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These quick and easy loaded turkey burger bowls are so easy to make and smothered in a delicious burger sauce that will have everyone begging for this dinner in the weekly rotation. This recipe takes the flavor of turkey burgers and turns them into a 20-minute super customizable dinner that will please everyone. Perfect for weeknight dinners and more!
Grocery prices are no joke these days. We have been using a lot of ground turkey for our protein as it has been much more budget friendly than ground beef and these new turkey burger bowls with the best special sauce are a great way to feed the whole family!
Looking for more ground turkey dinner recipes? Try these as well: Ground Turkey Enchiladas, Spinach Feta Turkey Meatballs, Ground Turkey Rice Bowls or this Cheesy Turkey Taco Skillet!
Why We Love These TUrkey Burger Bowls
Not gonna lie, my husband raved about this dinner recipe the first time I made it and then followed it up with, “I would still rather have a burger.” Ha, he never holds back. And if he wants to do the cooking, then he can make the burgers. But this is a SUPER EASY dinner recipe that takes very little time and energy to whip up with all the flavor. And who said he couldn’t put the meat on the bun?!
These turkey burger bowls:
- can be prepped and ready in about 20 minutes total
- easily varied by rounding up all of your favorite burger toppings
- are topped with the most AMAZING burger sauce–make extra because you will want it on everything
- pack in protein, easily add veggies and all the good stuff into one meal!
- are soooo kid and family friendly
- perfect for weekly meal prep
Ingredient Notes
- Use a ground turkey that is not too lean to get nice juicy texture and all the flavor. We typically use either 85% lean or 93% lean. I don’t find 99% lean ground turkey to have the best texture or flavor, but it will still work for these burger bowls.
- You can certainly use another ground meat if preferred. Ground chicken or ground beef will work just fine but you will likely want to drain any excess grease if using beef.
- You can skip or lessen the sriracha in the burger sauce if you don’t want the kick in your burger sauce.
Ways To Vary This Recipe
- add bacon to make these bacon turkey burger bowls!
- vary the potato: we have used tater tots, sweet potato fries, roasted potatoes and even stuffed baked potatoes with the meat and toppings. You can even go with rice or actually add this meat to a bun and top it with crunchy veggies and sauce. So good any way!
- change up the toppings: so many options from classic to fancy: fried onions, sautéd mushrooms, roasted red peppers, fried egg, sun-dried tomatoes, any and all types of cheese–you name it, I am sure it will be amazing!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Whisk together the burger spices/seasoning in a small bowl.
Step 2: Whisk the special sauce ingredients together and adjust to taste as desired. Chill until ready to serve. I also suggest prepping the toppings and adding the waffle fries etc. to your air fryer or oven before cooking the meat.
Step 3: Set a large skillet to medium-high heat and allow it to really heat up. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and once glistening, add the intact rectangle of ground turkey. Allow the turkey to sear uninterrupted for about 3-4 minutes for a nice brown crispy outside. Sprinkle half of the burger seasoning over the surface of the meat that is not being heated.
Step 4: Flip the turkey over to the other side—you can break into a few smaller pieces to make this easier and allow to sear once again for several minutes. Sprinkle the other half of the burger seasoning over top.
Step 5: Once the second side is seared, begin to break down into smaller chunks and continue to cook until heated through and internal temperature reaches 165°F. Once the turkey is cooked, remove it from the heat drizzle the Worcestershire sauce over and stir to combine.
Step 6: Assemble burger bowls with your favorite ingredients and drizzle with the burger sauce. We add air fried waffle fries, diced pickles, sliced red onion, shredded cheese, lettuce and tomato to ours but add all your favorites!
Recipe Tips
Prep your toppings for your burger bowls before cooking the meat. The meat cooks fast and having everything ready to go saves a lot of time. You can set it up like a burger bar and allow everyone to add their favorite ingredients to their bowls. Create the build your own bowl dinner experience that makes the kids and grown ups happy.
Let the pan heat up really well and then allow the meat to sit completely undisturbed to start for several minutes. This will get a nice brown sear to the meat that sets it apart from any other cooked ground turkey.
To prep this dinner ahead of time, you can make the turkey burger mixture and the sauce in advance and then prep the burger bowl toppings and reheat the meat just before dinner. You can prep the meat about 1 day before serving for best results.
Storage
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. Store the sauce and the meat separately in airtight containers. To reheat the meat, microwave in about 30-45 second increments for about 2 minutes, stirring in between until heated. This will depend on how much you are reheating.
The turkey burger mixture can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wait until it cools completely before adding to a freezer safe container.
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Turkey Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
Ingredients
Turkey Burger Mixture
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika, can use ½ smoked paprika and ½ regular for a kick
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp each: salt and pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, optional
- ½ – 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Special Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 Tbsp ketchup
- ½ Tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp sriracha, technically optional but we love the kick!
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- optional splash of pickle juice
Burger Bowl Ingredients
- 3-4 cups frozen waffle fries, tater tots or crinkle fries are also great!
- other favorites: dill pickles, shredded romaine, diced tomatoes, red onion, shredded cheddar cheese, and more
Instructions
- Whisk together the burger spices/seasoning in a small bowl.
- Whisk the special sauce ingredients together and adjust to taste as desired. Chill until ready to serve. I also suggest prepping the toppings and waffle fries etc. before cooking the meat.
- Set a large skillet to medium-high heat and allow it to really heat up. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and once glistening, add the intact rectangle of ground turkey (if your turkey comes in a tube or another container, form it gently into a flatter shape that is approx. 1 ½-2 inches thickness).
- Allow the turkey to sear uninterrupted for about 3-4 minutes for a nice brown crispy outside. Sprinkle half of the burger seasoning over the surface of the meat that is not being heated.
- Flip the turkey over to the other side—you can break into a few smaller pieces to make this easier and allow to sear once again for several minutes. Sprinkle the other half of the burger seasoning over top.
- Once the second side is seared, begin to break down into smaller chunks and continue to cook until heated through and internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Once the turkey is cooked, remove it from the heat drizzle the Worcestershire sauce over and stir to combine.
- Assemble burger bowls with your favorite ingredients and drizzle with the burger sauce. We add air fried waffle fries, diced pickles, sliced red onion, shredded cheese, lettuce and tomato to ours but add all your favorites!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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