You’ve never had Keto Turkey Burgers this juicy and satisfying. The melty Jalapeño Popper filling adds so much flavor, you hardly need any toppings at all.
My husband and I have been on a stuffed burger kick this summer. We’ve been playing around with different fillings, but cheddar and jalapeño feature frequently in the mix. So we decided to go the whole nine yards and create these Jalapeño Popper Burgers.
They are fantastic! The filling becomes all melty and gooey, and oozes out as you bite into the burger. It’s so decadent and flavorful, you don’t even need toppings. Of course, you need a little crisp bacon on top to truly make it like jalapeño poppers. And a little sliced avocado or some guacamole certainly isn’t out of place either!
Why you will love these burgers
I bought my husband a stuffed burger press for Father’s Day and it makes the process so much easier than stuffing by hand. I highly recommend getting one, as they only cost about $10. Be sure to read my step-by-step instructions for using them, as well as my tips to make your patties come out perfectly.
We made our burgers with ground turkey, to make them a bit lighter. But you could use ground beef or ground chicken as well. Turkey burgers can be a bit flavorless, but a little finely minced onion and some cumin brings out a nice flavor.
The filling is a mixture of cream cheese, grated cheddar, minced jalapeños, and some garlic. You can adjust the heat of these stuffed burgers simply by adding more or less jalapeños, and keeping the seeds in or removing them. We find that two medium peppers with the seeds in suits our tastes.
Cooked bacon tends to lose crispness when combined with melty fillings. So I simply added crisp pieces of bacon to the tops of the burgers to round out the Jalapeño Popper flavor.
These were honestly the juiciest, most flavorful turkey burgers I have ever eaten!
Ingredients you need
- Cream cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is well softened before mixing in the other filling ingredients. It’s much easier to combine them that way.
- Cheddar: I grated my own medium orange cheddar for these burgers. Pre-grated tends to have additives to keep it from clumping and it doesn’t melt as well when cooking the burgers.
- Jalapeños: Use as much or as little jalapeño as you like. If you leave the seeds in, it gives the burgers a little more heat. If you want a milder flavor, make sure to remove all of the seeds.
- Ground turkey: We chose turkey as we had some on hand, and we wanted to make the burgers a little lighter. You can use other ground meats, such as beef or chicken.
- Almond flour: Ground turkey and ground chicken tend to be very soft and rather wet, so adding some almond flour helps firm up the mixture so you can form proper patties. If you are using ground beef, you won’t need to add any filler like this.
- Onion: We wanted the turkey mixture to have some added flavor. A little finely minced onions really helps!
- Olive oil: Brushing the burgers with olive oil helps them not stick to the grill grates.
- Bacon: A little crispy bacon on top rounds out the jalapeño popper theme!
- Seasonings: Garlic, salt, pepper, cumin.
How to make stuffed burgers
You can stuff burgers by hand, but we found that an inexpensive burger press works exceptionally well. I have done it a few times now and figured out a few tricks that help the burgers come out perfectly. Check out the video in the recipe card for a visual tutorial.
1. Make sure to line the bottom of the press with a patty paper or some parchment, cut to fit. This allows you to flip out the completed patty more easily.
2. Fill the cavity only half full with the meat mixture and press to the edges. Cover with another patty paper or some parchment. Press the large indent into the meat to create a deep cavity. Remove the patty paper.
3. Fill the cavity with your preferred fillings, such as the jalapeño popper mixture, but don’t fill all the way to the top. Then add a few more tablespoons of meat mixture to cover the fillings.
4. Place the patty paper back on top of the burger. Use the flat part of the press to even out the patty. Make sure all the seams are well sealed to reduce leaks.
5. Flip the bottom part of the press onto a parchment or waxed paper lined baking sheet. Remove the bottom and sides, then remove the bottom patty paper. You should be able to re-use the papers as you form more patties.
You can also stuff burgers without a press, but I find that they don’t hold together quite as well. Check out those instructions in the recipe card.
Expert Tips
Almond flour helps give the keto turkey burgers more structure. Ground turkey and chicken can be very soft and may fall apart easily without something to firm it up. You can use other nut and seed meals, but coconut flour will make it too dry. Ground pork rinds may also work but I haven’t tried it myself.
Stuffing burgers is messy business, even with a burger press. Set up a work surface and cover your counters with a flexible cutting board or some parchment so that you don’t get the meat mixture or the filling mixture everywhere.
Don’t bother greasing the press. We tried this at first, thinking it would prevent the patties from sticking to the parts of the press. Instead, they still stuck and it made the press very slippery and hard to hold onto!
Use a burger patty paper or parchment cut to fit the bottom of the press. Most patty papers are too large and fold up the sides, which gives your patties a wrinkled appearance. You only need to cut one piece for the bottom of the press, which you can re-use for every patty.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep stuffed burgers intact, you must make sure to seal all the seams well. Make sure the meat completely covers the fillings and pinch the meat together to reduce leaks. If your filling is very melty, you may still have some leakage during cooking.
A burger press can help you make the stuffed burgers into nice, even patties that are well sealed.
You must allow both the meat and the filling to reach a high enough temperature to kill any food borne bacteria. I recommend testing the burgers with an instant read thermometer, making sure that the meat and the filling both reach 165ºF.
This recipe for Jalapeño Popper Turkey Burgers has 4g total carbs and 1.3g fiber per burger. That means each serving has 2.7g net carbs.
Easy Keto Dinners
Want more easy, flavorful dinner ideas? Check out my cookbook!
Jalapeno Popper Turkey Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 ounces cheddar cheese grated
- 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 lb ground turkey
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon finely minced onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices cooked bacon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar, jalapeños, and garlic. Use a fork or spatula to mash everything together until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the turkey, almond flour, onion, salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix well.
To stuff burgers using a burger press
- Place a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the press (make sure it fits nicely into the bottom, even if you have to cut it to fit). Add the turkey mixture to fill the press about half full. Top with another circle of parchment and press the large indent press into the top.
- Remove the top press and the parchment. Add some of the cream cheese mixture but don't fill the indentation all the way. Cover with a little more turkey mixture and place the patty paper back on top of the burger. Use the flat part of the press to even it out. Make sure to seal all the seams to reduce leaks.
- Flip the bottom part to the press onto a parchment lined baking sheet and remove the bottom and sides, then remove the bottom circle of parchment.
- Repeat with remaining the turkey and filling. You should be able to get 6 to 7 burgers. You can reuse the two circles of parchment over and over to make the burgers.
To stuff by hand
- Divide the turkey mixture into 6 even portions. Take about two thirds of each portion and form into a patty with with a well in the center. Fill the well with some of the filling and top with the remaining third of turkey.
- Form into a patty, sealing up the sides to cover the filling completely and reduce leaks. Repeat with the remaining portions of turkey and filling.
To cook
- Preheat the grill to medium high and brush both sides of the burgers with olive oil. Grill 7 to 8 minutes per side, until the center reaches 165ºF on an instant read thermometer. **You can also pan-fry or air fry the burgers.
- Top with crispy bacon and serve on lettuce wraps.
Laura says
These burgers were absolutely delicious. I forgot to put the bacon on, just because I left it on the oven to keep warm. I will make these again and again. Thank you Carolyn!!!
Zuly says
Oh, Carolyn, I made these last night and they were a HIT! To experiment, I made half turkey and the other half with beef. We all preferred the Turkey Burgers, including my teen grandsons. I’ll be making them again real soon since all the turkey burgers are gone, lol. I’m even thinking of pre-stuffing a few and freezing them, to see if they freeze well. Thank you, for another winner!
Carolyn says
Great to hear! Thanks for your review.
Joni says
I made this with a twist. I mixed filling n heated it up n used as a sauce. They were great.
Amy says
Anxious to try these out! Did the jalapeños soften while cooking? My kids might object to the texture of the jalapeño in the burger – wondering if you believe canned ones would work?
Carolyn says
Canned should work fine.