These Grilled Fajita Turkey Burgers combine two of my favorite summer dishes, burgers and fajitas. Both are quick, easy, family-friendly and delicious, which makes them a homerun in my playbook of recipes. On the other hand, both can get a little tiresome if you serve them week after week and don’t switch them up at all. Combining the two dishes makes for a whole new look and feel, but the flavor profile stays familiar, which makes it an easy sell to the kids.
Burgers are the iconic American summer food, but I really can’t serve the same hamburger over and over. I need variety! I will make traditional hamburgers, of course, but by swapping in burgers like these Homemade Brat Burgers or these Herbed Lamb Burgers, it keeps meals simple and anything but boring at the same time. It was time to bring in a new burger recipe so I put my recipe thinking cap on and came up with these Grilled Fajita Turkey Burgers.
Have I ever mentioned how much I adore fajitas? Put a taco and a fajita in front of me, and 95% of the time I will choose the fajita”¦except for when the taco looks exceptional, that is. Then, I would probably eat them both! Ha! All joking aside, there’s just something about the combo of the seasoned meat, the sizzling crisp-tender veggies, and the toppings of a fajita that I just can’t resist.
These Grilled Fajita Turkey Burgers include all of the things I love about traditional fajitas (especially the toppings!), and by serving the meat and veggies on lettuce leaves rather than the standard tortilla, I get to pile on the vegetables and load up on beneficial nutrients.
More about ground turkey…
If you’ve never worked with ground turkey before, let me give you some insight. Ground turkey comes labeled as “ground turkey”, “lean ground turkey” or as “ground turkey breast”. Ground turkey breast, as the name implies, uses only breast meat, which means ground turkey breast is virtually fat free. Ground turkey labeled as “lean” will be slightly higher in fat (about 93% lean and 7% fat) and contains a combination of ground dark and light meat. Regular ground turkey (with no distinction of “lean”) uses even more of the dark turkey meat, which means it has a higher fat content (typically 85% lean and 15% fat) than the other two options.
You can certainly use ground turkey breast for this recipe, however, I prefer to use the “lean ground turkey” because it has less tendency to stick to the grill when cooking.
One other thing to keep in mind when working with ground turkey is that it has a different feel than ground beef. It is softer and stickier to work with. That is why I add some quick oats to the meat mixture in these Fajita Turkey Burgers. It helps with consistency and texture. Using slightly wet hands when shaping the burgers also helps a lot!
I’d say that’s enough about ground turkey for now! Let’s get to the recipe. I hope you enjoy this twist on fajitas as much as my family does!
Grilled Fajita Turkey Burgers How-To Photos:
Combine ground turkey, onion, garlic and spices.
Add quick oats and mix well; shape the meat mixture into patties.
Brush sweet pepper quarters and onion slices with olive oil
Grill the turkey patties and vegetables.
Grilling keeps the heat and mess out of your kitchen!
Peel off the charred pepper skins and then cut the pepper quarters into thin strips.
I like to arrange everything on a platter and let everyone build their own fajita plate.
These are almost too gorgeous to eat!
- 1 to 1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 red sweet pepper, quartered and seeded
- 2 ½-inch-thick slices onion
- Olive oil
- 12 romaine lettuce pieces
- 8 tomato slices
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup light sour cream
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
- For turkey burgers, in a medium bowl combine ground turkey, onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of the oats; mix well. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oats if turkey mixture is too wet to handle. (Note: turkey mixture should be slightly wet and sticky; use damp hands when shaping the patties to help prevent sticking)
- Shape turkey mixture into four ¾-inch-thick patties. Set aside. For grilled veggies, brush both sides of pepper quarters and onion slices lightly with olive oil.
- For a charcoal or gas grill, place turkey patties, pepper quarters, and onion slices on grill rack directly over medium coals or heat. Grill (covered if using a gas grill) vegetables for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly charred and crisp-tender, turning once halfway through grilling. Remove vegetables from the grill when they are done. Grill turkey patties for 14 to 16 minutes or until patties are cooked through (registering 165°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of the patties), turning once halfway through grilling.
- Use a sharp knife to peel off the charred peel from the pepper quarters. Cut pepper quarters into thin strips.
- To assemble burgers, divide lettuce pieces among serving plates. Top with tomato slices, turkey patties, sliced onion and peppers, and avocado. Spoon sour cream on top and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
- 4 servings
- 301 cals, 26 g pro, 16 g carb, 18 g fat, 84 mg cholesterol, 5 g sat fat, 6 g fiber, 464 mg sodium
