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These Southwestern Turkey Burgers stay juicy with the addition of shredded zucchini. A sprinkle of chipotle powder also keeps these burgers out of blah-ville. Add a bun for a lighter alternative to burger night, or just eat as I did on a plate for a low-carb meal or snack.
So I’ve joined a new gym recently, which I’m loving.
Which is also very surprising.
But anyway, they also give you a meal plan to follow, which is pretty strict. Being a food lover, food blogger and all around food eater, this is tough. I’m doing pretty good about 80% of the time I would say, but yummy food needs to be made. And yummy food needs to be tested.
This turkey burger is something I made up so I could have something on plan, and have it still taste good. It fits all of my macro requirements with healthy lean protein and the right amount of fat. When I was making this, I remembered a recipe I had seen before where zucchini was added to keep the burgers from being dry. Turkey burgers are known for being blah, and being dry.
Not these!
Tips for Making Southwestern Turkey Burgers
- Zucchini shreds easily with a box grater, just watch your knuckles! My favorite is this one by OXO.
I love how it comes with a measuring container you can attach to the bottom. - I also shredded the red onion for this, to get it really small, but the red onion is a bit tricky. If you’re short on time, I would just finely mince the red onion.
- This recipe makes four burgers. You can freeze them and cook at a later date, or bake them all and refrigerate. They heat up really quickly in the microwave.
- When baking the burgers, they don’t look so pretty right out of the oven (see picture below!), but all of the yummy toppings will take care of that.
- This is the baking pan that I used. I LOVE this pan, as it is truly non-stick, and SOOO easy to clean. Easy to clean is a top priority for me.
I love how it comes with a measuring container you can attach to the bottom.
See…this looks MUCH better! And I just love this cute little plate I found.
And this Pineapple Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce would go great with these burgers!
Southwestern Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 16 ounces lean ground turkey breast
- ¼ cup red onion grated or finely minced
- 1 cup zucchini grated
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
- 3 tablespoons egg whites
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt
- hot sauce to taste
- 4 slices Havarti cheese
- 1 cup guacamole
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Mix all ingredients, through egg whites. Form into four burger patties.Bake in a non-stick baking pan for 20 minutes, or until done all the way through.Top with cheese and put back in oven until melted.Mix yogurt with desired amount of hot sauce.Top burgers with spicy yogurt sauce and guacamole.
M. Ellithorpe
Hey Teri,
I think you have another great idea here. The food you cook is so different and colorful compared to what I’m used to which is plain meat and potatoes. Not very healthy, I guess, but good.
It seems you have two hobbies going on here; cooking and photography.
Isn’t it fun doing what you love?
Teri
Thanks! I love to eat, and since I do love to cook too, I’m always trying new recipes and ideas. Meat and potatoes can be good too. I think I would spruce it up a bit though!