I love taking something that no one is excited about (ie. turkey burgers) and turning it into something that makes your eyes roll back into your head. This burger has shredded zucchini to keep it moist, shawarma seasoning for a punch of personality, and a few special toppings that make it the best, most unique turkey burger you’ve ever eaten.

See how great it looks?! The colors! The textures! It tastes even better than it looks — promise.

So good that it hardcore impressed my hard-to-impress husband.

Oh, he’s not picky. He likes most everything I make, but rarely is he ever FLOORED by things. He was floored by this and kept nodding his head and muttering “Wow. Yep. Uh huh.” as he ate — the sign that I was onto something great.

You’ll Love This Juicy Turkey Burger Recipe

Juicy, flavorful turkey burger may seem like an oxymoron. But it doesn’t have to be!

I wanted this burger to mimic a turkey shawarma situation, so I incorporated my Homemade Shawarma Seasoning into the meat and made a quick harissa mayo to add some heat and creaminess. The toppings make the burger a little “extra,” and I’ll explain more about those below.

Ingredients For Homemade Turkey Burgers

• Ground turkey: I recommend using 7% fat ground turkey if you can find it. You can use leaner ground turkey or even ground chicken if you prefer. Ground beef has a stronger flavor which might overpower the other flavors.
• Zucchini
• Shawarma seasoning: Make some using my Homemade Shawarma Seasoning or buy some online. It was hard for me to find shawarma seasoning locally, but World Market had some.
• Onion Powder
• Toppings: My recommendations are below

How to Season Turkey Burgers

This recipe uses shawarma seasoning, but generally turkey burgers take on any seasoning you add to them really well since ground turkey has such a mild flavor. Most of my homemade spice blends would be delicious in a turkey burger!

How to Make Turkey Burgers With Zucchini

1. Mix the shredded zucchini, shawarma seasoning, and onion powder into the ground turkey.
2. Form the meat into patties — you should be able to get 5 out this recipe.
3. Cook the patties in a skillet with a little oil. I prefer this to grilling since ground turkey patties are more delicate than ground beef.
4. Assemble the burgers by adding some harissa mayonnaise to a toasted bun and topping it with feta, cucumber slices, and pickled onions. (Or any toppings you prefer.)

How long to cook Turkey Burgers

These burgers only need a few minutes per side, depending on how thick you made your patties. Shoot for an internal temperature of 160F, and you’ll notice when the juices emerging from the meat are clear.

Turkey Burger Internal Temp

You’ll want to cook these burgers until the internal temperature reaches 160F. I use a meat thermometer for this.

Because the burgers have shredded zucchini they feel a little softer when they’re fully cooked which is misleading when you’re using texture as a measure for doneness.

Tips For Making Zucchini Turkey Burgers 

• Add some shredded zucchini to the meat (You don’t have to squeeze the liquid out. You’re welcome.) You could also add shredded carrots for a similar effect.
• Use 7% fat ground turkey or a higher fat percentage of ground chicken to keep them juicy.
• Don’t overcook them! They’ll be really dry if you do.

How to Serve Deliciously Moist Turkey Burgers

These burgers are best fresh out of the skillet! Assemble your burgers right away. Generally, you can dress up your burgers how ever you enjoy eating burgers. For these particular turkey burgers, I recommend the toppings below.

Turkey Burger Toppings 

• Spicy Mayonnaise: This is one of our family’s favorite condiments. It adds a little heat and creaminess to the burger. I used harissa paste (from Trader Joe’s), but you can use any kind of spicy condiment you prefer to your mayo — like sriracha, sambal oelek, or a latin-style hot sauce. If you don’t want to add any spiciness, just add a small amount of whatever spicy condiment you have or just use a grated garlic clove to make a garlic aioli instead.
• Feta Cheese: Feta compliments this burger REALLY well, and I liked being able to cut off slices from a block of feta. Use whatever cheese you prefer or omit it completely if it’s not your thing.
• Cucumbers: A strange option for a burger, maybe, but it works here. Cucumbers are often incorporated into gyros (hello tzatziki!) and a lot of similar dishes in the Middle East. You could also add lettuce for that cool, crisp component.
• Pickled Onions: I make my own Homemade Pickled Red Onions, but you can find them at the grocery store. These add a fun, briny-sweet component to the burger. And look at that color!

Storing and Reheating Homemade Turkey Zucchini Burgers

I highly recommend eating these burgers fresh from the skillet, but if you happen to have leftovers, store the patties and toppings separately in airtight containers, chilled. The patties will last about 5 days in the fridge.

Alternately, you could reserve some of the raw burger mixture and cook the patty when you’re ready. This is a good make-ahead option for all of the burgers if you need to save some prep time right before you eat.

To reheat the burgers, I recommend putting them in a skillet with a few tablespoons of water, covering them, and cooking them on medium high until warmed through. The water will keep the meat from scorching or drying out. You could also microwave them.

More Delicious Burger Recipes on Perry’s Plate

If you liked this turkey burger recipe, try some of my other burger recipes!

Green Chile Turkey Burgers: Another fabulous turkey burger filled with hatch chiles and topped with caramelized onions, a fried egg, and some guac-ranch. Yeah…. this one is fabulous.

Bacon Cheeseburger Recipe: Not your ordinary bacon burger, but a burger with BACON JAM on it.

Burgers on Smoker: You could use my smoked burger method for turkey burgers, too!

Jalapeño Burgers: These are smash burgers with caramelized onions and jalapeño.

If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Continue to Content

Zucchini Turkey Burgers

Yield: Makes 5 Burgers

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This burger has shredded zucchini to keep it moist, shawarma seasoning for a punch of personality, and a few special toppings that make it the best, most unique turkey burger you've ever eaten.

Print

Ingredients

For the turkey patties:

• 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons shawarma seasoning
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 small)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 cup avocado oil, for pan frying

For the spicy mayonnaise:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon harissa, sriracha, or another type of spicy condiment
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Pinch of sea salt

For the burger assembly:

• Buns (or lettuce leaves for wraps)
• Feta cheese (I recommend a block of feta)
• Cucumber slices
• Pickled Red Onions

Instructions

1. Mix the shredded zucchini, shawarma seasoning, and onion powder into the ground turkey. Gently use your hands to do this and try to avoid squishing the meat too tightly -- it'll make the burgers mealy.
2. Form the meat into patties -- you should be able to get 5 out this recipe.
3. Cook the patties in a large skillet with the oil, flipping once or twice until the internal temp reaches 160F and the juices run clear.
4. Make the mayonnase by mixing the mayo, harissa paste, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Taste, and adjust the heat level by adding more harissa or mayonnaise accordingly.
5. Assemble the burgers by adding some spicy mayonnaise to a toasted bun and topping it with feta, cucumber slices, and pickled onions. (Or any toppings you prefer.)

Notes

I prefer using a skillet for these burgers to grilling since ground turkey patties are more delicate than ground beef. And I like the caramelization you get from a skillet in this case.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  The Spice Way - Shawarma Seasoning Blend - Recipe Included (meat and poultry rub/meat and poultry spice) - 4 oz
• 
  ThermoPro TP-03B Digital Meat Thermometer

Nutrition Information

Yield 5 Serving Size 1 burger
Amount Per Serving Calories 601Total Fat 49gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 36gCholesterol 129mgSodium 536mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 31g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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