A recipe for juicy burgers made from a mixture of ground turkey and spicy Mexican chorizo, perfect for the grill, served up with extra creamy guacamole.
Who is grilling this weekend? With the holiday here, and summer of course, we're already grilling like crazy. Living in the Midwest means a shorter grilling season for us, so when we have it, we like to take advantage.
When it comes to grilling, burgers are always at the top of the list.
You already know we make a lot of turkey burgers - see our Burgers Recipes and you'll see - but how about something a little different? Turkey-Chorizo Burgers.
No, not turkey made into chorizo. I mean a combination of ground turkey and spicy Mexican chorizo.
You'll get a full on blast of that awesome chorizo flavor, accompanied by our favorite ground turkey and plenty of seasonings mixed in, including jalapeno peppers, of course, which I am obviously MAD for. Jalapeno Madness, baby!
How to Make Homemade Turkey-Chorizo Burgers - The Recipe Method
Here are your ingredients:
First, cook down some onion and peppers in an oiled pan about 5 minutes or so, until they are cooked through and soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
This is going to add a lot of flavor to your burgers.
Mix them up in a bowl with the turkey, Mexican chorizo and salt and pepper. If the mixture feels too wet, add in the breadcrumbs to tighten it up. Hand mix, but do not overmix it, or your burgers can become mealy. Not so great.
Form the mixture into six 6 ounce patties, or eight 4.5 ounce patties. Or maybe four 9 ouncers! Go big or go home! Like so.
Next, fire up the grill and lightly oil the grates. Grill the turkey-chorizo burgers about 6-7 minutes per side, or until they are cooked through, depending on the size.
Top them with some cheese if you'd like and melt it down.
Serve them up on toasted buns with your favorite toppings. I used some guacamole, baby.
And roasted jalapeno peppers, of course.
Recipe Making Tips
You can play around with the ratios of turkey to chorizo until you achieve your preferred mixture, but for me, it is pretty much 2 parts turkey to 1 part chorizo. Also, if you're daring like we are sometimes, swap in something hotter than a jalapeno pepper, like a few cayenne peppers or maybe a habanero.
Ghost pepper, anyone? Carolina Reaper! Pepper X? Oh yes!
That would be crazy hot. Only if you can handle it. Have fun with your toppings. I melted some cheese over the top and served with roasted jalapeno pepper slices and homemade guacamole. Or, try this Extra Creamy Guacamole. Yum!
Learn How to Make Guacamole here.
Patty's Perspective
I was very excited for these because I ordered a chorizo burger from a fancy restaurant on a recent vacation, but it was unclear that it was really a beef-chorizo burger with hardly any chorizo mixed in. You could barely taste chorizo! I found this combination of turkey and chorizo delicious.
And the guacamole rocked, as usual.
Try Some of My Other Popular Burger Recipes
- Jerk Turkey Burgers with Jalapeno-Mango Guacamole
- Easy Sheet Pan Sliders
- Smashburgers with Charred Serrano-Blue Cheese Butter
- Grilled Steakhouse BBQ Burgers
- TNT Pork Burgers with Ghost Pepper-Mustard Aioli
- Blue Cheese-Buffalo Chicken Burgers
- Guacamole Turkey Burgers
- Mexican Burgers
- Juicy Lucy - Gooey Stuffed Cheeseburgers
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Turkey-Chorizo Burgers with Creamy Guacamole - Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces ground turkey
- 12 ounces ground chorizo
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- Splash of olive oil
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs if needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 Cheddar cheese slices
- 8 toasted buns for serving
- Any toppings you desire - like roasted jalapeno slices and homemade guacamole.
Instructions
- Heat a pan to medium heat and add oil. Add onions and peppers and cook about 6 minutes, or until they are cooked through and soft.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
- Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the turkey, chorizo and salt and pepper. If the mixture feels too wet, add in the breadcrumbs to tighten it up. Hand mix, but do not overmix.
- Form into six 6 ounce patties, or eight 4.5 ounce patties. Or maybe four 9 ouncers! Go big or go home!
- Heat a grill to medium heat and lightly oil.
- Add the burgers and cook about 6-7 minutes per side, or until cooked through, depending on the size. Get your nice grill marks!
- Top with cheese slices and cover. Cook about a minute to melt the cheese.
- Serve on toasted buns with your favorite toppings. I used some guacamole, baby. And roasted jalapeno peppers, of course.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This recipe was updated on 6/25/18 to include new photos and a bit more information. Originally published 7/3/15.
Joanne says
Delicious! Made into a meatloaf using our homemade chorizo. Added an egg, bread crumbs and grated Cojeta. Topped with homemade Chipotle Ketchup. Love your recipes!
Mike Hultquist says
Sounds like perfection right there to me! Save me a slice! =)
EDDIE DROHAN says
Made this last night in meatball style. Topped with pepper jack cheese. Impressive. Full of flavor
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Eddie. Yeah, we love these. Love the meatball idea! Nice.
Ann Davis-Rowe says
Ok, so I didn’t work the burgers enough or something because they fell apart - and were the most delicious sloppy joes. Love the idea of combining turkey and chorizo! We subbed in some finely chopped pickled jalapeño slices for the onion/pepper combo and used cotija cheese. So good, thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sorry the burgers fell apart on you, Ann, but I'm happy you enjoyed the flavor! I think I may have to do a "sloppy joe" version!
brent says
Hi Mike, I have 2 questions.
Made sliders pretty much like your your recipe and froze them immediately in patties. They were both fresh and on sale and I had another dinner planned.
1 lb of chorizo plus 1 lb of ground turkey.
I didn't get to taste a slider but cooked the last tablespoon or so of the mixture into scrambled eggs with cheese. A little dry but oh so good.
1)Why do you and many other turkey-chorizo burger recipes call for a 2:1 ratio of turkey/chorizo? What's the reasoning?
2)You think 50/50 was a mistake?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Brent. Honestly, you can vary up the ratios to your own preferences. I tend to use more turkey, as the chorizo is higher in calories and can be oily, making them a bit harder to form the patties, though you can use more binder material as needed. You could make this with just chorizo if you wanted to. Chorizo burgers!!! Yes! I do not think 50/50 is a mistake.
brent says
thank you, I feel better!
Trish says
This was SO good. I'm making it for the 3rd time this month! I'm so glad I found you, I love all things spicy! ????
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's great, Trish. Thanks! Glad you found me, too!
Karly says
Wow! This looks so good! Can't wait to try.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Karly. I think you'd LOVE this one!
Debee De forest says
I have not made this as of yet. I am so looking forward to it though!! Looks absolutely "DELICIOUS"!! I was wondering if I can use Soy Chorizo? It does not have all the animal fat and ground Turkey tends to be dry. Thank You for sharing what looks like I said an "AWESOME BURGER"!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Debee. Yes, you can use soy chorizo, but since it does lack fat, you might want to include something to help with moisture and binding, like a splash of oil or an egg. When forming the patties, just make sure they are loose yet slight firm, basically not falling apart. Let me know how it turns out for you. I LOVE this recipe. I make it all the time. I even made extra burgers and froze them for cooking anytime I want. Time saver!
Claudia Lamascolo says
What a great idea to mix meats, These must be perfect together since the fat has flavor and will enhance the turkey pure brilliance!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Claudia. I do love this combo. So good!
Shanika says
Now, this is a delicious burger! I love the creamy guacamole. That sounds like an awesome touch!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, thank you so much!
Jessica Formicola says
This is the burger of my dreams!! And that guacamole looks perfect!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jessica. Totally so good.
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
This is my kind of burger! Guac AND chorizo?! Sold!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Allison. Firing up the grill!
Vicky says
I dare anyone who doesn't like turkey burgers to try this. What a juicy looking, filling burger. This will be the hit of our July 4th cookout.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Vicky! SO. GOOD. And yes, SUPER juicy.
Ethan says
Trying it right now.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome!
Dini @ The Flavor Bender says
That looks so delicious!! If I show this to my husband I think he would want me to make this tomorrow! I'm already salivating!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Shoot him the link!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
This looks like quite the yummy burger! Of course you had me at guacamole!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I know! SO GOOD with the guacamole. YUM.