This juicy, flavorful turkey burger lettuce wraps recipe takes your favorite turkey burgers and makes them lighter by serving them on crisp lettuce instead of buns. These wraps are the perfect easy and delicious dinner, fantastic for meal prep, and a great party dish, too!
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Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Turkey Burger Wraps
- What You'll Need for Lettuce Wrap Turkey Burgers
- How to Make This Turkey Lettuce Wrap Recipe
- Recommended Equipment
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Store
- Expert Tips
- What to Serve with Turkey Burger Wraps
- More Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why You'll Love Turkey Burger Wraps
The recipe for this mouthwatering turkey burger patty is from our reader-favorite smashed turkey burger recipe!
The secret to their popularity is binding the burgers with ingredients that make the meat even more moist, instead of drying them out with breadcrumbs, with the addition of onion and Worcestershire sauce for a deeply flavorful, juicy bite.
The Worcestershire also provides a delicious browning on the exterior of the burgers for a lightly sweet, savory patty that's better than any you've tasted before.
Wrapped in crisp, refreshing lettuce leaves, these turkey burgers are lighter than a traditional burger, easy to make, and a great recipe for a weeknight!
You can also use them for meal prep. Cook up several patties, then wrap them in lettuce and serve with your favorite toppings for lunch or dinner.
What You'll Need for Lettuce Wrap Turkey Burgers
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Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Lettuce My favorite lettuce to use for wraps is red or green leaf lettuce, as it holds up well. For more crunch, you can try romaine or iceberg lettuce. For less crunch, you can use butter lettuce or Bibb lettuce.
- Ground Turkey I have tested this recipe with lean ground turkey blends as high as 92% and as low as 85% lean. Every variety has worked well.
- Onion Yellow, sweet, white, or red onion will work here. You'll be grating this onion for the turkey patty mixture.
- Worcestershire Sauce This is key to the browning on the exterior of the burger, adding moisture, and the burger's very savory, lightly sweet taste.
- Kosher Salt My preferred brand is always Diamond Crystal. Kosher salt is less salty per teaspoon than sea salt or table salt, so if you are not using kosher salt, you'll need to use less salt overall.
- Black Pepper Fresh black pepper is optional but a nice addition.
- Neutral Oil Like grapeseed oil or avocado oil works well for cooking the patties, as they have a high smoke point. I haven't had any issues using olive oil, though.
Toppings
- Tomato If you can get your hands on an heirloom tomato, they are spectacular in the summer. You can also use traditional globe or beefsteak tomato slices.
- Sliced Onions Any type you have on hand would be great.
- Mustard Use whatever mustard you like best!
- Ketchup I also really enjoy this sugar-free ketchup. It's obviously less sweet but has a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Mayo Any brand of mayo you enjoy will be a great addition to this wrap.
- Cheese Any good melting cheese would be great. I like to use American, cheddar, Monterey jack, Swiss, gruyère, or provolone.
You can also add whatever other toppings you may like - a generous serving of avocado, pickles, or kimchi are favorites at my house.
We also love adding different sauces to our meals, like this pineapple habanero sauce!
How to Make This Turkey Lettuce Wrap Recipe
Step One: Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Grate about half of your onion using the second-smallest holes of a box grater.
Step Two: Measure two tablespoons of the grated onion, leaving behind any liquid.
Step Three: Combine ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce, onion, salt, and pepper (if using) in a large mixing bowl.
Step Four: Mix the ingredients well, trying not to overwork the turkey meat too much.
Step Five: Divide the turkey into four equal patties.
Step Six: Add the patties to the hot skillet and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until an instant-read thermometer measures an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step Seven: If adding cheese, add it in the last two minutes of cooking.
Step Eight: Remove the patties from the pan. Let cool for a minute or two before adding to the lettuce.
Step Nine: Build the lettuce wraps by placing a patty on a lettuce leaf and placing another lettuce leaf over top. Add your favorite toppings and serve right away!
Recommended Equipment
Cast Iron Skillet or Stainless Steel Pan (you can also use a griddle pan or even a grill)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To keep ground turkey moist, I recommend using the combination of Worcestershire sauce and grated onion used in this recipe.
The key to keeping your turkey burgers from falling apart is to actually make the patty more moist, not binding it with drying ingredients like bread crumbs. Adding ingredients like grated onion to the patty will aid in this.
If you're having trouble determining if your turkey burger patties are equal in size, you can use an ice cream scoop to ensure you are grabbing the same amount of turkey mixture for each patty. You can also use a small kitchen scale to see if the patties weigh the same amount.
Variations and Substitutions
- You can make this recipe on the grill. If grilling, heat the grill to medium-high heat, brush the grates with oil or spray with nonstick spray, then cook the turkey patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Try adding different toppings to your burger, like caramelized onions and mushrooms, pickled onions or serrano peppers, or sauces like almond pesto or this delicious cilantro lime crema.
- Try making Thai-inspired Asian lettuce wraps with soy sauce or coconut aminos, water chestnuts, fresh cilantro or green onions, and sliced chili pepper for a little kick.
- Use ground chicken or ground beef for some variety. Ground chicken behaves fairly similarly to ground turkey, but I wouldn't choose anything that's extremely lean.
How to Store
Fridge You can refrigerate leftover turkey patties in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Store lettuce separately so that it doesn't wilt or get soggy.
Freezer You can freeze cooked turkey burgers if needed. They may, however, become a bit dry in the process of thawing and reheating. Freezing raw turkey burger patties is my preferred method.
Reheat To reheat the patties from the fridge, you can use the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through, or you can heat them in a hot pan with a bit of oil.
Expert Tips
- To taste for seasoning, cook off a tiny piece of the turkey patty mixture. If it needs more salt, add a bit more before cooking the entire batch of burgers.
- Use sturdy lettuce when you're making your turkey burger wraps, or they'll fall apart more easily. I use two pieces of lettuce - one on the top, and one on the bottom, to mimic a bun and better contain any toppings I've used.
- You don't have to use onion. I tested this recipe with just the Worcestershire sauce and no onion, and it still tasted quite good. The mixture will be a little more crumbly, so flip the patties carefully.
What to Serve with Turkey Burger Wraps
These delicious, healthy turkey lettuce wraps can be served on their own. You can also try them with:
Salads This Greek green salad is super flavorful, as is this peppery arugula caprese salad, or you can try something a little more creative, like this beet cucumber salad with feta and dill.
This marinated tomato salad is unbelievably tasty and works as a burger topping, too!
Potatoes Try these lettuce wraps with crispy air fryer fingerling potatoes, lemony and spicy Calabrian potatoes, or some simply seasoned sauteed sweet potatoes!
Veggies Roasted vegetables are easy and versatile. These roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus, these delicious spicy roasted vegetables, or air fryer zucchini and summer squash are all favorites.
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More Recipes You'll Love
📖 Recipe
Turkey Burger Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
- Large Cast Iron Skillet or Stainless Steel Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil like grapeseed or avocado oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ onion
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt see note 1
- fresh black pepper
- 8 lettuce leaves see note 2
Toppings
- American cheese see note 3
- lettuce
- tomato
- onion
- ketchup
- mustard
- mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Grate about half of your onion using the second-smallest holes of a box grater.
- Measure two tablespoons of the grated onion, leaving behind any liquid.
- Combine ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce, onion, salt, and pepper (if using) in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients well, trying not to overwork the turkey meat too much.
- Divide the turkey into four equal patties.
- Add the patties to the hot skillet and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until an instant-read thermometer measures an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If adding cheese, add it in the last two minutes of cooking.
- Remove the patties from the pan. Let cool for a minute or two before adding to the lettuce.
- Build the lettuce wraps by placing a patty on a lettuce leaf and placing another lettuce leaf over top. Add your favorite toppings and serve right away!
Notes
- If you are not using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, you will need to use less salt in the turkey mixture. Try adding half of the amount recommended, then cook off a tiny piece of the turkey and taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
- Use sturdy lettuce leaves like green leaf lettuce, romaine, or iceberg. Bibb or butter lettuce will work well, too.
- You can also use any other good melting cheese, like cheddar, Monterey jack, Swiss, gruyère, or provolone.
- Estimated calories are for one turkey burger lettuce wrap with no toppings.
- Fridge You can refrigerate leftover turkey patties in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Store lettuce separately so that it doesn't wilt or get soggy.
- Freezer You can freeze cooked turkey burgers if needed. They may, however, become a bit dry in the process of thawing and reheating. Freezing raw turkey burger patties is my preferred method.
- Reheat To reheat the patties from the fridge, you can use the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through, or you can heat them in a hot pan with a bit of oil.
Judy Kilhefner says
Very Good. My only problem was the package of lettuce I bought had very skinny pieces of lettuce so it made it hard to wrap the burger. So I doubled wrapped it with a paper towel. Loved the idea of grating the onion to moisten it. Trying hard to cut carbs before my next Dr. appt.
Genevieve says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Judy!
Holly says
What a great idea to cut out some of the calories. I think if I had to give up one carb it would be bread! It's just not always necessary. These turkey burgers were amazing without the bun.
Genevieve says
Thank you so much, Holly!