey burgers are made with wholesome ingredients and pack a punch of flavour! You’ll love these hearty, filling turkey burgers!
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Meet your new favourite go-to summer burger recipe! While it might be a little outside of the box, these Thai turkey burgers are seriously scrumptious. I am hooked! If you’re a fan of Thai flavours (who isn’t!?) then you’ll really enjoy the taste of these turkey burgers. They’re moist, filling, and have just the right amount of spice, which you can absolutely control too.
My kids often love to ask me what my favourite food is, and while I can never pick just one dish (woes of a foodie), I almost always answer “Thai food”. I really do love it! A red Thai curry paste can be incorporated in so many different recipes, not just a curry as you might expect. Mixed up with some scrumptious ground turkey, and you’ve got yourself a great summer meal!
What ingredients do you need for this turkey burger recipe?
It’s always a good idea to get your ingredients together ahead of time! For these Thai turkey burgers you’ll need the following:
- ground turkey
- diced green onions
- Panko breadcrumbs
- natural peanut butter
- Thai red curry paste
- fresh garlic cloves, minced
- lime (zest and juice)
- fresh ginger, minced
- sesame oil
- mayonnaise
- Thai sweet chili sauce
- burger buns
- shredded green cabbage
- shredded carrot
- salted, roasted peanuts
Are turkey burgers healthy?
Not only do these burgers taste great, they’re very lean and contain less saturated fat than a beef burger. In fact, ground turkey contains polyunsaturated fat which is a healthier type of fat!
Along with the good-for-you turkey meat, these burgers, when assembled, allow you to intake one of your daily servings of vegetables with the shredded cabbage and carrots on the bun!
What keeps these Thai turkey burgers from falling apart?
Traditional burger recipes require an egg and breadcrumbs to work together to keep the patties in one piece. I’ve skipped the egg in this recipe, but the burgers will still keep together as long as you’re a bit careful when flipping them. When pressing the patties together before frying, pack the meat tightly between your hands.
You will want to use a frying pan on the stove to cook these burgers, rather than an outdoor grill to ensure the patties stay moist and don’t fall through any grates.
How do you make these burgers?
From start to finish, these burgers will take about 20-25 minutes to make. You can save some time by prepping the cabbage and carrot ahead of time, mixing together the mayo with the sweet chilli sauce, and mincing the garlic and ginger.
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey with the green onions, Panko crumbs, peanut butter, Thai curry paste, minced garlic, lime juice and zest, and the grated ginger. Stir everything together until well combined.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then divide the turkey mixture into 4 equal sized portions. The patties don’t have to be exactly the same but you could always use a kitchen scale if you wanted to make sure. Using your hands, form a ball with each of the individual portions, and lightly flatten it into the shape of a patty, using your hands. Place all 4 patties on the parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Set a large frying pan on the stove, and heat the sesame oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until it is shimmering. I use a 12″ pan so it’s quite large, and I can fit all 4 patties at one time in the pan without them touching. If you’re using a small pan, you might only be able to fit 2 patties at a time, so use half of the oil at a time as well and cook the burgers in batches.
4. Fry the burger patties on one side for at least 4-5 minutes or until crispy and brown on one side, before carefully flipping them to the other side and frying for an additional 4-5 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center of the patties reads 160 F.
5. While the burgers are cooking, mix together the mayo and sweet chilli sauce together in a small dish. Apply a generous amount of the sauce over all sides of each of the burger buns. I like to toast my buns a bit in the toaster before applying the sauce. On the bottom portion of the buns, add the green cabbage, shredded carrot and a tablespoon of roasted peanuts.
6. Once the burgers are cooked through, place one burger on the prepared bottom half of each bun. Place the top half of the bun on top, and enjoy!
Can you freeze turkey burgers?
Yes! You could do this in 2 ways; by freezing the patties prior to cooking, or after they’ve been cooked. If you freeze the patties before cooking, place them on the parchment lined baking sheet, fully formed, then place the baking tray in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until totally frozen. Remove the burger patties from the tray then place the frozen patties in a freezer ziploc bag for up to 2 months. Thaw the patties overnight in the fridge before cooking, or cook them from frozen on low heat.
If you freeze the burger patties after you’ve cooked them, just wait until they’ve completely cooled down to room temperature before placing them in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Reheat them in a pan or in the microwave when you’re ready to enjoy them!
Some of my other favourite turkey recipes from the blog:
Thai Turkey Burgers
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Description
Undeniably one of the best turkey burger recipes around, these Thai turkey burgers are made with wholesome ingredients and pack a punch of flavour! You’ll love these hearty, filling turkey burgers!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 green onions, finely diced
- 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 2 tsp Thai red curry paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp fresh lime zest
- 1 tbsp finely grated ginger*
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
- 4 large burger buns
- 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1/2 large carrot, shredded
- 1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey with the green onions, Panko crumbs, peanut butter, Thai curry paste, minced garlic, lime juice and zest, and the grated ginger. Stir everything together until well combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then divide the turkey mixture into 4 equal sized portions (it doesn’t have to be exact). Form a ball with each of the individual portions, and lightly flatten it into the shape of a patty, using your hands. Place all 4 patties on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- In a large frying pan on the stove, heat the sesame oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until it is shimmering.
- If you can fit them all at once without touching, place all 4 patties into the pan at once; however, if you can only fit 2 at a time, you can do this in batches. Fry the patties on one side for at least 4-5 minutes or until crispy and brown on one side, before carefully flipping them to the other side and frying for an additional 4-5 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center of the patties reads 160 F.
- While the patties are frying, mix together the mayo and sweet chilli sauce together in a small dish. Apply a generous amount of the sauce over all sides of each of the burger buns. On the bottom portion of the buns, add the green cabbage, shredded carrot and about a tablespoon of roasted peanuts.
- Once the burgers are cooked through, place one burger on the prepared bottom half of each bun. Top it with the top half of the bun, and enjoy!
Leftover burger patties can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container. See the blog post above for further freezing instructions.
Notes
*Replace the fresh ginger with 1/2 tsp ground ginger if you don’t have fresh on hand
**For a little extra heat, try some sriracha hot sauce in the prepared burger!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: burgers
- Method: stove
- Cuisine: Thai
