This is not your average turkey burger. Be warned: It’s a Jalapeño Turkey burger, so you might want to consider your heat tolerance a little when you try it out. For all the brave souls out there, feel free to double that amount of jalapeño, or even triple it!
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A lot of the recipes I came across didn’t really call for it, but I added grated onions and a few spices to the mix because they just give it SO much more flavor! You’re really going to want to keep those in there. As for that zucchini, I know, I know… you must think I’m obsessed with zucchini at this point, but its just there to add in the bulk. A bigger burger is a better burger right? Plus I get some extra veggies in without really having to taste them.
I used super-lean ground turkey breast here, so threw these patties between some good buns and got a great post-workout meal. Why? Because there’s pretty much no fat that would slow down that protein absorption. Another benefit of the low fat-content is that the patty doesn’t shrink while cooking like a normal hamburger would. What you see is what you get!
As for assembling the actual burger, I used English Muffins instead of regular hamburger buns, because they’re so much richer. Like the entire thing is just bread, and not something airy that squishes down when you hold it. Also layered in spinach and some more onions; The combination went really well. That tomato was just so-so in my opinion, and I just ended up leaving it out in the end.
Jalapeño Turkey Burger
Ingredients
- 4 oz Ground Turkey Breast, 99% Lean, 112g
- ½ large Zucchini, about 100g
- 2 tsp Jalapeño Peppers, Chopped, 14g
- 1½ Tbsp Red Onion, Grated or Finely Chopped, 20g
- 1 tsp Garlic, Minced, 1-2 cloves
- ¼ tsp Cumin
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black Pepper
- Cooking spray for greasing
Assembling:
- 3 Whole Wheat English Muffins
- ¾ cup Spinach, 45g
- Red Onion & Tomato
Instructions
- Finely dice the zucchini, you should have about 1 cup.
- Transfer to a large bowl, add in rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture into 3 parts, and use your hands to shape them into patties, being careful not to compact the meat.
- Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-low, and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Place patties on skillet and cook for about 4 minutes. Gently flip over and cook for another 4 minutes or until turkey is cooked through and no longer pink on the inside.
- Wipe down skillet or grill and toast the muffins for about 30 seconds each side until golden brown. Transfer to work surface.
- Assemble burgers placing spinach, patty and toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- Using leaner meat prevents patties from shrinking when cooking.
- Make sure you oil the pan or grill to prevent the patty from sticking to the surface (this will happen because the meat is so lean).
- When cooking patties, don’t let the skillet get too hot, or the outside will cook and burn before the meat is cooked through.
- These can also be made in air fryer or baked:
- Air-fryer: Lightly coat basket with cooking spray, place patties on and cook at 350°F for 12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Oven: Grease baking pan with cooking spray and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, filling halfway.
- Calorie value includes the English Muffins.
- To make these Paleo, use diet-compliant bread.
- Freeze raw: Stack patties with pieces of parchment paper in between, place in freezer bag and freeze. Thaw before cooking, and increase cook time by 4-5 minutes.
- Freeze cooked: Cook patties and cool. Transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze. When frozen, stack with pieces of parchment paper in between, place in freezer bag and freeze. Reheat in microwave to serve.
- Servings: 3 3” wide burgers | Serving size: 1
- Calories: 184kcal
- Fat: 2.2g | Saturated fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25.8g | Fiber: 4.8g | Sugar: 4.5g
- Protein: 14.4g
Hey! I'm Haylee
Google Software Engineer
I use my passion for baking (and eating) to create healthy, high-protein, good-for-you and diet-friendly desserts and sweet treats that are actually delicious.
Come join me in Hayl's Kitchen and let's eat high protein, sweet and guilt free!