Turkey Smash Burgers
These Turkey Smash Burgers are incredibly juicy. There’s no special griddle or cast iron required with this recipe. Just cook them in a skillet over sliced onions for the most flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You’ll be dreaming of these incredibly flavorful, juicy turkey burgers. They have perfectly cooked onions, ooey-gooey melty cheese, and your favorite toppings – all in one bun.
I love a quick and easy recipe, especially one that’s this good. You’ve been missing out if you haven’t had a smash burger, particularly one cooked on top of sliced onions! I’ll be making these smashed turkey burgers all summer long.
Homemade smash burgers are typically made by forming ground meat into balls, placing them on a super hot cast iron pan, and smashing them down.
Since I cook them in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, I form them into patties, then smash them down even more with a nylon or silicone spatula. This way works just as well!
Need dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes? You’ve come to the right place. Make this burger recipe tonight and serve it with your favorite pasta salad or veggies.
They’re perfect for a busy weeknight dinner, cookout, or BBQ. For more delicious burgers, try Veggie Loaded Turkey Burgers or Spinach and Feta Chicken Burgers.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ground Turkey: Use 93% lean ground turkey. You can substitute for 99% lean, however you’ll be missing out on flavor and texture. That little bit of fat content makes a big difference. You can swap out for chicken or beef if you like.
- Yellow Onion: Slice a large yellow onion or two small yellow onions. You can substitute for white or red onion.
- Olive Oil: You need a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, or your favorite cooking oil, to cook the onions and burgers.
- Burger Seasoning: I always have a jar of my homemade burger seasoning in the pantry. If you don’t want to make your own, you can always use your favorite brand of burger seasoning.
- Cheese: Top the burgers with your favorite slice of cheese! Cheddar, pepper jack, and American cheese are all great options.
- Hamburger Buns: You choose which buns you like best! I love a good whole wheat burger bun, but a white bun or potato roll are both delicious.
- Toppings: I love these burgers topped with lettuce and pickles. They’re so juicy and delicious that they don’t need a sauce! Other great toppings include burger sauce, ketchup, avocado, tomatoes, and bacon.
*The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below.
How to Make Turkey Smash Burgers
Follow these easy steps, and you won’t have any dry burgers! They’ll be perfectly juicy and cooked to perfection.
- Divide the ground turkey into four equal portions. Form them into patties.
- Cook the burgers in 2 batches. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the onions, and cook for 1 minute.
- Push the onions into two circles, then place a burger patty on each. Immediately smash each burger with a spatula. You can place a piece of parchment between the spatula and the burgers to prevent the spatula from sticking to them.
- Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of burger seasoning over the top of each burger. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip the burger and onions. Place a slice of cheddar cheese on each burger. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the burgers are cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- Wipe out the skillet. Repeat steps 2-4 for the remaining two burgers. Serve on buns with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
Expert Tip: Don’t mix the burger seasoning into the meat. When you do this, you tend to overwork the meat, causing it to become tougher and drier when cooked. Sprinkle it over the top of the burgers before or during cooking.
Serving Suggestions
Top these ground turkey smash burgers with your favorite burger toppings! They’re great with lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, burger sauce, avocado, or whatever other favorites you have.
Serve them with your favorite sides like Rainbow Orzo Salad or Zesty Italian Pasta Salad. Try this Grilled Vegetable Platter or Air Fryer Seasoned Steak Fries for a veggie side.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: This recipe is quick and easy to make, so there’s no need to prep it ahead of time. If you want to, you can form the burgers into patties, then stack them, placing a piece of parchment paper between each patty. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
To Store: You can store leftover turkey burgers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Yes! You can make Turkey Smash Burgers on a heated griddle or Blackstone. Adjust timing as needed because they will cook a little faster.
Yes! You can use ground beef instead of ground turkey in this recipe. No adjustments are needed.
Cook smash turkey burgers in a skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side.
More Ground Turkey Recipes
To get even more recipes straight to your inbox, sign-up for the Fresh Apron Weekly Newsletter.
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to come back and leave a 5-star rating and a comment below.
Turkey Smash Burgers
- Prep Time: 4 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Turkey Smash Burgers are incredibly juicy. There’s no special griddle or cast iron required with this recipe. Just cook them in a skillet over sliced onions for the most flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons burger seasoning (store-bought or homemade burger seasoning)
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 whole wheat hamburger buns
- Favorite toppings (like pickles, lettuce, and burger sauce)
Instructions
- Divide the ground turkey into 4 equal portions. Form them into patties.
- Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add half of the onions, and cook for 1 minute.
- Push the onions into 2 circles, then place a burger on top of each. Immediately smash each burger with a nylon or silicone spatula. You can place a piece of parchment in between the spatula and the burgers to prevent the spatula from sticking to them.
- Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of burger seasoning over the top of each burger. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip the burger and onions. Place a slice of cheddar cheese on each burger. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the burgers are cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- Wipe out the skillet. Repeat steps 2-4 for the remaining 2 burgers. Serve on buns with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional Values (per serving) are approximates only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
- Calories: 470
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 598.2 mg
- Fat: 25.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.4 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 28.1 g
- Cholesterol: 112.3 mg
