Fire up the grill! These summer-friendly turkey burger are loaded with flavor…avocado, Dijon, basil, lemon and more. Wrapped in collard greens, these burgers are Whole 30-approved, paleo and gluten-free.
I said last week I like to eat with my hands. Well, the proof is in the pudding burger as this is another finger-food recipe. I also said many, many moons ago that I would write my recipe-posts like any other post. Meaning, I wouldn’t talk solely about how “amazing” the food is. Just a personal preference, so if you’re here for the recipe, scroll down :)
I have very fond memories from when my family and I first moved to Florida 7.5 years ago, which, by the way, is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere. We literally knew nothing about this place. Nothing about the culture, the city, the people, the weather. It honestly took me a good two years to fully adjust, but there was something that told me/us that Tampa would be a good change.
The other day at dinner I randomly said to my dad “do you remember how dumb we were when we first moved here? We used to go running at 4 or 5 p.m. In. the. summer.” During Florida summers, you run before or after the sun. Never with it.
While we’re on the topic of dumb moves, we also wore cotton t-shirts while running….and I was still wearing traditional Soffe shorts. *Cringe*
My parents didn’t want me running alone at 14 in a new area (damn safety precautions) so I worked around their schedules. Who knows why we didn’t just wake up early. But I came to love our little routine: my dad would come home from work early to change and then we’d set out for 3-5 miles, depending on the day. We stuck with the same two routes and, if we didn’t get caught in an afternoon thunderstorm and need my mom to pick us up, we ended at a water fountain near our house to cool off.
Back home, my mom would be grilling a summer meal: steaks, burgers, grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, salad, watermelon, etc. (Not all that food, unfortunately, just that type of cuisine). In fact, I remember finishing runs and telling myself “just a few more steps until you smell the grill.” We’d shower and then eat dinner as a family, often outside because we were seriously crazy. I’m sure this was not an everyday occurrence, because, looking back it seems too good to be true. But this routine is how I generalize that first summer…family time, hot runs, good meals on the grill.
We eventually learned our lessons and transitioned to early-morning runners, and my dad a primarily treadmill-runner (boo). Yet I’m grateful we had that first summer to laugh in thunderstorms, complain about 4 o’clock heat and eat 8 oz steaks immediately post-run, which I probably couldn’t do now. A perfectly imperfect summer, but one I’ll always remember.
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And now for these turkey burgers.
I wanted to convey that summer-scent I love so much, so I decided to take it upon myself to grill this MDW. Turkey burgers are a family favorite because, frankly, no one complains about eating them for dinner. The non-gluten eaters (my mom and me) can use collard greens as buns and the gluten eaters can use regular buns. Double bonus that everyone likes sweet potato fries! The entire recipe (minus the buns if you choose) is Whole-30 approved, and therefore paleo and gluten-free.
I’ve made this recipe three times for the family and finally decided to photograph them last weekend. It’s not rocket-science obviously, but I think the combination of these flavors makes for a delicious and nutritious meal. One last thing to add: I actually grilled these myself. Typically, I make the burgers and my mom grills them outside (not fun in the heat). But HELL YEAH I grilled these babies myself (with her over my shoulder). Felt kind of badass, if I do say so myself.
If you don’t have a grill, you can use a pan/grill-pan, but the cooking times will vary.
- 2 lbs of ground turkey
- 1 cup of chopped carrots
- 1 cup of chopped celery
- 1/4 cup of sliced almonds**
- 1/4 cup of chopped basil
- 2 tbsp of Dijon Mustard
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of pepper
- 1 tsp of olive oil
- Collard greens
- 2 medium white sweet potatoes
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of olive oil
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Wash and chop sweet potatoes.
- Coat with olive oil and salt and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure to spread them out evenly, using two baking sheets if necessary.
- Bake for 25 minutes, flip, and put back in for 10-15 minutes.
- Heat grill, or grill pan of choice to high.
- Add carrots, celery, almonds, avocado and basil to food processor. Chop/pulse until mixture is fully blended.
- Add that mixture to the ground turkey.
- Add lemon juice, Dijon, salt and pepper.
- Mix with hands to combine.
- Form patties and coat with olive oil
- Cook on grill for about 4 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.***
- Remove from grill, add toppings of choice (I used avocado and mustard) and wrap in collard greens.
- Serve with fries.
- *The sweet potato fries take longer, so if you plan on making them, I suggest putting them in the oven before making burgers.
- **Or regular almonds, but make sure they go through the food processor enough to fully blend.
- ***Cooking times will vary.
PIN FOR LATER:
WE ARE THE SAME PERSON. But one day separated and with a few different ingredients :D
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SOULMATES.
Definitely need to try this recipe out! I love turkey burgers, but have never made them on my own. I think this would be the perfect recipe to try out making them homemade! One scent that reminds me of summer is campfires. Since I grew up camping with my family every summer, that smell always brings back so many great memories!
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…Lean, Clean, & Brie Turns 3!
I think they’re better homemade ;) Oh YES! I love the smell of campfires too. That’s a good one.
Oh my gosh that is the best memory!! Isn’t it funny the things you remember and how much of an impact they have? I just love that you would go running with your dad! Sadly my dad has arthritis and has had a few too many back surgeries (and foot surgeries) to run but I have that time with my mom! These burgers look amazing, but this past month Avocado has made me seriously sick after I hve it!! I don’t know what the deal is. Hoping it’s a fluke!
I’m so sorry to hear that :( I feel so lucky that I get to run with both of my parents regularly. Even if it means waking up unnecessarily early, I don’t mind because I’d rather run with them than alone.
OH NO! I hope it’s just a fluke too.
I love summer grilling, we fired ours up over MDW and I cannot wait to be making homemade burgers and fries again. I also can’t believe you ran at 4pm in Florida in summer. I can’t do that in Connecticut!
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl recently posted…WIAW #58: Eat Your Meat and Greens
Grilling is such a sign of summer. Perfect for MDW! Yeah, I feel like I had some superpower back then because I’d struggle BIG TIME running at that time now.
These turkey burgers sound all sorts of amazing! <3!! I can't wait to try making them! :]!!
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I think the combo of flavors is just perfect for summer! Topped with avocado, because, you can never have enough :)
These look so yummy, Emily! Just pinned on PInterest. And I loved reading about how you started running in the afternoons. You’re right, 4 or 5 in the afternoon seems crazyyy but it sounds like such a fun memory!
Liv @ Healthy Liv recently posted…Ocean Isle Beach Vacation
I seriously don’t know how I did it! And thank you so much for pinning! :)
Ooh I love the almond-basil-avocado addition! Grilled meals are SO summery and absolutely some of my favorite meals ever. It took me about 17 years to actually touch the grill, though, and even though I still request my dad’s supervision, I totally agree that it makes me feel a little bit badass. :)
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday recently posted…Gone Finals-ing
You go girl for starting so young! I need to buy grilling gloves to get over my fear.
Giiiiirl turkey burgers are my absolutely favorite. These look delicious! I have lots of fond summer grilling memories as well – it’s so funny what sticks with you!
Sarah @ Sweet Miles recently posted…It’s All In The Details: The CYBEX Gold Line
Thank you so much, Sarah! It tends to be those little moments (and scents, I guess!) that stick with me :)
Avocados and turkey burgers together has to be like heaven. These look so good! Haha okay I would be such a Florida-newb if I ever lived there because I run between 4-6pm during the week all the time! Good to know this:) The one scent that ALWAYS reminds of summer and weirdly makes me so happy is fresh cut grass. I don’t know why I love this so much haha.
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Haha I did have to suffer through two years of cross country practice during that time too. NOT fun! I love the smell of fresh cut grass too. Feels like a “rebirth” of sorts (even though that sounds weird).
I’m always looking for ways to make turkey burgers a little bit more exciting- these sound fantastic!
Thanks, Diana! I think there are so many fun ways to spice up burgers (pun intended!). I want to try an Asian-flare burger next!
Avocado in burgers?! This I have to try.
Dani @ Dani California Cooks recently posted…5 Things from Memorial Day Weekend
In and on burgers = heaven :)
Definitely pinned these babies for later! I feel like San Diego & Florida probably have somewhat similar weather so I could not even imagine running around 4-5 in the evening. I’m more of an early morning runner so I try to beat the heat if I can. My fondest memories of summer as a kid will always be in our backyard grilling up Sunday night dinners by the BBQ :)
I’m such an early-morning runner now that I can’t imagine it either. Plus, my motivation dips after 10 a.m. haha.
Oh YUM! Eric and I are planning for trying the Whole 30 this summer and these are definitely going to be on the menu–I can’t get enough of avocado right now. :D The smell of suntan lotion always makes me think of summer!
Claire @ My Pink & Green Life recently posted…12 Easy Ways to Live Greener
Let me know if you have any Whole30 questions and/or need support! I did it earlier this year with my mom and it really got the ball rolling with healing my gut. Ah yes, suntan lotion is a definite summer smell.
When I first started running, I used to run in the mid to late afternoon. I don’t know what I was thinking! I live in a more temperate climate, but even here under the beating sun is a huge NO. Now I like to finish my run with the sunrise, as early as I can be. Your story about your family is the sweetest. It i just how I picture future summers with my own family I create. And these burgers will definitely make an appearance. :)
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I think finishing a run with the sunrise is IDEAL! It’s one of those “pinch me” moments, too.
Ugh running in the sun is not a good time. These burgers look so good. The scent of summer to me is sunscreen. It’s funny because my skin gets burnt really easily so I often wear sunscreen during the rest of the year and it always makes it feel like summer which is nice.
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I love the smell of sunscreen too! I wear a moisturizer with SPF on my face year round, so that’s my bit of summer in the winter ;)
Ooh, coming home to burgers and steak and grilled YUMMIES is one of the best ways to end a run. I love doing that on July 4th. :) I love that you and your dad got to spend that summer together running.
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Me too! The 4th of July is the best for cookouts. I’ll probably make them again that weekend :)
My mouth is watering! These sound delicious!
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Yummm!!! These look so good – perfect for Summa! Pinning!
Thank you so much, Kelsey! :)
Your turkey burger recipe is going to be my new favorite this summer!!! Can’t wait to get out to the beach and grill these up — or because I’m inpatient grab my grill pan here in NYC :)
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