Healthy Greek Turkey Burgers with Green Goddess Dressing
These burgers are intended for when the burger craving strikes, but you don’t want to go completely overboard on calories. They are gluten free, low carb and have less fat than a traditional beef burger. I’ve even lightened up the green goddess dressing without sacrificing flavour. You can also make the full batch of burgers and freeze half of them for later use!
Healthy Greek Turkey Burgers with Green Goddess Dressing
Prep time: 18 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 burgers
INGREDIENTS
For the Turkey Burgers
2lbs ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, deveined and minced
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup almond flour
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Green Goddess Dressing
2 green onions, roughly chopped
Small handful cilantro, leaves and stems
Small handful fresh basil leaves
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. sour cream
2 tbsp. mayo
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. honey
Salt and pepper to taste
For Assembly
2 heads of iceberg lettuce
Tomato slices for serving
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients “for the turkey burgers”. Use your hands to evenly incorporate all ingredients throughout the ground turkey, being careful not to overwork the meat. Divide the meat in 8 even portions, and press into patties, approximately 1 inch in thickness. Place on a wax paper or parchment lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, form a depression in the middle of each patty. This will help the burgers cook more evenly. If you aren’t wanting to eat all 8 burgers, you can freeze as many as you like at this point. If you are freezing the burgers (or even just a few of them), place them in the freezer, on the lined baking sheet. Freeze for 2 hours or so, then transfer to a resealable freezer bag, ensuring that each burger is separated by a piece of wax or parchment paper. You will need to thaw the burgers in the fridge overnight when you are ready to consume them, then continue to follow the directions below.
To make the green goddess dressing, place all ingredients in a food processor or small blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference. Place the green goddess dressing, covered, in the fridge until ready to use. This will last in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Preheat your grill pan (or outdoor grill) over medium heat. Lightly grease with oil to prevent sticking. Cook the burgers for approximately 6 minutes per side, or until fully cooked and no longer pink inside.
To make the iceberg lettuce “buns”, slice 8 rounded chunks of lettuce from each head (19 total). To assemble, place a cooked turkey burger on one of the lettuce chunks, preferably a flatter chunk so it doesn’t fall over, top with tomato slices and a generous scoop of green goddess dressing, then top with a final lettuce “bun”.
Serve with lots of napkins or eat with a fork and knife!
