Zesty Lemon Cilantro Turkey Burger
Summertime means cookouts, and cookouts mean burgers. But not just any old burgers. We’re talking delicious, juicy turkey burgers spiced up with some lemon cilantro flavor. So heat up your grill and get ready for a tasty summer meal!
This time of year, I love to cook on the grill when I’m entertaining. It keeps the heat out of the house and there’s fewer pots to clean.
To me, nothing says summer like a good burger grilled to perfection.
But since I’m trying to watch how many calories I eat, I usually opt for ground turkey instead of ground beef.
The problem with ground turkey is that it doesn’t have a lot of flavor, so it needs some help to make it into a good burger.
That’s where this lemon cilantro turkey burger recipe comes in handy. The extra spices definitely make for one tasty burger!
Ingredients
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Here’s your shopping list:
- fresh fruit and vegetables – 1 red onion, 1 bunch of fresh Cilantro, 1 lemon
- eggs – 1 large egg.
- seasoning – ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- bread – ¼ cup bread crumbs, 4 hamburger buns
- meat – 1 pound ground turkey
- oil – 1 Tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
Substitutions
- Ground chicken or ground beef will work instead of the ground turkey.
- If you don’t have fresh cilantro, you can use 1 Tablespoon of dried cilantro.
- To make the patties gluten free, use gluten-free bread crumbs.
How to make lemon cilantro turkey burgers
Prep work
Pre-heat the grill over a medium flame.
Using a non-stick grill spray on the grates will help prevent the burgers from sticking.
Finely chop half of the red onion. You won’t need all of it to put in the burgers. But you can slice the rest of it to use as a topping.
Cut up the fresh cilantro. Using herb scissors will make this job easier.
Grate the lemon rind.
Put the burgers together
Combine 1 pound ground turkey, 1 egg, ¼ cup bread crumbs, ¼ cup chopped onion, ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl.
I usually start by mixing with a large spoon, and then use my hands to finish the job. It’s easier to get everything well mixed that way.
Form 4 to 5 half-inch thick patties out of the mixture.
Try not to make them too thick or they’ll be hard to cook evenly (the outside will burn before the inside is done).
To help prevent the burgers from sticking to the grill, brush some oil over both sides of each patty.
Putting them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes also helps to make them less sticky.
Grill
Grill the patties over medium high heat for about 8 minutes per side, or until they are no longer pink inside.
Do not press the burgers down with a spatula. That will squeeze the juice out of them and make them dry.
If you want to heat the buns, put them on the grill for about 30 seconds when the burgers are almost done.
You can also make them on the stove, by cooking over medium heat for about the same amount of time.
Using a grill pan will add the black lines and gives them more of a grilled flavor.
Serve
Serve the burgers with buns, condiments and other toppings.
I like to put all the fixings out on a burger charcuterie board. It looks pretty and makes everything easy to grab.
Other cookout recipes you might like
- Pesto turkey burgers
- Burger toppings charcuterie board
- Lemon chicken shish kabobs
- Lemon garlic grilled asparagus
Lemon Cilantro Turkey Burger
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 large spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1 Tablespoon of dried cilantro
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 4 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Pre-heat the grill over a medium flame.
- Mix all of the ingredients (except the buns) in a large bowl until they are well combined.
- Form half inch thick patties out of the meat.
- Grill the patties over medium high heat for about 8 minutes per side, or until they are no longer pink inside.
- Serve with hamburger buns, condiments and other toppings.
Notes
- Start combining the ingredients using a spoon, then switch to using your hands. It’s much easier to get everything well mixed that way.
Nutrition
Have comments or questions about our lemon cilantro turkey burger? Tell us in the section below.
This post was originally published on July 21, 2016 but was updated with new content on August 15, 2022.