Three Homemade Healthy Hamburger Recipes

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I’m pleased to share a guest post with you today about many people’s favorite food: Hamburgers. While a classic burger is always in style, a new spin on the classic can be fun to try. And one that is healthier is even more tempting.

We made the Greek turkey burgers last night. They were really flavorful. I think the sliced red onion made it! I don’t cook with ground turkey often, and forgot to oil my pan first. They stuck a little but were still quite tasty.

Enjoy!

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Three Homemade Healthy Hamburger Recipes

It’s a well-known fact that traditional hamburgers have high calorie content, especially the ones usually served in fast food chains. They’re considered unhealthy and according to a roundup of fast food burgers by The Street, the unhealthiest burger packs more than 1,200 calories and 87g of fat. For comparison, that’s over half of the recommended calorie intake of an average adult per day and more than 130% of daily total fat intake.

Nevertheless, no one can deny that burgers are really tasty, along with fried chicken, which are among some of the best sellers in various casual dining restaurants.

Fried chicken is also considered unhealthy, but it has been a staple menu item for many generations now, and it even became the golden ticket for many restaurateurs. Everyone knows how Col. Sanders made his fortune with KFC, even though it came when he was in his 60s, according to Business Insider. And in New Orleans, foodies from video archive The Scene acknowledged how the now 93-year-old founder of Dooky Chase started the company in her later years, with her fried chicken considered by many as Big Easy’s very best. The restaurant has patrons all over the US, including Barrack Obama. Similarly to fried chicken, burgers are popular comfort food that are sold in most restaurants across the globe.

But as consumers get more health conscious each year, chefs and cooking enthusiasts keep on experimenting with different ingredients to find healthier alternatives for burgers without sacrificing taste. Some have less meat, while others use no meat at all.

Here are three healthy burger recipes, which you can try on your own at home for the whole family.

Mykonos Burger by Maria Menounos

Health.com listed as many as 15 healthy burger recipes, but let’s take the one with the lowest calorie content. There’s a 25-calorie item on the list but it only pertains to a relish combination, not counting the patty and bread. (And can you really call that a burger?)

That said, the Greek-style Mykonos Burger packs only 253 calories per serving, as its main ingredient is turkey meat. This version yields four servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 and 3/4 oz. feta cheese (crumbled)
1/3 cup parsley (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 big slices of red onion
4 sets of burger buns (whole wheat is recommended)

Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients, except red onions then make equal sized patties. Grill or cook on open flame until no pink remains. Arrange the burgers with red onion slices and add other dressings if you like, then serve.

Hoisin-Glazed Salmon Burgers

This salmon patty burger was suggested by Cooking Light. It has pickled cucumber and cilantro for relish, which are both healthy vegetables.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
24 thin English cucumber slices
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 lb. salmon fillet, finely chopped
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
4 sets of burger buns with sesame seeds

Preparation:
Mix first six ingredients from the list in a pot and boil. Remove from heat then add cucumber and leave for 30 minutes. Drain liquid afterwards.

Next combine eight ingredients (panko to egg white) in a bowl to form a paste mixture. Form mixture into four equal-sized patties.

Then heat sesame oil in a skillet placed over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until desired doneness while brushing each side of the patty with hoisin sauce regularly.

Arrange the burgers on buns and add relish. Serve.

Ultimate Veggie Burger

The Ultimate Veggie Burger will be a great addition to the culinary choices of vegetarians. The patty in this burger is made entirely with vegetables which makes it a very healthy alternative for the usual meat burger patty.

Ingredients:
1 cup white onion (chopped)
1 cup garlic (chopped)
1 cup zucchini (chopped)
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup white beans
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup basil leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 pc lime
4 slices of cheddar cheese
4 sets of burger buns
For relish:
Lettuce, onion slices, avocado

Preparation:
In a blender, mix chopped onion, garlic, cornmeal, half-cup of zucchini, two tablespoons of white beans, and two tablespoons of corn kernels. Blend until finely ground.

In a skillet over low heat, put the first mixture and add remaining zucchini. Mix everything together evenly then remove from heat. Place the new mixture into a bowl and add millet, half-cup of basil, the remaining white beans and corn kernels, salt and pepper. Combine everything and form four equal-sized patties on a tray. Place patties in the freezer for 20 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, remaining basil leaves, lime zest from grated lime skin, and lime juice from squeezed lime. Stir to make a dressing of preferred thickness.

Cook frozen patties in a pan then add slices of cheese on top until they melt. Arrange burgers on buns with relish and dressing then serve.