These Hawaiian style burgers are made with ground turkey and basted in teriyaki sauce. Toasted buns are topped with burgers, more sauce, and sliced pineapple for a delicious flavor combination that’s super easy to throw together, too! These are a fun family favorite in the summer on the grill, and great for a skillet year round.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Turkey – This recipe calls for lean ground turkey. The leanest ground turkey you can buy is just turkey breast and has a tendency to be dry and flavorless. Look for turkey that is 93/7 (that’s 93% lean and 7% fat) or even 90/10. This means it has some dark meat mixed in which provides moisture, a touch of fat, and flavor to the final burger.
- Bread Crumbs – Use plain, unseasoned bread crumbs. Panko crumbs would work as well.
- Red or Green Bell Pepper
- Green Onion
- Fresh Ginger Root
- Pineapple Slices – Use pineapple canned in juice. You will need both the fruit and the juice for this recipe.
- Ginger – While you can always use dried ginger in a pinch, fresh ginger packs a flavorful punch, s use it if you can.
- Teriyaki Sauce – You will need a nice, thick teriyaki sauce, not the kind that is thin like plain soy sauce. Look for this in the Asian foods aisle of the grocery store. I usually buy Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze. If you want to make your own, try this Teriyaki Sauce.
- Mayonnaise – Mayo is optional, but definitely tasty on the finished burger!
- Hamburger Buns
Instructions
- First, gently combine some ground turkey, bread crumbs, diced bell pepper, green onion, minced ginger, some pineapple juice, and salt. Form into large patties and chill until you’re ready to cook.
- If you can, pop these puppies on the grill until done (4-5 minutes per side, until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F); otherwise, you could put these under the broiler in your oven, a grill pan on your stovetop, or just a frying pan. If desired, grill pineapple in last 5 minutes of cooking. Baste burgers with Teriyaki sauce during last two minutes of grilling. Spread buns with mayonnaise and a little more Teriyaki sauce. Enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days for best result.
- Make sure to look for turkey that is 93% lean and 7% fat so your burgers stay moist and flavorful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
You could definitely prep and measure all of your patty ingredients, or even combine them and form the patties, up to a day ahead of time. Store, tightly covered, in the fridge and use a thermometer when cooking to ensure the burgers reach 165°F.
Not everybody in my family likes teriyaki sauce. Can I use something else?
Sweet and sour sauce would probably be delicious here. If you’re serving those that don’t care for sauces, the burgers themselves are flavorful and delicious with just some mayo spread on the bun.
Hawaiian Turkey Burgers
Sweet pineapple and teriyaki come together in these island-inspired Hawaiian Turkey Burgers. They are a fun way to mix things up on the grill!
Servings large burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1/2 cup plus more if you need it dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup red or green bell pepper minced (about 1/2 medium bell pepper)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger root
- 1 small can pineapple slices; reserve juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Thick Teriyaki sauce like Kikkoman or this recipe
- Mayonnaise optional, but very yummy!
- 4 hamburger buns you can use this recipe if you’re feeling ambitious
Instructions
- Gently combine turkey, bread crumbs, bell pepper, green onion, ginger, 1/4 cup reserved juice from pineapple, and salt. Form into 4 deliciously large patties. Chill until ready to cook.
- Pop burgers on the grill until done (4-5 minutes per side, until they reach an internal temperature of 165° F); otherwise, you could put these under the broiler in your oven, a grill pan on your stovetop, or just a frying pan. If desired, grill pineapple in last 5 minutes of cooking. Baste burgers with Teriyaki sauce during last two minutes of grilling. Spread buns with mayonnaise and a little more Teriyaki sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days for best result.
- Make sure to look for turkey that is 93% lean and 7% fat so your burgers stay moist and flavorful.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Burger, Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 1250mg, Potassium: 428mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 29IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 263kcal
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Questions & Reviews
Quick question – I am making these tonight and I don’t know how many bread crumbs to use. It doesn’t say the amount – and what kind of bread crumbs? They look fabulous!
I love recipes like these! I’m bookmarking this one!
Love your blog. So beautiful & cheery. Love this recipe too. Can't wait to try it! Thanks so much for so many wonderful treats.
Yum, these look really good. I think they’re going on my menu for next week. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you’re posting WW points!
These look so good. I’m totally going to make them. Will they still taste yummo with extra lean hamburger meat? This may sound weird, but where we live, I don’t think I can find ground turkey close by and if I do, it will cost a million dollars. Also, thanks for posting the weight watcher stuff.
Kelly–for 60 people, I would probably 5x the recipe for the salad and 4x the recipe for the dressing. When I made the salad for a ton of people, I did all the prep work the day before–get bags of prewashed, chopped romaine if you can; if you can’t…
–Wash and chop the lettuce one head at a time and let one head drain while you chop the next one. Get the chopped lettuce as dry as you can with a bunch of paper towels and then put it in the gallon-sized ziploc bags.
–Make the dressing and keep it in a pitcher that has a lid and a pour spout
–Crumble the blue cheese; keep in a Ziploc bag
–Chop the apples up to a couple of hours before you have to go; as long as they’re in juice, they’ll be fine
–Caramelize the nuts the day before; same thing, Ziploc bag
When you get where you’re going, all you have to do is throw everything together and throw away the Ziploc bags. Oh, and if you’re making a bunch AND you have a Costco nearby, they have THE MOST delicious Gorgonzola cheese–it’s in light blue foil and sooooo delicious!!
I’ve never seen anyone “rubbed the wrong way” about WW points, but k…whatever.
I also LOVE the nutritional info on the food. Yes, I need to lose 10 lbs, but I’m not dieting, nor following ww. But I want to eat healthier to get my insides healthy as well. So when I see WW points and it’s low, I know it’s a pretty healthy food to consume. And since it’s on Best Bites, it’s definitly going to be GOOD. Not yucky diet food. 🙂
Keep up the amazing work ladies.
I think anyone could use a new yummy nutritious recipe. Whether you’re dieting or not, eating healthy makes you happy.
I’m really excited to try the recipes you have in store this month. Thanks Kate!
ha ha! Just because they are posting the WW points doesn’t mean you HAVE to go on a diet or that they think you *need* to. I for one think it’s great. And if I were on WW I would have died and gone to heaven finding this blog.
I was planning on using your yummy Candied Walnut Salad and honey red wine dressing for an activity with about 60 people, approx. how much does your recipe make? I have never made anything in bulk like that before, could you give me any suggestions? Thanks!