Baked Turkey Burgers (Smash Burgers)

Guys. Get ready to never look at a burger the same way again. I am obsessed with cheeseburgers and love eating them when I’m dining out (ask me sometime about my most recent New Year’s resolution), but cooking them at home tends to be greasy/messy enough to prevent me from doing it too often. Until now. I MUCH prefer a smash burger cooked on the stovetop to a dry, hockey puck-esque thing mangled on a grill (I have stories, can you tell?). Anyway, these Oven Baked Turkey Burgers are true-blue gems, and this recipe is an absolute back-pocket must.

Why oven baked turkey burgers are the best turkey burgers

Okay so. When making smash burgers out of say, 80/20 ground beef, you’ve got about 30 seconds from the time the meat hits the heat until all of the fat renders and risks seeping out when you smash. This means that you need to smash the burgers somewhere in that 30-second window or else that fatty goodness is going to run out on you (and the burgers won’t be as juicy, see?).

Now, ground turkey is typically sold at 93% leanness and therefore we are left with less fat to work with. But a similar notion applies when cooking the burgers on the stovetop. You have to smash them right away before the fat seeps out. BUT! If we bake them from the very start, smashing them before they go into the oven, that fat will render on its own terms and stay more in the meat, sort of self-basting and crisping nicely as the turkey burgers bake away. This is amazing news!

Plus? Oven-baked turkey burgers are easier, faster, more efficient, and so much cleaner all-around. No more greasy messy stove to clean. Nope. Just a mixing bowl and a sheet pan or two and everything is done in one fell swoop.

What temperature to bake turkey burgers?

I have found that a respectably-hot-yet-not-overly-scorching temperature of 400 degrees F is perfect for these. This will give the interiors a chance to fully cook through while the exteriors can develop a good browned crust.

How long to bake turkey burgers?

From the few rounds of tests I ran for this recipe, I found that 11 to 12 minutes was just right for these oven baked turkey burgers, at the thickness of 1/3-inch. You really don’t want to overcook them, but I don’t know anyone who would be excited to bite into a rare turkey burger. This ain’t beef we’re dealing with here. We’re aiming for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, if you must know. But who actually takes their burgers’ temperatures? Pretty sure there aren’t many who do, as you can eyeball things just fine.

Top three tips and tricks for the very best oven baked turkey burgers

1. Smash! Smash! Okay, we’re not going for pucks here, right? We’re trying to achieve that good smash burger effect. You know, the burgers that are somehow both incredibly juicy and still have an even, crisp surface all over? Yes, that’s what we’re getting here, but all done in the oven! The smashing really helps with it, too. It keeps the cook time lower, the patties will bake more evenly, and they’re more apt to actually develop a crust . So, we’re going to smash these to a thickness of about 1/3 inch (give or take) and a diameter of about 4 to 4.5 inches. This is what I do every time, and with 2 pounds of ground turkey, you can get about six big burgers out of it. You could do eight quarter-pounders, but honestly that’s not quite big enough.
2. Use a little bit of the doughy bun interiors to help bind the ground turkey. Yes! This is one of my favorite MKL tricks. Rather than introducing a whole new ingredient to the program here (store-bought breadcrumbs) let’s just pick out some of the excess bread from our burger buns and throw that into the meat mixture, yes? Fresh bread is better for this sort of thing than dried anyway, as it contributes to the overall juiciness of the finished burgers more effectively. Similar to how you make classic meatballs, we’ll simply pick out some of the bread from the bun tops, hollowing them out a bit. Next, we’ll tear that bread up into fresh breadcrumbs. This will maintain moisture – literally holding onto it – and it will also bind the patties together nicely. {Speaking of super easy meatballs, you may want to peep my Easiest hands-off spaghetti and meatballs, or my lemony orzo with meatballs, or my Pacific Rim Meatballs.}
3. Work it, but not real good. So, as with just about any recipe that uses ground meat, we want to gently mix the ingredients together just until blended. We DON’T want to over-work the turkey, as this will contribute a toughness to the finished burgers. We want lightness, not toughness. Also the heat from your hands will begin to render what little fat they actually do have. We don’t want this to happen just yet.

What you’ll need

Oven-Baked Turkey Burger INGREDIENTS

2 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons salt

Lots of freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon Old Bay (optional)

One teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 hamburger buns 

Preferred toppings (I keep it classic with American cheese, sliced red onion, sliced tomatoes, mayo, pickles, and crunchy lettuce)

How to make baked turkey burgers

The very best, juiciest turkey burgers we’ve ever had are baked, not grilled or cooked on the stovetop. This method not only yields the most delicious results, but it’s also time-saving and MUCH less messy. We’re winning all the way around here.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Brush two large sheet pans with a layer of olive oil (prevents sticking + helps crisping).

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, salt, pepper, Old Bay and garlic powder (if using), and a tablespoon of olive oil. Pick out the thick, doughy insides of your burger buns, breaking the pieces into fresh breadcrumbs. This doesn’t have to be exact, but when you’ve got about ½ cup’s worth, add those to the turkey mixture. Gently mix/blend until everything is evenly combined (just don’t overwork as this makes ground meat tough).

Divide the mixture into evenly sized portions/balls and place on the sheet pans. Smash them with your palm until they’re about ⅓-inch-thick and roughly 4 to 4.5 inches across. Perfection/symmetry need not apply here. Season them with a little more salt and pepper (2 pounds of turkey needs seasoning).

Bake the burgers for about 12 minutes, or until the meat is just cooked through and browned. We’re going for the opposite of hockey pucks here. If you’re unsure, you can cut into one to see if the inside is no longer pink. 

Serve the burgers right away on your (less bready!) buns with your preferred toppings and sauces.

If you like the looks of these baked turkey burgers, you might also enjoy:

Bulgogi Beef Meatballs

Honey Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Slaw

How to make the best veggie burgers

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