Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers. I was in this healthy, fast-food eatery place the other day when I caught a whiff of something. I thought – I gotta have this, a hamburger and fries! What! That’s crazy – I need to be gluten-free, and really, what is a burger without cheese?
Okay, I am well aware that cravings mean something, and they are not to be ignored. I figure I must need protein – so the protein it is.
A turkey burger it is. Not just any turkey burger but a Mediterranean style turkey burger with all the fixings. Oh, this is going to be good! My tummy can’t wait.
The Mediterranean style turkey burgers on a gluten-free hamburger bun with cajun sweet potato fries, olives, and a roasted red pepper spread. My burger craving is about to be squashed. All while keeping my brain cells happy, my digestive system functioning, and my taste buds wanting more.
Ready to do these Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers?
Let’s make the roasted red pepper sauce first. This is easy – two ingredients and a food processor. Bam!
Kalamata olives – make sure they are pitted, or your food processor is going to get angry – and roasted red pepper. It is like they were made to be together. It was so delicious! A perfect compliment to these Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers.
Okay, get that in the fridge while you get the rest of the burger together. Let’s start with the spinach.
Get some coconut oil in the pan first, and then throw all of the spinach in there. Put a lid on top and watch it disappear in minutes. It really does cook down to next to nothing. Once it is cooked, throw it in a strainer and push down on it to get most of the water out of it. While that is straining, get the onions and garlic cooking.
Once the onions are translucent, and the spinach is drained and chopped, put it all together in the pan. I like to add the salt and pepper at this point, but you can wait until you are mixing the turkey. Let this cool down before mixing in the turkey.
Get the turkey, spinach mixture, vegan feta cheese, oregano, and crushed red peppers in a bowl and mix. Don’t care to touch raw meat, but in this instance, it is the easiest way. Get in there and mash it all together. Form it in a large ball and then scale it into four equal pieces. Take each segment and form it into a patty that is 1 inch thick. Try to make them all the same size. This will help the Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers cook at the same time.
These Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers look so pretty – right? See the chunks of vegan cheese and the spinach. The spinach really makes these burgers work, and the cheese just satisfies that occasional dairy craving that I get.
Now they are really starting to look good. Don’t mess with them. Let them cook for six minutes, and then flip them. If you flip them too much, they have a better chance of breaking apart, plus they never get that nice brown coating on them.
Get ready to assemble. Toast the buns. I used Rudi’s hamburger buns. They are nice and fluffy. The closest thing to the real deal that I have found. I don’t like to eat a lot of gluten-free bread items. They are filled with white flour, and I believe that all white flour is really lacking in nutrition. But this meal has so much nutrition packed into it that a hamburger bun is not going to matter much.
See it all. The roasted red pepper sauce. The turkey burger with tomato, cucumber, and lettuce. All on a toasted gluten-free bun.
I am eating. Go make your own Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers!
Easy Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 5 ounces spinach fresh
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ medium red onion chopped small
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 ounces feta cheese vegan crumbled or chopped small
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ medium cucumber sliced long
- 4 slices beefsteak tomatoes
- 4-8 pieces romaine lettuce leaves
Roasted Red Pepper Spread:
- ¼ cup red pepper roasted, drained
- ¼ cup kalamata olives pitted
- 4 medium hamburger buns gluten-free
Instructions
- Start by making the topping. Place roasted red pepper and olives in a food processor. Mix until fairly smooth paste forms. Place the paste in an airtight container and place it in the fridge until needed.
- Get a skillet warming over medium-high heat. Put 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan. Add the fresh spinach and cover with a lid. Let sit for one minute. Lift the lid and toss the spinach around. Place the lid back on for another minute when the spinach is in a small cooked pile, place it in a strainer, and set aside.
- Add the other 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to the pan. Throw in the chopped red onion and the minced garlic. Stir to make sure all is coated with oil. Continue to saute until the onion is translucent. Remove from heat.
- Take strained spinach and chop fairly fine. Place in a medium-sized bowl with onion mixture.
- To the bowl, add the turkey, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and feta cheese.
- Mix together using your hands. Make it into one large ball at the bottom of the bowl. Score into four equal sections.
- Take each section and form it into a patty – one inch thick.
- Place the skillet on medium-high heat and place the patties into the pan. Cover with a lid and leave alone for approximately 6 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for another 6 minutes.
- While the patties are cooking, take sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Also, take the gluten-free hamburger buns and toast them.
- Once the patties are cooked, all that is left is to assemble. Place the hamburger bun on a plate. Slather the roasted red pepper spread on both sides. Place the turkey patty on the bottom side, add the seasoned tomato, cucumber, and lettuce, and top with the top half of the bun.
- Serve immediately with olives and cajun sweet potato fries.
- Enjoy!