Sautéed Mushroom Turkey Burgers

This week has been another one where every day seems busier than the last, and by the time I get a chance to sit it’s already time for dinner. The last thing I want to do is spend the next hour in the kitchen making dinner and making another mess I have to clean (we all know no one is chomping at the bit to help with dishes around here). So I’m all about the easy and delicious. Something that requires minimal prep, simple ingredients, and will be filling and crowd pleasing. You know what checks all those boxes? Burgers and fries! But before you reach for the pre-made frozen stuff, you can whip up this easy recipe and feel good about what you are feeding your family.

Making burgers and fries is something super simple that you can make seem really spectacular with just a few tweaks. Toasting your buns? Yes, please! Topping your burger with sautéed mushrooms? You’re crazy if you don’t! Is your mouth watering yet?!

For my turkey burgers, I like to keep things simple. Here’s what you will need:
*1 small chopped onion
*2 lbs ground turkey
*2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
* butter (for sautéing)
*1 tsp Cajun seasoning
*1 tsp garlic powder
*salt and pepper
*8 oz sliced mushrooms
*Buns (we used onion buns-so amazing)
*cheese of choice (we used good ole’ cheddar)

Once you get everything prepped, mix it by hand in a large bowl. Be sure you get everything incorporated nicely, we want all the flavors to come to the party. Set the bowl aside and get your mushrooms started, you want them cooked before the burgers are done.

Melt about a Tbsp of butter into your skillet on medium heat. Then add your mushrooms. Stir them occasionally until they get soft and a nice brown color on all sides. Try not to eat them all straight out of the pan….I always make a little extra just for this reason.

I know it looks like I ate a lot of them, but I promise you they just shrink down quite a bit.

Also I ate some. But only, like, 4.

Or 5.

While your mushrooms are sautéing, start rolling your burgers into balls. I usually make 8 1/4lb burgers. I roll 8 balls about the size of my palms and set them on a baking sheet, then as I’m placing the burgers in my pan I flatten them out with my hands and use my thumb to push a small divot in the center of each burger, this just helps them cook evenly all throughout.

This is the part where a professional would tell you how long to cook your burgers before flipping them, but I just wait until I see them starting to cook halfway up the sides. When you flip them they should have a nice brown crust on the bottom.

Just before each burger is completely cooked, pile them up with your sautéed mushrooms. I then covered each one with a slice of cheddar. Now, you don’t have to do it this way. My husband said he thought it was weird that I put the cheese ON TOP of the mushrooms. I was just trying to keep them from falling off, and as the maker of the dinner I control how it gets done, ya know? You do you and live your best mushroom-burger-eating-life.

Feel free to serve these on a plain bun with some tater tots or fries, or you can jazz them up with a toasted bun and some herb potato rings or wedges. It’s all about customizing your meal to fit your preference and your families schedule. Or how many dishes you feel like creating, which is how I make most of my meal making decisions.