This scrumptious Turkey Burger Recipe bursts with Thai flavors and is topped with fresh and crunchy Asian Slaw, Cucumber Ribbons & Spicy Sriracha Aioli. Light, healthy, Delicious! Easy to make.
Earlier this spring, I hosted a birthday gathering at my house for a couple of friends. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before – I’ve been meeting with a group of women friends every Thursday night for the past 20 years. It has been a godsend.
The group shifts, a few have come and gone through the years, and not everyone is present every single Thursday night, but for the most part, we gather as best we can, to eat, drink and commune. Together we ride the waves of our lives, supported, held up, loved. It is truly one of the best things in my life, and birthdays are extra special. We make a big deal of them, celebrating and honoring each other, and taking the pressure off our spouses to do this for us.
So it was at one of these birthday celebrations, that these Thai Turkey Burgers came to be. Infused with fresh lemongrass, ginger, lime zest, shallots and basil, they are full of flavor. They are topped with an Asian Slaw and fresh cucumber ribbons, and the buns are slathered with a spicy aioli. They can be grilled or pan-seared, and are perfect for weekend barbecues, a much lighter alternative to beef.
Tis’ the season to fire up the BBQ!
The cucumber ribbons and Crunchy Asian slaw add refreshing texture and flavor.
And then there is the spicy aioli….easy and yummy. Mix Chili Paste like sambal or Sriracha, with either mayo, or vegan mayo or even tarter.
For an even lighter option, serve in butter lettuce wraps and go totally bread free. Or create Burger Bowls!
Add pickled onions, spicy greens, avocado, sprouts….or even pickled radishes would be good!
I hope you enjoy these Thai Turkey Burgers as much as we have!
xoxoxo
Sylvia
PrintThai Turkey Burgers with Crunchy Asian Slaw
Thai Turkey Burgers infused with lemongrass, ginger and basil, served with a Crunchy Asian Slaw and Spicy Aioli. Serve this on a tasty bun, in a lettuce wrap or over grains and greens for healthy bowl.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
Turkey Burger:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 3 tablespoons shallot, very finely diced ( or red onion)
- 1 ½ teaspoon fresh grated, or chopped ginger
- 2 garlic cloves- finely minced ( or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass
- 2 tablespoons chopped Thai basil (or reg basil, cilantro, or mint)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 scallion, chopped
- ½ – 1 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped ( or substitute 1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce, or red chili sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or sub soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper– optional
Crunchy Asian Slaw:
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice ( or rice wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
Spicy Aioli:
- 1/4 cup mayo, vegan mayo or tarter sauce
- 1–2 tablespoons sriracha or chili garlic sauce
Optional Additions: Toasted Buns, Cucumber Ribbons, pickled red onions ( yum), Pickled radishes, spicy greens like watercress, sprouts, avocado
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high. ( see notes to pan-sear)
- Combine all the burger ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well using hands. With wet hands, shape into 3 burgers, 1-inch thick. Place on a plate in the fridge.
- Toss the slaw ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Mix the spicy aioli ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Grill patties on a well-greased, pre-heated grill 4-5 minutes each side until golden and cooked through.
- Toast or grill the buns.
- Spread aioli on the bottom bun, top with the patty, then the slaw, cucumber ribbons (optional) , more aioli, then the top bun. Enjoy!!
Notes
- To make cucumber ribbons, use a veggie peeler to make long thin slices. No need to peel English or Turkish cucumbers, but do peel those with thick waxy skins.
- The burger patties can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to grill.
- To Pan-Sear: heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, over medium heat, pan sear turkey burgers until golden and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Resist the urge to fiddle with them- let them develop a good crust before flipping. 🙂
Keywords: turkey burgers, turkey burger recipes, thai burgers, thai burger recipe, turkey burgers thai
This was a really delicious way to use turkey burger. I didn’t have lemon grass so I substituted lemon zest. They turned out great! I’m excited to eat the left overs for lunch. I have a feeling they will taste even better the next day 😁
★★★★★
I never rate recipes but I don’t like turkey burgers…this was AMAZING!! I’ve sent the recipe to all my friends and insist that they make it…I took me forever to prep because I didn’t know how to cut lemongrass or julienne carrots…but it was so worth it. next time I anticipate it going much faster but ahhh so good!! Make it and don’t leave any ingredients out! I can’t eat Thai food because of the cross contamination with my nut allergy and I was so excited to try this because it tasted exactly like all the aromas from my husband’s thai dishes!!
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks, great to hear! 🙌
My family loved this recipe! That says a lot because my husband is a real red meat guy and I just didn’t mention what we would be having for dinner before we actually sat down and ate. Needless to say, he an our children loved them. I cooked them on a gas grill. Can’t wait to try another one of your recipes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Yay!!! Great to hear. Thanks for sharing! 🙌
These are so good! I didn’have lemon grass so replaced it with lemon verbena, which grows in my yard. Then as my family isn’t keen on fish sauce, I used some mushroom umami powder and bit of Worcestershire. Sauce. Worked just fine. Reminded me of larb on a bun. Will make again for sure.
★★★★★
Nice! Love that!
Everything we make from your recipes are amazing! My husband is so inspired the balance of plant base and carnivores! Your spices in this burger are perfect! We can’t wait to share with family and friends, thank you again!
thanks so much!
I absolutely LOVED it!!! Turkey can be extremely bland but this Thai recipe made a moist and delicious burger! I used rice wine vinegar in my slaw. I also added my homemade Thai sweet chili sauce as well… So fresh and I will definitely make these again
★★★★★
Thanks Kimberly!
These burgers are so tender, juicy, and delicious. Great combination of flavors. We like a little more heat, so added thinly sliced serranos to the slaw, super tasty with great heat; and yeah, the mayo is awesome! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. Funny, who’s the first person that thought – let’s add some Fish Sauce to this recipe. It’s amazing how great it can taste. As always Sylvia, thanks for sharing another phenomenal recipe. Sissy.
★★★★★
Thanks Sissy!
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe! We made these Thai turkey burgers last night. We followed the recipe closely, except we accidentally forgot to add the fish sauce. I strive for low sodium, so next time, I’ll probably add only half of the TBL of fish sauce. And I can hardly wait until next time! Best ever!
Awesome Dennis! Yes you can keep it reduced for low sodium. Glad you liked it!!!