These easy and delicious Mediterranean Ground Turkey Burger Sliders are loaded with feta, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and topped with a garlic lemon slaw. Made quick and simple on a sheet pan for the ultimate game time food, appetizer or weeknight dinner.
These little Mediterranean Ground Turkey Burger Sliders are my new favorite way to cook turkey burgers. One bowl, cooked on a sheet pan and cut into shape for your mini buns. They are a play on my lamb kofta burgers, using ground turkey, which is one of our favorite proteins.
Ground turkey is mixed with briney feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic (or toum), oregano and onions. The simple mixture packs a ton of flavor and then finally married together with garlic, sesame topped buns and a garlic-lemon cabbage slaw for that extra tang and brightness.
These are PERFECT to make for game day, make them ahead and heat in the oven when ready to serve. The bite sized burgers are also great for little hands or if you just want a small light meal.
Ingredients
Most ingredients are pantry staples and or easily found in your standard grocery store.
- Ground Turkey - I can't stress this enough, DO NOT BUY TURKEY THAT IS 1% FAT - I think many people make the mistake of using ground turkey that is too lean and it creates a very dry and unflavorful dish. I always use at least 7% or higher. Turkey is ultra lean to begin with but be sure you are choosing something with a bit of fat for the best results.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes - Sun-dried tomatoes give a nice tart but bright flavor to the burgers, use sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil. Dry sun-dried tomatoes are not quite juicy enough.
- Feta Cheese - Feta cheese is delightfully briney and salty and adds a delicious flavor to the burgers. I HIGHLY recommend buying feta in the whole block vs pre-crumbled. The feta is much fresher when in full form. I purchase mine from US Foods - 4lbs for about $17, it's quite the bargain!
- Panko Breadcrumbs - I always have panko breadcrumbs on hand and they are my favorite to use, they are bigger and flakier than traditional breadcrumbs but you can certainly use whatever you have on hand. We add them in to help bind the turkey since it is much softer and more wet than ground beef.
- Garlic/Toum - I'm using toum in my recipe but you can sub minced garlic in its place
- Onion - My favorite trick when making any kind of burgers is adding minced onion to the mixture. The onions begin to sweat while cooking creating the juiciest burgers.
- Dried Oregano - A bit of dried oregano for a little more Mediterranean flair. Feel free to sub dried basil if you don't have oregano.
- Cabbage - Shredded cabbage for our slaw - cabbage is such a great vegetable to create salads with, it's hold well when dressed and can be enjoyed days after.
- Lemon, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Dried Mint
- Buns, Sesame Seeds
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preparing your ground turkey mixture is so quick and easy - add all your burger ingredients to a bowl and mix until well combined.
Combine your ground turkey and all your turkey burger ingredients.
Mix well with your hands or spatula until fully combined.
Line a ¼ sheet pan or 9x13 glass dish with parchment paper. Pro-tip - crumple it up, run under water and squeeze out so it lays perfectly flat.
Press your ground turkey mixture and flatten into an even rectangle. Sprinkle with additional salt and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees until fully cooked through (165 degrees Fahrenheit) on instant read thermometer.
While your turkey burgers are cooking, prepare your slaw by adding your toum or minced garlic to a bowl, add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and dried mint, whisk.
Add your shredded cabbage and mix to combine.
Once your burgers are cooked through - remove from tray and cut to size. I like to trim off the edges to make even squares.
Slice your buns open, place a patty in each and place on your sheet pan (be sure to wipe clean). Brush toum on the tops of your buns, sprinkle a bit of flake salt and sesame seeds and bake for another 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
Remove from oven when golden brown - cut apart and fill with slaw!
Pro Tip:
Take a small amount of your ground turkey mixture and pop into the microwave on a plate for about 20 seconds until fully cooked through. Give it a taste and adjust for flavors. This is a safe way to ensure you have enough seasoning before cooking through.
Substitutions for Allergies
- Dairy Free - Choose a dairy free cheese to add or omit completely. You can add more sun-dried tomatoes in place of feta. Adjust your salt for flavor.
- Bun - Use gluten free buns instead of white bread buns to make this gluten free. I'm using Hawaiian Sweet Rolls but any mini slider bun would be delicious.
- Breadcrumbs - Use gluten free bread crumbs for a gluten free dish.
Variations For Burgers
Here are a few variations for you:
- Spicy - For a bit of a kick, add some Calabrian chili paste to the burger mixture, 2 teaspoons would be a good addition.
- Full size- You can certainly shape the turkey mixture into traditional burgers and cook on an outdoor grill or in a skillet. The recipe itself is versatile.
- Turkey Alternative - Feel free to substitute with ground beef or ground lamb for this recipe. Please note that depending on the fat content in your meat, the burgers may shrink more than the ground turkey.
- Smaller Burgers - You can use one pound of ground turkey to make a thinner burger patty, simply cut the recipe ingredients in half to adapt. Your cook time will also change, check for doneness after 12-15 minutes.
Equipment Used
Simple tools for this recipe but a few that I love and have in my kitchen at all times:
- Parchment Paper Sheets - One of my most used kitchen items! So much easier than using parchment rolls. I do use a this full size even for the small pan so I have edges to pull up on.
- ¼ Sheet Pan - This is half the size of your normal sheet pan. We use it mostly with our countertop oven, it's a great addition to have in your kitchen. You can certainly use a 9x13 glass dish in its place.
- Silicone Pastry Brush - Great for pastry and smearing toum or olive oil
- Food Thermometer - Having a digital thermometer is a great addition to the kitchen and makes cooking meats so much easier and safer. They aren't terribly expensive either.
How to Store Burgers
Store the cut burgers in the fridge for 4-5 days, you can also wrap cooked burgers and freeze for 3 months. Slaw is best eaten within 2-3 days.
I hope you enjoy these Easy Mediterranean Ground Turkey Burger Sliders as much my family does - feel free to adjust and make your own!
If you make these Easy Mediterranean Ground Turkey Burger Sliders, please let me know by leaving a rating and review below!
As always, I love seeing your creations. Please leave a review or share your dish with me on social media #cosetteskitchen which lets me know what is working for you! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , Tiktok and Pinterest. For more delicious recipes to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
xoxo,
Cosette
Easy Mediterranean Ground Turkey Burger Sliders - Sheet Pan Method
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 sliders 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Description
Delicious ground turkey burgers made simple in a sheet pan and assembled for a quick meal or appetizer. Packed with Mediterranean flavor with a garlic/lemon slaw.
Ingredients
Turkey Burgers
- 2 pounds ground turkey, 7% fat or greater
- 2 Tablespoons toum or 6 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 small onion - ½ cup finely diced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Kosher Salt, + additional for topping* see note about salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, or traditional
- 1 cup diced sun-dried tomato in oil
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 16 slider buns, I'm using King's Hawaiian Slider Buns
- 1 Tablespoon toum, or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted or untoasted are fine
- Flake salt
Cabbage Slaw
- 2 ½ cups shredded cabbage, green or purple
- 2 teaspoons toum or 2 cloves garlic - smashed
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt*
- 1 Tablespoon dried mint
Instructions
Turkey Burgers
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper. My best trick for helping it to lay flat is to crumple up the sheet, run under a bit of cold water, squeeze dry then lay flat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine your ingredients and mix well.
- 2 pounds ground turkey, 7% fat or greater
- 2 Tablespoons toum or 6 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 small onion - ½ cup finely diced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Kosher Salt, + additional for topping* see note about salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, or traditional
- 1 cup diced sun-dried tomato in oil
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- Press your ground turkey mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the parchment paper turkey burgers from the tray and set on cutting board. Trim edges if you'd like (a good snack) and then cut into the number of burgers you need.
- Place your slider buns on a tray (can be same one as you used for turkey burgers, simply wipe clean). Add each slider burger into center then top with bun.
- Smear a bit of toum on all the tops of your burger buns, then flake salt and sesame seeds. Bake for another 5 minutes until just slightly golden brown.* Sub olive oil and a smashed garlic clove if you don't have toum
- Remove and top burgers with cabbage slaw - enjoy!
Cabbage Slaw
- In a medium-sized bowl, add your dressing ingredients and whisk well:
- 2 teaspoons toum or 2 cloves garlic - smashed/minced
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt*
- 1 Tablespoon dried mint
- Add in your shredded cabbage and mix to fully coat. Set aside and enjoy with sliders.
Notes
- If using Morton's kosher salt, reduce to 1.5 teaspoons - if using table salt, reduce to 1 teaspoon
- Be sure to purchase ground turkey that is at least 7% fat or greater for best results
- If you don't have toum for the tops of your slider buns, simply finely mince or smash a clove of garlic and add a tablespoon of olive oil and spread on tops then top with sesame seeds.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Holly Kosek says
These are the absolute BEST! So so so easy to make! Juicy. Delish. Sometimes we just eat them plain - no bun, no slaw. I make them in the weekend, freeze them in a Pyrex, and defrost when needed. A house favorite.
Cosette Posko says
I love that you love these so much and have them on a regular rotation! Thanks for sharing!!!
Xoxo,
Cosette