Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Spinach and Olive Turkey Burgers

By Steph Gaudreau

4.8

(6)

Image may contain Plant Burger Food Dish and Meal
Stephanie Gaudreau

These turkey burgers are my nod to Greek flavors, packed with fresh herbs, lemon, and red onion. The key to a perfect burger is to chop the added veggies finely. Serve these on lettuce wraps with your favorite toppings, on buns, or on a salad for a complete meal.

Change It Up

Serve these on top of a Greek-style salad.

Swap out the turkey for ground chicken or lamb.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds ground 93 percent lean turkey breast
1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup pitted black olives, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint or parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 3 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil or ghee for frying
Optional toppings: butter lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced red onion, sliced cucumber, more fresh mint or parsley, basil pesto, or feta cheese

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine well the turkey meat with the spinach, olives, lemon zest, onion, mint or parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. But don’t overmix or the meat with become tough. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and shape them into burgers.

    Step 2

    Warm about a tablespoon of olive oil or ghee in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the burger patties and fry them on one side for about 5 minutes, then flip them, frying on the second side for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.

    Step 3

    If you like, serve each burger on a large piece of butter lettuce and top them with any of the optional ingredients.

Cover of the book featuring the author lifting a kettlebell.
From The Core 4 © 2019 by Steph Gaudreau. Published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.
TagsBurgerMediterraneanGreekEuropeanGround TurkeyTurkeyPoultrySpinachLeafy GreensVegetableOliveMainDinnerLunchDairy FreeNut FreeKetoGluten FreeQuickEasy30 Minutes or LessWeeknight MealsFryHarper CollinsCookbooks

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio
Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.
Smoky Tofu Shakshuka
This vegan version of the classic North African scramble uses soft silken tofu instead of eggs without any sacrifice of flavor.
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Crispy Baked Wings With Berbere Honey Glaze and Fried Garlic
Berbere is a spicy chile blend that has floral and sweet notes from coriander and cardamom, and when it’s paired with a honey glaze, it sets these wings apart from anything else you’ve ever had.
Chicken Croquettes
Rather than breaded and fried as you might expect croquettes to be, these are something more akin to a seared chicken salad patty.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Chicken Breakfast Sausages
Give your favorite breakfast sausage a makeover with ground chicken. A blend of spices (fennel, smoked paprika) and some maple syrup makes these patties shine.