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
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Thai Turkey Burgers with Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 3-4
- Category: Main
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
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.
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
We had these last night and WOW were they delicious! All three components worked beautifully together. There were no leftovers (which was rather sad today…), but a definite reflection of how much my family loved these burgers.
★★★★★
Really amazing burgers and were very flavorful. The only thing I would change is add about a quarter cup of Panko. The first half of the batch were delicate when removing from the grill and were crumbling when we start to eat the burgers. I added the panko for the last ones and didn’t have that issue.
Best Burger EVER!! Used mint, cilantro, and basil in the meat mixture.
★★★★★
I followed this recipe subsituting chicken for beef. Result was simply delicious. Among the best burgers I havet ever eaten, and the best I ever made.
★★★★★
Awesome! Great to hear!
I may be the only one, but I did find it very bland. It was not something that my family enjoyed. I expected a burst of flavours, but it was the opposite. Something positive: all other recipes I tried from your site were amazing!
Intersting… I wonder, did you happen to use less salt?
There used to be a restaurant in my neighborhood with an amazing turkey burger. Ever since it closed two years ago I’ve been looking for a good turkey burger, and this is better. It’s great as is, but I’d recommend using sesame instead of olive oil. Also, a slice of grilled pineapple is killer!
★★★★★
Fantastic recipe! I recommend sesame oil instead of olive, but otherwise follow the recipe as is and it’s really great!
★★★★★
This is absolutely one of the best burgers I’ve had and my husband agrees. I never comment but this is one we’ll put in the recipe box to be made again.
Tons of flavor. We added a spicy bread and butter pickle to it! Yum!
Thank you! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
★★★★★
Great recipe! I added mango into the slaw and topped with crumbled goat cheese as well, it was excellent.
★★★★★
Interesting. I was going to try adding pineapple. I’ll do it next time.
Made this for dinner, so good!!!! Will definitely be adding to my rotation. The slaw is delicious on the burger. Yum!
Thanks and glad you enjoyed this!
Edited rating. Though I had to wait til the next day to grill these and they fell apart into a mess, I still made them it tasted good.
★★★★
Hummm, I’m so sorry about that. I’ve never had them fall apart on the grill. Any ideas what could have caused that?
Really lovely turkey burger, moist and juicy.
★★★★★
SO good and packs an awesome punch. I made this with both turkey and a separate batch with beyond meat for my boyfriend (he LOVED it). We almost went without the sriracha mayo and SO glad we didn’t skip it. Once you have the more obscure ingredients (I would try not to sub things out if you can – it’s perfect with these exact flavors) it’s so simple with the best flavors. Excited to add this to our repertoire.
★★★★★
Awesome! Glad you liked this! 🙌
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! 🙌