Guys. Get ready to never look at a burger the same way again. I am obsessed with cheeseburgers and love eating them when I’m dining out (ask me sometime about my most recent New Year’s resolution), but cooking them at home tends to be greasy/messy enough to prevent me from doing it too often. Until now. I MUCH prefer a smash burger cooked on the stovetop to a dry, hockey puck-esque thing mangled on a grill (I have stories, can you tell?). Anyway, these Oven Baked Turkey Burgers are true-blue gems, and this recipe is an absolute back-pocket must.
Turkey burgers are a delicious, healthier alternative to traditional beef burgers. Cooking them in the oven at 450 degrees ensures they cook up juicy and flavorful. But how long should you bake turkey burgers to get the best results? This guide will walk through everything you need to know about cooking turkey burgers in the oven at 450 degrees, including timing, tips, and recipes.
Why Cook Turkey Burgers in the Oven?
There are several benefits to baking turkey burgers in the oven rather than pan frying or grilling them:
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Oven cooking allows the burgers to cook evenly all the way through without drying out The hot air surrounds the patties on all sides
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Burgers hold their shape better when baked versus grilling or pan frying where they can fall apart.
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The oven provides a hands-off cooking method that frees you up to focus on sides and other parts of the meal.
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Cleanup is easier since you aren’t dealing with greasy stove or grill surfaces.
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You can bake a large batch of turkey burgers at once, perfect for meal prepping.
How Long Does it Take to Bake Turkey Burgers at 450 Degrees?
Most turkey burger recipes recommend baking at around 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes But increasing the oven temperature to 450 degrees will significantly speed up the cooking time
At 450 degrees, turkey burgers will take 15-18 minutes to fully cook through and reach the recommended safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
As a general timeline, you’ll want to:
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Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
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Bake turkey burgers for 10 minutes on one side.
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Flip burgers and bake 10-15 more minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Always check the internal temperature of the thickest patty using a meat thermometer to confirm doneness instead of relying solely on cook time. Different size patties may require slightly longer.
Cooking Tips for Perfect Oven-Baked Turkey Burgers
Follow these tips to ensure your turkey burgers come out juicy and bursting with flavor when baking them at 450 degrees:
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Use a meat thermometer – This takes the guesswork out of determining doneness. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 F.
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Pre-heat the oven – Allow oven to fully preheat before baking so turkey burgers immediately enter a hot environment.
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Use a baking sheet – Line a sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy transfer in and out of the oven.
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Form even patties – So burgers cook evenly, form patties to the same thickness and diameter.
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Create a divot – Use your thumb to make a shallow indentation in the center of each raw patty to prevent bulging as they bake.
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Brush with oil – Lightly coat patties with oil to promote browning and prevent sticking to the pan.
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Flip halfway – Flip burgers halfway through cook time for even cooking on both sides.
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Let rest before serving – Allow burgers to rest 5 minutes after baking so juices can re-distribute.
Oven-Baked Turkey Burger Recipe
This flavorful recipe produces juicy turkey burgers in just 15-18 minutes when baked in a 450 degree oven.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey (93% lean)
- 1⁄4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1⁄2 tsp each salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
- 1⁄4 tsp each dried basil, oregano
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Gently mix together using your hands until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Form mixture into 4 patties of equal size, about 4 inches wide and 1⁄2 inch thick. Use your thumb to create a shallow divot in the center of each patty.
- Place patties on prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush tops with olive oil.
- Bake 10 minutes then flip and bake until internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 5-10 more minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve oven-baked turkey burgers on buns with your favorite condiments and toppings like lettuce, tomato, avocado, and barbecue sauce. They pair well with classic burger sides like oven fries, coleslaw, or potato salad.
Cooking Turkey Burgers Safely
When handling and cooking raw turkey, follow these guidelines to ensure your turkey burgers are prepared safely:
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Wash hands before and after handling raw turkey. Avoid cross-contamination by keeping turkey separate from ready-to-eat foods.
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Use a food thermometer to verify ground turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness.
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Refrigerate raw turkey burgers within 2 hours of purchasing and use within 1-2 days. Freeze for longer storage.
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Thaw frozen turkey burgers in the refrigerator overnight rather than at room temperature to prevent bacterial growth.
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Cook to proper internal temperature and don’t reuse marinades used on raw turkey burgers to prevent potential foodborne illness.
More Delicious Oven-Baked Turkey Burger Recipes
If the oven-baked turkey burger recipe above doesn’t suit your tastes, try one of these flavorful recipes that also use a hot 450 degree oven to achieve quick cooking:
Southwest Turkey Burgers – These flavorful patties use onions, salsa, cumin, chili powder, and Monterey jack for a Mexican-inspired burger. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Jalapeño Popper Turkey Burgers – Mix crisp bacon, diced jalapeños, cream cheese, cheddar, and spices right into the patties for serious flavor.
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers – Feta, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and Greek seasoning give these turkey burgers plenty of Mediterranean flavor.
Cajun Turkey Burgers – The Cajun spice blend flavors the patties, while sautéed peppers and onions top the burger along with pepper jack cheese.
Blue Cheese and Bacon Turkey Burgers – These burgers are stuffed with crumbled blue cheese and cooked bacon for savory flavor and texture.
Be sure to use a meat thermometer and bake your creative turkey burger recipes at 450 degrees until they reach the safe internal temperature of 165°F. Varying the seasonings and toppings is a great way to keep turkey burgers exciting.
The Takeaway on Baking Turkey Burgers
Cooking turkey burgers in the oven at 450 degrees F delivers tender, juicy results in just 15-18 minutes. With the right technique, you can enjoy healthier turkey burgers with big flavor worthy of your favorite burger joint. Bake a batch on your next burger night or for easy weeknight meals to please the whole family.
Why oven baked turkey burgers are the best turkey burgers
Okay so. When making smash burgers out of say, 80/20 ground beef, you’ve got about 30 seconds from the time the meat hits the heat until all of the fat renders and risks seeping out when you smash. This means that you need to smash the burgers somewhere in that 30-second window or else that fatty goodness is going to run out on you (and the burgers won’t be as juicy, see?).
Now, ground turkey is typically sold at 93% leanness and therefore we are left with less fat to work with. But a similar notion applies when cooking the burgers on the stovetop. You have to smash them right away before the fat seeps out. BUT! If we bake them from the very start, smashing them before they go into the oven, that fat will render on its own terms and stay more in the meat, sort of self-basting and crisping nicely as the turkey burgers bake away. This is amazing news!
Plus? Oven-baked turkey burgers are easier, faster, more efficient, and so much cleaner all-around. No more greasy messy stove to clean. Nope. Just a mixing bowl and a sheet pan or two and everything is done in one fell swoop.
Top three tips and tricks for the very best oven baked turkey burgers
- Smash! Smash! Okay, we’re not going for pucks here, right? We’re trying to achieve that good smash burger effect. You know, the burgers that are somehow both incredibly juicy and still have an even, crisp surface all over? Yes, that’s what we’re getting here, but all done in the oven! The smashing really helps with it, too. It keeps the cook time lower, the patties will bake more evenly, and they’re more apt to actually develop a crust . So, we’re going to smash these to a thickness of about 1/3 inch (give or take) and a diameter of about 4 to 4.5 inches. This is what I do every time, and with 2 pounds of ground turkey, you can get about six big burgers out of it. You could do eight quarter-pounders, but honestly that’s not quite big enough.
- Use a little bit of the doughy bun interiors to help bind the ground turkey. Yes! This is one of my favorite MKL tricks. Rather than introducing a whole new ingredient to the program here (store-bought breadcrumbs) let’s just pick out some of the excess bread from our burger buns and throw that into the meat mixture, yes? Fresh bread is better for this sort of thing than dried anyway, as it contributes to the overall juiciness of the finished burgers more effectively. Similar to how you make classic meatballs, we’ll simply pick out some of the bread from the bun tops, hollowing them out a bit. Next, we’ll tear that bread up into fresh breadcrumbs. This will maintain moisture – literally holding onto it – and it will also bind the patties together nicely. {Speaking of super easy meatballs, you may want to peep my Easiest hands-off spaghetti and meatballs, or my lemony orzo with meatballs, or my Pacific Rim Meatballs.}
- Work it, but not real good. So, as with just about any recipe that uses ground meat, we want to gently mix the ingredients together just until blended. We DON’T want to over-work the turkey, as this will contribute a toughness to the finished burgers. We want lightness, not toughness. Also the heat from your hands will begin to render what little fat they actually do have. We don’t want this to happen just yet.
How To Make Turkey Burgers in the Oven
FAQ
How long to bake turkey burgers at 450 degrees?
What temperature should turkey burgers be cooked to?
How long to cook frozen burgers in oven at 450?
How long do you cook a turkey burger in the oven?
Arrange the turkey patties on the sheet, leaving some space between each burger. Bake in the oven: Slide the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake the turkey burgers for about 25-30 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of your patties, so keep an eye on them.
What temperature should turkey burgers be cooked at?
It is recommended to cook turkey burgers in the oven at a temperature of 375°F (190°C). This allows the burgers to cook evenly and reach a safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) while still maintaining their juiciness. How long should I cook turkey burgers in the oven?
How do you cook a ground turkey burger?
Shape into 4 burger patties, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If your ground turkey contains a lot of water, I recommend placing the burgers on a roasting rack fitted with a baking sheet underneath. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through cooking. Use a meat thermometer to check that the burgers are done.
Can you cook frozen turkey burgers in the oven?
Yes, you can cook frozen turkey burgers in the oven. Preheat your oven to the recommended temperature, usually around 375°F (190°C), place the frozen burgers on a baking sheet, and cook them for the recommended time, usually 20-25 minutes.