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Where's the Beef? Alternative Burgers
Recipe
45 min

Crispy California Turkey Burgers

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Crispy California Turkey Burgers
Author: Lawman Johnson

Recipe By Lawman Johnson

Published on August 27, 2026

This West Coast-style burger boasts avocado and fresh sprouts as toppings.

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Why This Recipe Works

California has a reputation for embracing the latest health food trends, and while we don’t usually reach for a burger when we’re watching our diet, it’s hard to deny that avocado and fresh sprouts make fine burger toppings. For a West Coast–style burger, we paired these toppings with turkey burgers. Mixing some Monterey Jack into the lean turkey meat helped the burgers stay moist during cooking, giving us patties with juicy pockets of fat to yield a melting interior texture; the cheese also crisped around the edges of the burger, creating a pleasantly crunchy crust. We found that adding panko and a little mayonnaise to the turkey mixture kept the burgers from becoming too dense. We loaded the cooked burgers with creamy ­avocado and tender alfalfa sprouts, and also included some crisp red onion and lettuce for even more freshness. To finish, we slathered some sweet-savory classic burger sauce over simple buns before topping them off.

Ingredients

Burger Sauce

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
½ teaspoon sweet pickle relish
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon white vinegar
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Burgers

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup panko bread crumb
2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (½ cup)
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ cup Classic Burger Sauce, plus extra for serving
4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
4 leaves Bibb or Boston lettuce
1 tomato, cored and sliced thin
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced ¼ inch thick
¼ cup alfalfa sprouts
½ red onion, sliced thin

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image

    BURGER SAUCE

  1. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

    2. BURGERS

  2. Break ground turkey into small pieces in large bowl. Add panko, Monterey Jack, mayonnaise, and pepper and gently knead with hands until well combined. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, then gently shape each portion into 3/4‐inch‐thick patty. Using your fingertips, press center of each patty down until about 1/2 inch thick, creating slight indentation.
  3. Sprinkle patties with salt. Heat oil in 12‐inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer patties to skillet, indentation side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip patties, reduce heat to medium‐low, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Spread burger sauce over bun tops and arrange lettuce on bun bottoms. Serve burgers on buns, topped with tomato, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, and onion, passing extra burger sauce separately.

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Crispy California Turkey Burgers

Recipe By Lawman Johnson

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Crispy California Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

Burger Sauce

2 tablespoons mayonnaise1 tablespoon ketchup½ teaspoon sweet pickle relish½ teaspoon sugar½ teaspoon white vinegar¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Burgers

1 pound ground turkey1 cup panko bread crumb2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (½ cup)¼ cup mayonnaise¼ teaspoon pepper½ teaspoon table salt2 teaspoons vegetable oil½ cup Classic Burger Sauce, plus extra for serving4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired4 leaves Bibb or Boston lettuce1 tomato, cored and sliced thin1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced ¼ inch thick¼ cup alfalfa sprouts½ red onion, sliced thin

Instructions

    BURGER SAUCE

  1. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

    2. BURGERS

  2. Break ground turkey into small pieces in large bowl. Add panko, Monterey Jack, mayonnaise, and pepper and gently knead with hands until well combined. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, then gently shape each portion into 3/4‐inch‐thick patty. Using your fingertips, press center of each patty down until about 1/2 inch thick, creating slight indentation.
  3. Sprinkle patties with salt. Heat oil in 12‐inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer patties to skillet, indentation side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip patties, reduce heat to medium‐low, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Spread burger sauce over bun tops and arrange lettuce on bun bottoms. Serve burgers on buns, topped with tomato, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, and onion, passing extra burger sauce separately.
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