Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce and Cucumber Tomato Salad

Welcome back to another Monday! How was everyone’s weekend? Did you have a happy Easter Sunday? As expected, we had a super low key, mellow day but it was lovely, none-the-less. My mom and brother came over for a light brunch consisting of an artichoke & cheddar cheese frittata, paleo biscuits to serve as a vessel for my beloved Strawberry Jam, some crispy white potatoes, and a See’s candy peanut butter egg for dessert. It ended up being a vegetarian meal (rare around here!) but it was perfectly light yet filling! 

I finally got to give my mom, brother, and husband their Easter baskets, which were all big hits! I love that it made the day feel just a little more special and a regular ol’ Sunday brunch. Nothing better than getting to spend a slow morning in the kitchen making yummy food and getting to spend time with some of my loved ones. Can’t complain about that one bit!

Moving forward, I think I am ready to start sharing recipes here that don’t involve strawberries again.We are diving into a new week AND a new month, and this recipe that will be perfect for springtime and well into the summer months. Enter Greek Turkey Burgers with a (super simple) Tzatkiki Sauce and Cucumber Tomato Salad. This meal is incredibly simple, light, and delicious.

I tend to get in a little bit of a rut some making some of the same (or very similar) recipes over and over each week. We love burger night around here, but I was looking to branch out of our typical flavor wheel. (As opposed to color wheel?) These burgers were the perfect answer to sticking to the ease, simplicity, and deliciousness of burger night, but with a light and unique spin!

The burgers themselves only require a few unique additions to create that burst of Greek flavors with every bite. They are even packed with veggies, making them extra light and healthy! The Feta isn’t quite detectable once the burgers are cooked, but it gives the burgers tons of extra flavor. It wouldn’t quite be Greek without Feta, would it?

The Tzakiki sauce is super simple, couldn’t be easier to whip up, and is TOTALLY worth the extra few ingredients and effort for a major flavor boost.  All you need is plain greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt, & pepper for an awesome sauce to spread all over your burgers, really giving them that Greek flair!

Lastly, the Cucumber & Tomato Salad is the final quick and easy addition to the recipe that gives everything a super fresh, flavorful, and crunchy feel! It totally completes the meal. Cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and onions mixed with olive oil and red wine vinegar makes an absolutely drool-worthy combination! Talk about making sure you get the “perfect bite” every time! In fact, this salad is motivating me to make sure we at least plant a mini summer garden so I can try my hand at growing tomatoes and cucumbers (last year was a bit of a fail.) This year will be better, I just know it 🙂

This recipe makes about 12 large burgers. Like I said above, you will not regret having leftovers one bit. There are lots of different ways you can repurpose the burgers, plus, they would likely freeze well…that is what I planned on doing with the leftovers but we ended up eating them all within a few days…such is life! Plus, “batch cooking” is a great way to meal prep–do the work once and reap the benefits later! However, if you don’t need to feed an army and you don’t do leftovers, feel free to cut the ingredients in half. But you might regret it…just sayin’! 🙂

Ingredients

For the burgers:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tsp dill
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic

For the Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 5oz container of Greek yogurt
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dill
• salt & pepper

For the Tomato Cucumber Salad

• 1 cup baby/cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. First, make the Tzatziki sauce (so the flavors have a chance to meld together while you prepare/cook everything else). Simply combine the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Place in fridge until ready to serve! 
2. Next, prepare the salad. Chop the tomatoes in half,  dice the cucumbers and onions and add them to a medium bowl. Add your desired amount of drained kalamata olives (about 1/2 a cup), red wine vinegar, olive oil, and S & P. Mix well to combine and set aside. 
3. Finally, prepare the burgers. You’ll first need to chop the spinach, dice the onion, shred the zucchini, and mince the garlic. Add all ingredients to a large bowl, and mix well (I use my hands because that works best even if it does feel icky!) 
4. Begin forming the meat mixture into patties…you will make about 12 total. 
5. Add about 1-2 Tbsp avocado oil to a large skillet. Allow the oil to heat up over medium heat. Place patties into the skillet…you should be able to fit about 4 at a time depending on the size of the pan. Allow burgers to cook for about 6 minutes each side (on medium heat). It will be ready to flip after a brown crust forms, avoiding turkey sticking to the pan. Repeat 2-3 times until all of the patties are cooked.
6. Serve burgers with Tzatziki Sauce and Cucumber Tomato Salad, of course!
   

I served our burgers with oven roasted baby potatoes one night, and with white rice and asparagus the second night we ate them. We still had one patty left, which ended up getting chopped up and going into a big green salad I had for lunch and it was DELICIOUS! No matter how you serve it, you’re going to love these burgers!

Print

Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzaziki Sauce & Cucumber Tomato Salad

Total Time

35 mins

 

A light, delicious, and easy recipe perfect for springtime and summer! The perfect way to change up burger night! 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Servings: 12

Author: Maggie @ Our Fine Day

Ingredients

For the burgers:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 cup spinach chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tsp dill
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic

For the Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 5 oz container of Greek yogurt
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp dill
• salt & pepper

For the Cucumber Tomato Salad

• 1 cup baby/cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup red onion diced
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. First, make the Tzatziki sauce (so the flavors have a chance to meld together while you prepare/cook everything else). Simply combine the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Place in fridge until ready to serve.

2. Next, prepare the salad. Chop the tomatoes in half, dice the cucumbers and onions and add them to a medium bowl. Add your desired amount of drained Kalamata olives (about 1/2 a cup), red wine vinegar, olive oil, and S & P. Mix well to combine and set aside.
3. Finally, prepare the burgers. You'll first need to chop the spinach, dice the onion, shred the zucchini, and mince the garlic. Add all ingredients to a large bowl, and mix well (I use my hands because that works best even if it does feel icky!)
4. Begin forming the meat mixture into patties...you will make about 12 total.

5. Add about 1-2 Tbsp avocado oil to a large skillet. Allow the oil to heat up over medium heat. Place patties into the skillet...you should be able to fit about 4 at a time depending on the size of the pan. Allow burgers to cook for about 4-6 minutes each side (on medium heat). It will be ready to flip after a brown crust forms, avoiding turkey sticking to the pan. Repeat 2-3 times until all of the patties are cooked.

6. Serve burgers with Tzatziki Sauce and Cucumber Tomato Salad, of course!