Teriyaki Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Slaw

If you plan on grilling up some burgers this weekend, here’s a quick, easy teriyaki turkey burger recipe that is delicious and healthier than your typical beef burger.

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Grilling season means BURGERS!

We don’t make a lot of beef burgers at our house. For decades we’ve mainly made burgers with ground turkey.

There’s a myth out there that turkey burgers aren’t as moist or juicy as beef burgers. Not true! We’ve never found that to be the case – if you know how to make them right.

🍔 The key to making turkey burgers moist and juicy

The secret to making moist and juicy turkey burgers is, literally, in the sauce. We incorporate teriyaki sauce (or teriyaki marinade) into our turkey burgers before grilling them. Our favorite marinade is Yoshida’s Teriyaki sauce. It’s the best teriyaki marinade we have found to date.

✅ Tips for making teriyaki turkey burgers

• Use ground turkey that is 70-90% lean. You want some fat content so you don’t get a totally dry burger.
• Be sure not to SOAK the burgers in the teriyaki marinade.
• We’ve found that cheddar cheese slices taste the best with these turkey burgers, but you could also use American cheese, Swiss cheese, or Pepper Jack for a little kick.

Adjustments and substitutions

Like most burger recipes, this one is easy to adjust to your personal taste. Here are some ideas to get you starteed:

• Love pineapple? Add more!
• You could also add thinly sliced red cabbage to the slaw for added color and crunch.
• Add thinly sliced red onion to the slaw for some tangy flavor.
• Don’t love ginger? Put less, but don’t leave it out completely.
• You could also easily substitute ground beef or ground chicken for the ground turkey in this recipe.

For more burger tips, check out this post on the Ultimate Build-Your-Own Burger Bar.

🍷 Wine pairings for turkey burgers

Grilled turkey burgers pair well with either a crisp white wine or a light-bodied red wine. Consider serving these delicious burgers with either a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Noir.

🍽 Serving ideas

These teriyaki turkey burgers go so well with summer dishes like Elote Dip, Melon & Prosciutto Caprese Salad, Grilled Asparagus in Foil, Air Fryer Onion Rings, and Air Fryer Pineapple.

More summer grilling recipes

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Slaw

5 from 1 vote

By Marlynn Schotland

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Servings: 6 burgers

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Put on a salty, sweet twist on your burgers with teriyaki marinade and pineapple slaw.

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Ingredients 

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*For Teriyaki Turkey Burgers:*

• ▢ 1 pound lean ground turkey meat
• ▢ 1 cup teriyaki sauce/marinade
• ▢ 1 large clove garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• ▢ ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ sliced cheese
• ▢ slices pineapple (1 for each burger), cut to about 1/2 inch thich and cored

*For Pineapple Asian Slaw:*

• ▢ ½ small head of cabbage, finely sliced
• ▢ 2 large carrots, shredded or finely sliced (julienned)
• ▢ ½ cup chopped pineapple, chop them into itty bitty cubes
• ▢ ¾ cup light mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon stone ground mustard
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions 

To Make the Teriyaki Turkey Burgers:

• In a large bowl, mix the ingredients from the ground turkey meat to the breadcrumbs, until well blended. Be sure to break up the minced garlic and ginger so that you and your guests don't get big chunks of garlic or ginger in one bite.
• Form into burger patties. Add salt and pepper. We usually get 6-8 burgers out of 1 pound of ground turkey meat. Place the burgers in the refrigerator while you prep the grill.
• Fire up your grill. The best burgers are cooked on high heat.
• Grill these beautiful burgers on one side for about 5 minutes. Flip them over, add a slice of cheese, and grill for another 3-4 minutes. Do not get too crazy and flip these over more than once.
• Place the pineapple slices on the grill and grill for the remaining 3-4 minutes that your burger is cooking. Flip each slice over once, halfway through.
• Remove burgers and pineapple from the grill and allow burgers to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Top with a slice of grilled pineapple, then a serving of the Pineapple Asian Slaw (recipe below)

To make the Pineapple Slaw:

• Mix the mayo, sour cream, vinegar, mustard, and ground ginger in a large bowl until well blended.
• Add the cabbage, carrots and pineapple to the bowl and mix well, until cabbage, carrots, and pineapple are well coated.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

For the best turkey burgers, use ground turkey that is 70-90% lean. You want some fat content in the meat in order to keep the burgers from drying out.

Placing the formed burgers in the refrigerator before grilling helps the burgers hold their shape while cooking on the grill, and also allows the yummy teriyaki sauce to moisten up the burger.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 63mg, Sodium: 2212mg, Potassium: 515mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 3581IU, Vitamin C: 36mg, Calcium: 84mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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