Southwest Turkey Burgers

I've been trying to utilize ground turkey much more often than ground beef in our diet. I usually substitute ground turkey in tacos or pasta dishes without any problem. BUT I've been hesitant to make actual turkey burgers because I feel that ground turkey really can lack the flavor that ground beef has in a burger. SO I went in search of a recipe that added plenty of extra flavor.

When I search for recipes I have a handful of food blogs that I often check first (they're listed in my blog roll). But I also try to find new and smaller food blogs by searching for the recipe type and the word blog in google. (Really creative, I know). So after looking through a bunch of options after searching "turkey burger blogspot" in google, I found Becoming Rooks. We already had a bunch in common, she likes to cook, run and is from the Cleveland, OH area (where I grew up!). So I thought I must like her turkey burger recipe!

I did make a few changes because I was using a pound of ground turkey and had a couple different spices on hand. But I knew her recipe would be good inspiration. My husband had two burgers and I was able to cut up the fourth patty on my salad for lunch the next day. I'll be honest - I wasn't the biggest fan of having buffalo sauce on my burger but when I substituted that with BBQ sauce, it was quite tasty! I'll let you decide your preference :)

A traditional quarter pound cheeseburger from McDonald's provides the following:

510 calories 26 g fat 19 g saturated fat 155 mg cholesterol 40 g carbohydrate 3 g fiber 48 g protein

In contrast to McDonalds, this burger uses ground turkey instead of beef saving over 16 g of saturated fat and saves over 70 mg cholesterol.

Southwest Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey
2 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 egg whites
4 oz. 2% colby jack cheese
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce (I preferred BBQ sauce)
4 whole wheat buns (I used Aunt Millie's)

Combine paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and green onion. Add ground turkey and egg whites. Mix until thoroughly combined. Form into 4 equal sized patties. Put in refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill and set up.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill patties on each side for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Top with cheese and allow to melt slightly. Toast buns and place patty on each bun. Spread with wing sauce (or BBQ) and enjoy!!!

Per burger (makes 4): 416 calories 16.3 g fat 2.8 g saturated fat 83.6 mg cholesterol 43.8 g carbohydrate 4.7 g fiber 35.8 g protein