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Whip up this mini turkey burger sliders recipe for an easy and healthier lunch or dinner option for your whole family! Each delicious burger is loaded with protein, and their bite-sized shape is just right for little hands. They’ll be a new family favorite!
Kid Friendly Ground Turkey Sliders Recipe
It can be so tricky to get little ones to eat protein sometimes! Although kids don’t need quite as much protein as you’d expect, it’s still an important nutrient for growing bodies.
Fortunately, these healthy turkey burger sliders make a great kid-friendly recipe! They even have some sneaky zucchini for a little extra fiber and extra nutrients.
This will be your new favorite way to make turkey patties!
Turkey burger sliders
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Why We Love This Grilled Turkey Sliders Recipe
- Quick and easy: Add your ingredients to a bowl, form your mini ground turkey burgers, and cook! It’s so easy to enjoy healthy, homemade turkey burger sliders anytime.
- Family friendly: These juicy turkey burger sliders are perfect for busy families! They have just the right balance of flavors and are the perfect size for kids to hold. They can even help you assemble them with their favorite toppings!
- Healthy: Made with naturally lean ground turkey, grated zucchini, and whole wheat breadcrumbs, these mini turkey burgers are more nutritious than the average slider since they contain fibre, antioxidants, folate and vitamin A!
Ingredient Notes
- Lean ground turkey: For your ground turkey mixture, look for a lean cut like ground turkey breast instead of thighs. It should be fully thawed.
- Grated zucchini: This secret ingredient adds extra moisture, flavor, and fiber without affecting the flavor. They’ll never know!
- Breadcrumbs: Choose whole wheat bread crumbs for extra fiber to fill your kids up! Regular bread crumbs can be used as well if you don’t have whole wheat on hand.
- Seasonings: For the ultimate turkey burger sliders, keep it simple with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Feel free to add a little red chili flakes if your family likes spicy flavors!
- Ketchup: This adds a little sweetness and extra flavor to these moist turkey burger sliders. Use a lower sugar ketchup if desired.
- Dijon mustard: Although your kids won’t taste it, mustard adds a nice tangy flavor that really balances the taste.
- Worcestershire sauce: This ingredient has a really savory flavor that makes any lean meat taste richer and more flavorful.
- Slider buns: There are so many options here! Use mini burger buns, Kings Hawaiian rolls, small soft dinner rolls, brioche slider buns, thin buns, or any bun your kids enjoy.
- Olive oil or cooking spray
For serving (optional)
- Condiments: Keep it simple with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, or BBQ sauce. Serve these on the side so everyone can top their turkey burger patties according to their personal preference.
- Toppings: Set up a toppings bar with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, avocado, sliced gouda cheese (or any type of cheese), or any other favorite toppings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Combine the ground turkey, grated zucchini, garlic powder, onion powder, ketchup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once heated, coat with olive oil.
- Stove top: Form 8-10 small patties (about the size of the palm of your hand) and cook in the pan for 3-5 minutes on each side. You can add cheese to the top of each patty during the last minute of cooking if desired.
- To grill: Oil the grill well. Grill at medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Place cooked patty on a slider bun with desired toppings and serve!
How to Make Turkey Burger Sliders in The Oven
If you’d prefer to make these turkey burger sliders recipe in the oven, follow these guidelines.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cover your sheet pan or baking dish with parchment paper or foil.
- Place the turkey burgers on the prepared pan and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F using a meat thermometer. Flip the burgers halfway through the cooking time.
Baked turkey burger sliders on Hawaiian rolls are always such a big hit!
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- To grate zucchini, use a grater with medium sized holes. Avoid the really large holes and small ones that turn the zucchini into mush. This will result in sliders with just the right amount of juiciness.
- If your shredded zucchini contains a lot of moisture, be sure to wring it out really well with your hands or using cheesecloth before adding it to the meat mixture to prevent the burgers from being too moist.
- Mix burger mixture with hands to ensure ingredients are well incorporated. You can coat your hands in a little olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Don’t over-mix, as it may cause the sliders to dry out. Instead, mix until just combined, and then form into patties.
- Form the meat mixture into patties that are a bit wider than the bun since they tend to shrink a bit while cooking.
- Make a thumbprint in the center of each patty to keep the sliders from puffing up on the grill.
Recipe FAQs
It’s important to add the right ingredients to ground turkey to make the best turkey burger recipe. Add a filler like bread crumbs, which will absorb any extra fat or liquids.
You also want to add an ingredient that can bind the ground meat together, like egg or grated zucchini. Be sure not to overmix the meat mixture.
You can also chill your burger mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours to solidify the patties before cooking them. If these tips don’t help, try forming the patties into slider size to give them less to hold together.
If you don’t want dry, crumbly burger patties, you need to add the right amount of moisture and cook them just right. Be sure to follow the recipe carefully. Don’t skip any of the binders or liquid ingredients, as these are specially formulated to get you the best results. Lean ground turkey will have less moisture, so you may want to consider using a heartier cut like ground turkey thighs.
Most importantly, cook the patties quickly at a high heat. The longer they sit on the grill or in the pan, the drier they’ll get. Cook them hot and fast for the best, most tender turkey patties.
Storage Guidelines
- Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, either microwave them, heat them in a large skillet, or bake them in the oven or air fryer at 350 until they are heated through.
- You can also freeze leftover turkey burgers in a freezer-safe bag for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
These mini patties are the best things for a quick weeknight dinner! While they’re cooking, make these sides to get dinner on the table quickly.
- Zucchini Fries In Air Fryer
- Homemade Veggie Tots In Air Fryer
- 5-Ingredient Mac And Cheese
- Roasted Heart Potatoes
- 4-Ingredient Pasta Salad
- Raw veggies served with dip (try this High Protein Hummus Recipe!)
Recipe Variations
- Oven baked turkey burger sliders recipe: Follow the baking instructions above to make the best turkey burger slider recipe in your oven!
- Turkey burger sliders in air fryer: To air fry your turkey burger patties, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F. Air fry them for approximately 10 -12 minutes or until they reach 165 degrees F.
- Full size burgers: Instead of small burgers, form larger patties and adjust the cook time as needed. Grown-ups love these ones!
- Gluten-free turkey burgers: Use gluten free bread crumbs and gluten-free burger patties.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Homemade Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Pesto Chicken Bites
- Hamburger Helper {without Milk}
- Salmon Cakes {with Leftover Salmon}
- Mexican Fiestada Pizza Recipe
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Easy Turkey Burger Sliders Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 small zucchini finely grated and drained (about 1 cup grated zucchini)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (we used whole wheat)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 8-10 slider buns (whole wheat if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or use cooking spray
For serving (optional):
- Condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce
- Toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, avocado
Instructions
- Combine the ground turkey, grated zucchini, garlic powder, onion powder, ketchup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once heated, coat with olive oil.
- Form 8-10 small patties (about the size of the palm of your hand) and cook in the pan for 3-5 minutes on each side. You can add cheese to the top of each patty during the last minute of cooking if desired.
- To grill: Oil the grill well. Grill at medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Place cooked patty on a slider bun with desired toppings and serve!
Notes
- To grate zucchini, use a grater with medium sized holes. Avoid the really large holes and small ones that turn the zucchini into mush. This will result in sliders with just the right amount of juiciness.
- If your shredded zucchini contains a lot of moisture, be sure to wring it out really well with your hands or using cheesecloth before adding it to the meat mixture to prevent the burgers from being too moist.
- Mix slider mixture with hands to ensure ingredients are well incorporated. You can coat your hands in a little olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Don’t over-mix, as it may cause the sliders to dry out. Instead, mix until just combined, and then form into patties.
- Form the meat mixture into patties that are a bit wider than the bun since they tend to shrink a bit while cooking.
- Make a thumbprint in the center of each patty to keep the sliders from puffing up while cooking.
