Update: See me make these burgers on video!
About a year ago I was distraught to find that Trader Joe’s discontinued one of may favorite summer treats, their Southwestern Turkey Burger. I think they replaced it with some chicken burger but it’s just not the same.
This is my recreation. I cooked mine on the George Forman but I can’t WAIT to get them on the BBQ this summer!
but I can’t WAIT to get them on the BBQ this summer!Ingredients
- 8oz extra Lean Ground Turkey
- â…“ of a red bell pepper diced small
- â…“ of a green bell pepper diced small
- â…“ of a yellow bell pepper diced small
- ½ of a small onion diced small
- 1 medium button mushroom diced small
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup quick oats
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
Put all ingredients in a bowl and combine with hands.
Form the mixture into 4 equal sized patties approximately 4 ounces each.
Grill about 4-5 minutes a side or about 6 minutes on the George Forman Grill.
I served it on a Whole Wheat Potato Roll (a whole wheat English muffin would work too) with a bed of baby spinach and some ketchup. I also cooked up the other 3 and froze them for lunches.
What about the husband? well, he had a regular old burger. BORING! ;~P
Are your burgers sticking? Click here for me tips?
Update: See me make these burgers on video!
📖 Recipe
Southwestern Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 8 oz extra Lean Ground Turkey
- â…“ of a red bell pepper diced small
- â…“ of a green bell pepper diced small
- â…“ of a yellow bell pepper diced small
- ½ of a small onion diced small
- 1 medium button mushroom diced small
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup quick oats
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a bowl and combine with hands.8 oz extra Lean Ground Turkey, ⅓ of a red bell pepper diced small, ⅓ of a green bell pepper diced small, ⅓ of a yellow bell pepper diced small, ½ of a small onion diced small, 1 medium button mushroom diced small, 1 egg white, ¼ cup quick oats, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon dried cilantro, Salt & pepper
- Form the mixture into 4 equal sized patties approximately 4 ounces each.
- Grill about 4-5 minutes a side or about 6 minutes on the George Forman Grill.
- I served it on a Whole Wheat Potato Roll (a whole wheat English muffin would work too) with a bed of baby spinach and some ketchup. I also cooked up the other 3 and froze them for lunches.
roni
I have only frozen them cooked before. Then they are super easy to pop in the microwave at work for lunch. I'm sure you could freeze raw but I haven't tried it yet.
Laura
I have another question. If Im going to freeze them, should I cook them first before freezing them?
roni
Glad you liked them Laura! Haven' tried grating the peppers but it's a good idea! Let us know how you make out if you try!
Laura
I tried these last night and I loved them. Although I forgot to add the salt and pepper and the red pepper flakes. My husband liked them, but it did need more seasoning. So next time I will make sure and season them very well.
I had 16 ounces of turkey, so I just doubled the recipe. I will eat these all week for lunch.
I was wondering if anyone has tried to grate the bell peppers instead of chopping them?
Paula
Absolutely delicious!! I didn't think I would like these more than the Grilled Honey Mustard Oat Burgers..but I do, or maybe I don't!. I don't know! They are both sooooo good. This one especially. I didn't think it would fill me up, but, it was all I had at lunch on a roll with spinach and catsup and I was full after. Perfect lunch 🙂
Thanks again Roni!
Renae W.
I made these for our church life group meeting and they were a huge hit! I have found some sandwich rounds that are only 1 point and pair great with these turkey burgers. These will be a staple in my WW menu, for sure!
Kristy
These are delicious! Thank you for the great recipe!
Becca
These were great! Even my picky and skeptical fiance agreed! I modified it slightly - they were slightly larger/more turkeyful, no mushrooms, and I added a tsp of oil because the 99% fat free turkey was too dry. All in all, it was still 4 points per patty, with healthy oil and veggies to boot! With a 2 point bun, that's a completely manageable and delicious dinner!
Dena
THESE BURGERS WERE OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!
Georgia
I tried these tonight with some sweet potato fries. We were missing half of the ingredients but they were still scrumptious! My husband loved them too... He insisted on eating his without the bun because they were "just that good". HA!
Thanks!
Georgia
I'm glad you linked back to this! I will try both of these. I am close to goal (didn't have incredibly far to go- but it felt insurmountable), and I had been following your page awhile before I started WW. I'm glad you're share such great recipes. I'm loving the snowpeas the way you just sauteed them the other day. YUM!
Other blog: http://www.jacobandgeorgia.blogspot.com
Jaymie
Yay Roni!! I have been eyeballing this recipe for awhile now and finally tried it out...survey says...Fantabulous!!! I (of course) did not have all the ingredients on hand so I had to add some oatmeal to hold it together....still tasted great!! And to the comment earlier about the frozen stirfry...Trader Joes (my personal fav.) has a great trio of peppers (no onion tho) that I use every morning for my omelets!!! Keep the great recipes coming!! I love your sites!!
Christy
I made these last week ..... LOVED EM! They were moist and so full of flavor! I did have to make some minor adjustments to allow for items I had on hand but they were awesome. I made 8 patties (I used 16 oz of ground turkey) cooked 2 on the GF grill and froze the remaining ones. I pulled one out today for lunch ... it defrosted in just a few hrs ... ate it with a side of mashed cauliflower with butter buds! Very filling! Thank you so much for the recipes ....
Courtney
These were fantastic! I have never liked turkey burgers in the past but these are so good they are going into our weekly dinner rotation. Thanks for a great recipe.
Also, a tip I heard on Oprah is to chill the turkey burger for two hours before cooking. According to the chef, they hold together better that way.
Karen Nahirniak
Hi...I'm brand new to this site but have tried a few of the recipes already...I'm soooo impressed with these southwestern burgers!! I think I'm addicted to them now..lol
Seriously though, every recipe that I have tried from here has been a huge hit at my house!!
Thank you Roni!!!
Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound
These burgers taste even better than TJs!!! I can't thank you enough for proving this recipe as well as the nutritional info. I just started WW and will be sharing this recipe at my meeting.
I made the burgers last night, made 2 1/2 times the amounts you gave and got 12 3-ounce burgers. I went heavy on the spices and added a lot of extra cilantro. TJ's burgers also included corn kernels, which I might add next time.
I served it on half an oat bran pita with mustard. Heaven all over again.
Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound
I'm so angry that TJ discontinued the southwest turkey Burgers. I was just searching online for a recipe and found this one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If it takes anything likt he original, I'll be in heaven!
Laura Brandon
I think I'm going to have to try these soon. Sounds so good!!
Melany
This was such a great recipe! thank you for sharing!! I esp. loved the left overs- i put one in a whole wheat pita with some baby spinach leaves-it was so good!
Lorraine
I loved them and the kids ate them too..very yummie. I'm making a batch now for the freezer.
Thank you Roni.
Jordanna
These turkey burgers were SO tasty. I used a little cooking spray on the George Foreman and had no problem with sticking. What I did have a huge problem with was them not forming in to patties at all and staying all crumbly as they cooked. I just opened the bun and ate it open faces like a sloppy joe and it worked just as well.
I guess my question is this:
a third of a pepper, half an onion is kind of subjective to the size of the produce...I might have added to much veggies. How much vegetables in total should I be adding in cups?
Also I diced my veggies up really fine with a chopper and it created a lot of extra juices - would that have made it not stick together?
Sorry so long!
roni
It was really 8. This is how I "bulk" my dishes and get them to be "liter". All those veggies add a lot of volume for little calories and high nutrients! You can't beat it!
Rachel
Did you really use 8 oz. of turkey or was it 16? Because then you said there were 4 patties and each one weighed about 4 oz. Maybe it was the veggies that made them weigh 4 oz though...
roni
Casey - Love that idea! Thanks!!
Casey
Hey Roni,
I make something very similar to these, but with more of an Indian flair rather than Southwest. I use many of the same veggies, but instead of the spices and herbs you listed above I add orange curry powder and some garlic and onion powder/salt and then of course salt and pepper. They are really good and give a welcome change to burgers. Just thought I'd share since you share so much with us! =)
roni
Thanks guys!
Shawna - Glad you liked them!
As for falling apart, you could do a few things...
increase the egg white (although it may get dryer)
decrease the number of veggies
But will help the most, Only flip once and leave them alone for a good 4-5 minutes. It will really help them set.
Hope that helps!
-Roni
Shawna
These were very tasty! DH liked them too. My mixture came out a little less firm than yours look in the photo and they came apart a bit on the grill when I tried to flip. Any suggestions on how to firm up the mixture for future use?
roni
That IS a great idea! Thank Laura!
Laura
As I was cleaning out the freezer, I came across a good idea when you want to make this but have not gone to the store for peppers... use a frozen stir fry! It has red, yellow and sometimes green peppers as well as onions. This is what we are having for dinner tonight... what a great idea!
Dawne
Made these last night with sweet potato fries...and they were so good!!! I had been craving a burger and this totally satisfied my craving!!! Thanks again for all the great ideas!
Cindy
These burgers are great! Even hubby loved them - he ate two! I LOVE your website and will be trying many more recipes in the days to come. Thanks!!!!!!!
RACHELLE
Just tried the burgers last night. YUMM!! I was so suprised. It had been about 7 years since I cooked turkey burger. I didn't like how it smelled while it was cooking. This time no problems. It was great. Thanks again.
Michelle
Once again this was really good. I made some little adjustments for what I had on hand, used a light english muffin with mustard, lettuce, cucumbers, grilled mushrooms and onions, and pickles on top. I will definitely make this again, especially when I have a burger craving.
Morgansmom227
I am seriously addicted to your page!
This looks like a great recipe...I'll be making them this week!
Also thanks for adding the ww pts column ...saves me some time!
Colleen
I tried these yesterday and what a great burger!!!
Tina
I had never tried the turkey burgers, but the chicken chile lime burgers rock my world! I could eat one everyday!! These burgers you created look really good as well, I will have to try them sometime.
Lauren
Thank you so much for doing this! I was furious when Trader Joes took them off their shelves. Not a fan of the new Chicken Chile Lime burgers. Can't wait to try these! Thanks Roni!!!
Dani Spies
I love turkey burgers...these sound like a great version!!
Happy Valentine's Day!!
eurydice
wow these look AMAZING - i love turkey stuff like this. I will definitely try!
Dev
These look really good, Roni! I'll be giving these a try soon 🙂
Rebecca
Roni-
These do look good. What % of turkey do you use? Is it turkey breast or the 93%? I always stand in front of the meat case debating what one to buy. I like the 96% ground beef but my super market is out a lot of the time. Plus it is about $5 a pound.
Kathy
I love the Trader Joe chicken patties with the lime and I'm sorry I missed the Southwest Turkey burgers!!! The seasonings in these sound so good! Once again, I gotta try these! Thanks!
a. grace
you've done it again, roni! this looks like my ideal burger, perhaps with a little pepper jack cheese on top. no, there's no way i can wait until summer to grill one of these babies up--nice job!
B
Looks good i'll have to try it soon.