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.
Here’s a ground turkey recipe that will rock your world! These Thai turkey burgers are an easy, delicious weeknight dinner, or special enough for entertaining. Infused with fresh lemongrass, ginger, lime zest, shallots, and basil, they are bursting with Thai flavor. We leave out the breadcrumbs 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!
A very common problem when making turkey burgers is how dry they can get because they need to be cooked through, unlike beef burgers. I will show you a little tip on how to keep them moist and juicy. Love cooking with ground turkey? Here are our best turkey recipes!
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 lemongrass, lemongrass paste, or sub-dried lemongrass in a pinch.
- Ginger– use fresh grated ginger root, or ginger paste.
- Garlic -adds a pungent flavor.
- Lime zest- add lime flavor without liquid.
- Cilantro or Thai basil
- Extra virgin olive oil– to add a little richness and keep them moist!
- 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!
Turkey Burger 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!
What to serve with Turkey Burgers
- Asian Slaw
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Quick Sourdough Buns
- Pickled Red Onions
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Thai Noodle Salad
- Vermicelli Salad
- Grilled Bok Choy with Ponzu Sauce
- Sesame Cabbage Noodle Salad
Storing turkey burgers
Leftover turkey burgers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, great for meal prep! Freeze for up to 3 months.
More Recipes you may like:
- Chimichurri Poblano Turkey Burger
- Bison Burger
- Thai Turkey Meatballs
- Lamb Burgers
- Sloppy Joes
- Homemade Meatloaf
On the home front: 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 and 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 for my dear friend Jill, that this recipe came to be.
I hope you enjoy these Thai Turkey Burgers as much as we have! Let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxoxo
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Thai Turkey Burger Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4
- 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 is absolutely amazing!! So much flavor! I chose vinegar over the lime juice for the slaw as I love vinegar and just perfect!! This is a keeper for sure! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed!
These turkey burgers were delicious! I didn’t have lemon grass and chose to skip the spicy peppers. Otherwise as written. I was surprised by the texture of the wet burger (I haven’t made many turkey burgers before), but they were great once cooked. Very flavorful!
So glad you enjoyed Wendy!
If I make these the day before, will they stick to parchment paper in the fridge?
They should be ok.
Rave, rave, rave!!! Another flavorful recipe. We love these turkey burgers. As with all your recipes, you encourage making it your own. Well, I can’t help myself. I didn’t have enough lime zest so added ground black lime. Also, no fresh lemon grass so I used ground and the ginger I had was subpar, so I used ground. Flavors were amazing. It looked like the burgers were going to stay together, but I was skeptical (past issues with ground turkey), so I added 2 tbsp of gluten free panko and an egg. Worked great; burgers were so moist. I did follow the slaw recipe to a T… excellent accompaniment. For the mayo, I added half Sambal Olek and half Siracha. Excellent combination.
Thanks Terri, your version sounds amazing!!
These burgers were delicious. Followed instructions exactly except to use lemongrass from a tube, and made 4 burgers instead of three. Will definitely make again.
Wonderful Julie!
Great flavors, great recipe. Thank you for your time spend on giving us this wonderful recipe.
You are welcome Eleanor! Appreciate the review. 🙂
Absolutely delicious. All of it. Added some peanuts to the slaw, otherwise followed recipe to the letter. This will be a keeper.
Great to hear J!
This is the best turkey burger!!!
Great to hear!
These are an absolute delight! We use ground chicken and skip the bun but the flavors really pop!
Great to hear!
A wonderfully flavored burger. They are very wet and shaping into burger is troublesome. Any suggestions for a less wet patty?
Try refrigerating before shaping? To firm it up a bit?
A bit time consuming. No access to lemongrass but used lime zest. But all the time and effort was totally worth it! We are going to make a big batch, freeze raw and grill as needed.
Thanks Jamie! Great to hear you enjoyed it- and love the idea of freezing!
Hi Sylvia, these are punchy and so flavoursome. Thanks yet again for a banging recipe. xx
Happy to hear this Mandy!
These burgers have become a favorite!! They are incredibly flavorful and the finished result is so beautiful to eat!
Haven’t been able to grill them though, as the meat is too soft and will slip through the grates, so any suggestions for that would be helpful!
Love them & the slaw though😊
Glad you like them Jodie! I wonder if you have wider grates? I would try kneading the meat with your hands a bit more. Form the patties, then refrigerate for a while?
This recipe is amazing! Turkey isn’t my favorite meat, but this recipe adds so much flavor to the burgers. They turn out soft, moist, and bursting with flavor, and the slaw and aoli really helps make them. I’ve gotten compliments on this recipe every time I’ve made them.
Awesome to hear!
Not usually a fan of ground turkey, but these burgers had incredible flavor and easy to put together. I have two left in the freezer and look forward to enjoying them as well.
Awesome to hear Maria!
I hardly ever leave a comment, but these were really really good. They crisped up on the grill beautifully and just had so much flavor. Well done and thanks.
Thanks Jonathan! Appreciate this!
I am adding this to my meal plan this week. Can I urge people to try adding fish sauce. It adds so much flavor! I put it in my marinara when I make spaghetti. It doesn’t taste like it smells. Only gives umami to the dish which is what we want!!
Thanks Kelli! Appreciate this!
They sound great and would love to try …I’m sure either white or dark turkey meat can be used but which did you use for this recipe
Great question and I’m not sure Terri! I only see one kind here where I shop, and I assumed it was a mix of both.
Made this for my in-laws and it was a hit! So much so that we made it twice in the same weekend because my father-in-law enjoyed it so much (he also asked for the recipe so he could make it at home). Subbed mint for thai basil since that’s what I had in the house. Doubled the recipe to feed a family of 4 adults + 2 kiddos. Highly recommend!
Great to hear Tammy!
If I were to make these as a meal for a friend (and cook the burgers in advance), what would you recommend for reheat instructions?
What a nice treat for them! I would just leave them unassembled. Have them bake the turkey burgers at 350F till warmed through. Maybe warm up the buns at the end of baking time.:)
This is one of our favorite recipes. My fiance loves them! I make a double or triple batch, form patties, freeze them then vacuum seal them for quick weeknight dinners. They are so flavorful. I have used both chicken and turkey. Both ways are awesome. I give this recipe out all the time. Thank you for sharing it!
Glad to hear it Amy! Really appreciate your comment and all your sharing. You just made my day! 🙂
I added a small drizzle of sesame oil on them and they were sooooo good!!!
Love it Stazzi!
These turkey burgers are amazing. So moist with great flavour. The slaw is simple an delicious. I made no substitutions except to omit the fish sauce. Will definitely make again.
Thanks Rhonda, glad you enjoyed!
I have made these at least 4 times now, making some swaps for keto and it’s frikkin awesome every time. There are two people in this house that aren’t keto and they love it. It’s just so good! (Also, I hate turkey- tastes like feet lol- so I use ground chicken and we always double it) THANK YOU for this!! 🤗
Great to hear Suzanne! I’m glad everyone is enjoying and love that you are using ground chicken- such an easy swap!
Made these yesterday using sriracha instead of jalapeños, soy sauce instead of fish sauce and no sugar in the burger or slaw.
You don’t need the empty calories of added sugar, they were absolutely delicious without it! The turkey burger was so juicy and bursting with flavour! 😋
Great to hear Jonathon!