Juicy Asian Inspired Turkey Burgers

These Asian turkey burgers comes together quickly and is a hit every time I make it. Some links in this article are affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

While many turkey burgers are dry and flavorless, this version is absolutely the opposite. It bursts with flavor, makes an incredibly juicy burger, and has a fabulous crunch (thank you, water chestnuts).

It does include sriracha, but the sriracha sauce works so well with all the flavors that even my son who thinks everything is spicy doesn’t feel the heat of it. Winning.

How do I serve this Asian inspired turkey burger?

When I make these Asian style turkey burgers, I add cheese to them, but you don’t need to. They honestly taste absolutely delicious on their own even without a bun.

I will say that you don’t want to add typical burger toppings to these flavorful burgers. Ketchup, mustard, pickles, and the like just don’t go with the ingredients in the burgers.

Feel free to still use tomato slices and Romaine or butter lettuce with your burger. I also make my roasted parsnip puree and add that to the top of my burger as a condiment.

Can I use a meat aside from ground turkey?

The key to making these Asian turkey burgers taste amazing is using high quality ingredients. If you can find a mix of light and dark ground turkey, then definitely go for it.

But if not, just use whatever ground turkey you have on hand. The other ingredients help build the overall flavor you want.

If you don’t have ground turkey, you can absolutely substitute ground chicken. I do this sometimes, especially when ground chicken is on sale.

You could also do this with a lean ground beef in a pinch, although it’s truly designed for ground turkey. If you use ground beef, it won’t taste quite the same, and you want to eliminate the water.

Make sure you use a lean ground beef though and not ground chuck, for example. Ground turkey is a lean meat, and you need to mimic that as much as possible.

What kind of bun should I use?

I like to use a soft hamburger bun or brioche roll because they’re super moist and flavorful. You could always use regular buns too, but they might be drier than you’d prefer.

When shopping for them, look for brands that contain eggs or milk. These buns will hold up better over time and keep their moisture.

Why do I need to use fresh ginger?

Fresh ginger adds an incredible amount of flavor to any dish. Dried ginger honestly doesn’t taste the same as fresh.

And I get it. You don’t want to buy a whole ginger root that’s going to go bad before you use it again.

BUT. Did you know you can freeze whole ginger root? I literally leave mine in the produce bag and toss it in the freezer, then pull it out and grate it into dishes while still frozen.

Use a spoon to peel the brown skin from the ginger root. For this recipe, you need about an inch or so.

My microplane zester is the perfect tool to grate the ginger directly into the bowl with the ground turkey.

That said, if you absolutely cannot find or use fresh ginger, use only one teaspoon of ground ginger, not the entire two tablespoons of fresh ginger.

Is this Asian turkey burger gluten free?

As written, it is technically not, as it includes soy sauce. However, substitute tamari for soy sauce, and this is a perfect gluten free turkey burger you’ll love!

Can I make my Asian turkey burgers in advance?

Yes, and no.

You can absolutely mix up the turkey burgers up to the point where you form them into patties ahead of time. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and place this in the fridge for up to a day, if needed.

You can also cook the Asian inspired turkey burgers in batches and keep them warm for a half hour or so without losing the delicious juiciness you want. Once you cook a burger, place it in a roasting pan in a 200 degree oven while you make the rest.

You can leave them in a single layer in that 200 degree oven for about half hour before serving if you have late arriving guests or want to enjoy another course first.

We do sometimes make an extra burger that my kids will heat up to enjoy for lunch the next day. I will be honest that it has the best texture the day you make it, however.

Instead, I make just the burgers I know we plan to eat and refrigerate the burger mixture until the next day as described above. That works better for us.

How to Make Asian Turkey Burgers

Dice your onion relatively finely. At the same time, you can mince your fresh garlic cloves, but keep them in a separate pile.

Turn a fry pan to just under medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Once it’s hot, add the onions.

Stir periodically, and cook until just translucent, then add the garlic. Cook for another minute, then turn off your stove and remove the pan from the heat.

Drain the water chestnuts, then chop them. I cut them into quarters each generally, as you don’t want to make them too small.

Add the ground turkey to a medium bowl. With the ground turkey, add the soy sauce, water, sriracha sauce, water chestnuts, grated fresh ginger root, cooked onion mixture, and – if you feel adventurous – Asian fish sauce.

Use your clean hands to gently mix this all together. It should be loose but not liquidy. Wash your hands again.

Quickly use a paper towel to wipe out your fry pan to ensure you remove any bits that may burn if you overcook them. Add oil to the bottom of the pan again, and turn your stove to medium heat.

Once the pan is hot, gently form patties and lay them carefully into the pan. Make sure you have plenty of room around each Asian inspired turkey burger; I usually cook two at a time.

Hint: I use multiple pans so my family isn’t waiting as long and so burgers don’t get cold. See my tip above if you need to cook in batches.

Cook for five to six minutes, then carefully flip the burger over and cook another five to six minutes until it’s cooked through. Feel free to use a meat thermometer to check.

If you plan to use cheese, I add it three minutes into cooking the second side of the burger and cover my pan so the cheese melts cleanly for two minutes. Then I remove the lid and let the burger finish cooking.

Toast your buns lightly if you choose, then add the burger, butter lettuce, tomato, parsnip puree, and anything else to this juicy burger and enjoy!

Save this Asian turkey burger recipe to make again!

I’m excited to be one of Google’s paid early testers for their Thank with Google pilot program. It’s a really neat way for you as readers to thank and connect with the content I create for you.

Thank with Google is an experimental feature that allows my readers to purchase a virtual sticker that demonstrates your support and appreciation for the content you love on my website.

As fans, when you send a paid sticker, you can add a personal message with the fun stickers (that I can respond to), and each sticker has a different price point, so you can choose how you want to use them. For me, the stickers you share translate into direct revenue that I receive.

You can find the Thank with Google feature as a button at the top of each post, in my sidebar, and as a button at the very bottom of each post. I’d love for you to test it out and let me know what you think!

Thank you as always for reading my content and supporting me. It means the world to me!

Now let’s get cooking.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Enjoy this article? Please share it and save it for later!