This healthy turkey burger recipe bursts with irresistible Thai flavor! Cook them on the grill, on the stovetop, or in your air fryer, then top with fresh and crunchy Asian slaw, cucumber ribbons, and sriracha aioli. Gluten-free, made without bread crumbs. Video. Serve with Sweet Potato Fries.
Infused with fresh lemongrass, ginger, lime zest, shallots, and basil, these Turkey Burgers are bursting with Thai flavor. We leave out the bread crumbs in the recipe so they are gluten-free, light, and healthy. They are topped with a crunchy Asian Slaw and fresh cucumber ribbons, and the buns are slathered with spicy aioli, basically like sriracha mayo. There is so much deliciousness happening here!
Why you’ll love our Turkey Burgers!
- Versatile! The burgers can be cooked on the grill, can be pan-seared on the stovetop, or made in your air fryer!
- Healthy and Flavorful. Full of vibrant Thai flavor, yet lean and light, with no addition of bread crumbs needed.
- Make it ahead. The burger patties and sides can be made ahead if entertaining!
Turkey Burger Recipe video
Turkey Burger Ingredients
- Ground turkey– or sub ground chicken, beef or lamb, or a plant-based “meat”.
- Shallots – add the BEST flavor here. Use red onion in a pinch.
- Lemongrass – freshly chopped lemon grass, lemongrass paste, or sub-dried lemongrass in a pinch.
- Ginger– use fresh grated ginger root, or ginger paste.
- Garlic- adds pungent flavor.
- Lime zest- add lime flavor without liquid.
- Cilantro or Thai basil
- Serve with: Asian Slaw, cucumber ribbons, Sriracha Aioli and Buns- make our Sourdough buns, or buy GF buns. Serve over dressed greens or in a lettuce wrap!
Turkey Burger Instructions
Combine all the turkey burger ingredients in a medium bowl and using a fork, break apart the ground turkey. 
Mix with fork, then using a wet hand, knead until mixed well.
With damp hands, shape into 3-4 burgers, compressing. The burgers will feel tender, but should hold their shape.
Place on a parchment-lined plate in the fridge until ready to grill or cook.
Grill patties on a well-greased, pre-heated grill for 4-5 minutes ( use the grill cover.)
Flip, lower heat and continue cooking until cooked through to 160F. (They will continue to cook to a perfect 165F). Keep warm until ready to serve.
Assemble the burgers. Grill the buns and slather with sriracha aioli. Add cucumber ribbons if you like and top with the slaw.
The cucumber ribbons and crunchy Asian slaw add refreshing texture and flavor. The sriracha aioli adds punchy flavor!
Optional Variations
- Add pickled onions, microgreens, or avocado.
- If you are feeling crafty, these quick sourdough buns are amazing!
- Serve in lettuce wraps and go totally grain-free.
- Serve the burger over the Asian slaw as a main course salad.
- Create Burger Bowls!
On the homefront: 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 and truly one of the best things in my life.
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.
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.
What to serve with Turkey Burgers
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Thai Noodle Salad with the BEST EVER Peanut Sauce
- Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad with Chili Vinaigrette
- Grilled Bok Choy with Ponzu Sauce
- Sesame Cabbage Noodle Salad
More Turkey Burger Recipes you may like:
- Chimichurri Poblano Turkey Burger!
- Bison Burger
- Thai Turkey Meatballs
- Lamb Burgers
- Quick Sourdough Buns
- Pickled Red Onions
I hope you enjoy these Thai-inspired Turkey Burgers as much as we have! Let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxoxo
Print
Thai Turkey Burger Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main, burgers,
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This irresistible turkey burger recipe is topped with crunchy Asian Slaw and bursts with Thai flavor! Use the grill, stovetop, or air fryer!
Ingredients
Turkey Burger:
- 1 lb ground turkey (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons shallot, very finely diced (or sub red onion)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves- finely minced (or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or Thai basil
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1/2 – 1 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped (or sub 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or one tablespoon fish sauce- see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper- or sub black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
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
- 1/4 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 or air fry)
- Combine all the burger ingredients in a medium bowl using a fork, breaking apart the ground turkey. Using a wet hand, knead until mixed well. It will feel very tender. With damp hands, shape into 3-4 burgers, compressing and tidying up the edges. Place on a plate in the fridge until ready to grill.
- Toss the Asian slaw ingredients together in a medium bowl. (You could do this up to a day ahead).
- Mix the spicy aioli ingredients together in a small bowl. ( You could make this up to 3 days ahead)
- Grill patties on a well-greased, pre-heated grill 4-5 minutes each side until golden and cooked through to 160F. (They will continue to cook to a perfect 165F).
- 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 up to 2 days 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. 🙂
- To air fry- Heat the air fryer to 370F. Place turkey burgers in a single layer, and air fry for 9-12 minutes or until they reach 160 F. (They will continue to cook to a perfect 165F).
- The original recipe used 1 tablespoon fish sauce, instead of the salt, we changed this to make them easier to handle, but feel free to do that if you are used to it!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger with slaw, mayo and bun
- Calories: 451
- Sugar: 8.6 g
- Sodium: 764.5 mg
- Fat: 24.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 27.8 g
- Cholesterol: 84 mg
This was easy to make and everyone loved it! I didn’t have red cabbage, so used green instead. Would make again. 🙂
Great to hear!
✨️These are such amazing burgers 🍔. I add 1-2 tsp psyllium so they hold up better. We make a whole batch and freeze them, delicious 😋
You changed the recipe! I loved it just the way it was with soy and sugar in the patty mix and sugar in the slaw mix. Please send me old recipe
Hi Carol- Check the recipe notes. I just made the fish sauce optional, everything else is the same. 🙂 There was no soy in the recipe.
I couldn’t get my burgers to bind. They fell apart.
I am sorry about that Mari- did you happen to leave out the olive oil? I find that helps alongs with giving the burger mixure a really a good knead before compressing into patties. Some ground turkey especially fat free versions can get crumbly without both.
I add psyllium, 1-2 tsp. Ground turkey 🦃 & chicken 🐔 are notoriously wet and difficult to work with. Hope it helps!
Great idea!
These have become our regular Friday night dinner. Yum.
Love that tradition!
I made this over the weekend and I love all the flavors in these burgers! There was no fresh lemongrass available near me so I used an organic lemongrass paste instead.
Perfect!