A Beautiful Thai Turkey Burger Salad Perfect For Summer

Happy Friday! I thought I’d drop a short post to share with you a new recipe that I know you will love. It was a happy accident actually. A few Sundays ago husband grilled burgers for us. He did his regular hamburgers, while I of course had to get a little fancy. I don’t do beef but I adore a good turkey burger. This time I tried a Thai version. They turned out delicious. I had him grill an extra one for me to take to lunch later in the week. The happy part is, I decided to put it on a salad with matching Thai flavors, and wow! This delicious salad turned out to be a beautiful Thai Turkey Burger Salad, perfect for summer!

why Thai?

Thai food is known for it’s bright, vivid flavors, unique spices and herbs and fresh produce. The beauty and tastiness of Thai cuisine comes from a perfect balance of five flavors: salty, sweet, sour, spicy and bitter. In this salad you’ll find coconut aminos and fish sauce for saltiness, carrots and cabbage for sweetness, lime and vinegar for sour, red pepper and garlic give it spice, and spinach and arugula give it a touch of bitterness.

Burgers and summer go hand and hand. So do the fresh flavors of Thai cuisine. I was inspired by Gwyneth’s Thai Chicken Burger from It’s All Good when I created this special salad. J’adore GP and Goop. I have and love all of her cookbooks, especially It’s All Easy Delicious Weekday Recipes for the Super-Busy Home Cook. (Just do a search in my search bar and you’ll find all kind of posts re GP.) I enjoy the protein I get from a turkey burger plus it’s so healthy balanced out with all the vitamins and minerals 😋 from the salad. I plan on making this on repeat this summer, I hope you will too!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Thai Turkey Burger Salad

The fresh Thai flavors of this salad are perfect for summertime. And of course burgers are the official dish of summer. By throwing an extra burger on the grill to save for later, this salad comes together in no time for a perfect mid-week lunch. With the purple cabbage and the dark greens, it's as beautiful, and healthy, as it is tasty too!

Prep Time7 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American, Thai

Keyword: quick, simple, summer, turkey burger

Servings: 2

Calories: 325kcal

Ingredients

Turkey Burgers

• 6 oz ground turkey 7 % fat
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ⅓ cup cilantro or spinach finely chopped
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp red chili flakes
• ½ tsp lime juice
• dash coconut aminos
• sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Salad

• 2 cups spinach arugula mix or any greens you prefer
• 1 cup red cabbage thinly sliced, or leaves torn into strips
• 2 green onions chopped
• 1 medium carrot grated or thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• salt & pepper to taste
• red chili pepper flakes to up the spicy, optional

Instructions

Turkey Burgers

• Combine the turkey with the rest of the burger ingredients. Form into 2 patties.
• Cook on medium high heat, on a grill or oiled grill pan, approximately 6 minutes a side, until firm to touch (internal temperature 160 ℉). Let cool before slicing/placing on salad.

Thai Turkey Burger Salad

• Divide spinach arugula mixture between 2 plates or lunch containers. Top each with cabbage, green onion and carrot. Place sliced turkey burger on top and garnish with cilantro.
• For the dressing, mix together vinegar, fish sauce, olive oil, sesame seeds and salt & pepper to taste in a small jar.
• When ready to serve, top each salad with the dressing and enjoy!

Notes

To make this vegan:

Substitute 2 nice squares of tofu for the turkey.

Press the tofu squares by wrapping each in a kitchen towel and placing a heavy skillet or bowl on top.  Let sit for 20 minutes to drain excess water.

Combine rest of turkey burger ingredients and drizzle over tofu, pressing it into each side as much as you can.  On a well oiled grill pan to medium high and grill tofu squares about 3 minutes a side.

 

This beautiful salad is packed with protein from the turkey and with B vitamins, especial B12. It is slightly high in fat, so feel free to substitute low fat ground turkey, or do the tofu version. Loaded with vitamin A too from the carrots, spinach and arugula, feel the glow! It also has plenty of vitamin C, iron and potassium. And it’s so low carb, a simple, healthy turkey burger summer salad 🌞 Santé and à bientôt!

Nutrition info from Cronometer.