Banh Mi Inspired Turkey Burgers
These juicy, umami-laced banh mi burgers get piled with crunchy pickled vegetables and a creamy-spicy sriracha cream cheese spread. They’re loaded with texture and can be served as burgers or sliders (which my kids love). Start by making these Quick Pickled Vegetables.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Burgers
- 1 pound ground turkey (preferably dark meat) or ground pork or beef
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
Sriracha Cream Cheese Spread
- ⅔ cup whipped cream cheese (or softened regular cream cheese)
- 2 teaspoons sriracha or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- 1 small garlic clove grated or ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- Salt
For Grilling and Serving
- Oil for the grill
- Buns or dinner rolls (for sliders)
- Quick Pickled Vegetables, get the recipe here
- Cilantro leaves
- Fresh jalapeno slices
Instructions
Form the burgers
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (if you don’t have a grill you can cook the burgers in a skillet instead—see the tips below).
- In a bowl, combine the ground turkey or pork, fish sauce, grated garlic, grated ginger, sugar, sriracha, and scallions. Gently form the mixture into 4 (½-inch-thick) patties (or you can make 8 sliders)—don’t pack the meat mixture too tightly, otherwise you can end up with tough burgers. Let the burgers sit while you make the sriracha cream cheese spread.
Make the spicy cream cheese spread
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sriracha, lime juice, garlic and sugar. Season with salt, and stir until smooth. If you love spice, add more sriracha (this is your sauce! you do you!).
Grill the burgers and serve
- Clean and oil the grill grates. Grill the burgers (covered) until browned with grill marks on the bottom, about 3-5 minutes (less time for sliders). Flip the burgers over, cover and cook until browned on the other side and cooked through—the internal temperature on an instant read thermometer should read 165˚F (74˚C) for turkey and 145˚F (63˚C) for pork. Transfer the burgers to a plate. Grill the buns, cut sides down, until lightly toasted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Slather the cut sides of the buns with the sriracha cream cheese spread. Arrange the burgers on the bottom buns and top with the quick pickled vegetables, along with a few cilantro leaves and jalapeno slices. Serve the leftover pickled vegetables on the side. Devour.
Notes
- To cook the burgers on the stovetop, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat. Arrange the burgers in the skillet. Cover and cook the burgers, flipping once, until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- I use whipped cream cheese since it’s easier to stir and spread, but you can use regular softened cream cheese instead.
- You can swap the cream cheese spread for sriracha mayo if preferred. Click here for my homemade sriracha mayo sauce recipe.
- I recommend storing each component of this recipe in separate containers. Store cooked burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Let them cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating.
- Store the pickled veggies and the sriracha cream cheese in separate containers for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Loved this recipe? Check out @nickisizemore for more!