These Air Fryer Turkey Burgers are juicy, delicious, and full of amazing flavor. I use my healthy secret ingredient to keep these turkey burgers nice and juicy with no added oil or butter.

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I’ve used ground turkey to replace ground beef in a ton of recipes for as long as I can remember. Not because I think it’s better for you, but because I like diversity in my food.
But turkey burgers usually get a bad rap for being dry and nasty. That’s generally because turkey has to be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit so you can’t get away with undercooking it a bit like you can with other meats. But I figured out the secret ingredient to keep those turkey burgers nice and juicy…unsweetened apple sauce.
Unsweetened apple sauce adds moisture into your burgers and keeps the meat nice and juicy without adding any additional oil to the meat. I also add a little bit of grated fresh onion to the meat mixture to add moisture and flavor. It works every time and results in perfectly cooked juicy turkey burgers. And because I love my Air Fryer, that’s exactly what I use to cook them.
How to make Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
First, grate your onion on the side of a large box grater or use a small food processor to get half of an onion finely grated. I do this because minced onion adds juiciness and flavor to your burger and it does not leave huge chunks of onion in your burger.
Then combine your onion, ground turkey, unsweetened apple sauce, ranch seasoning, Worchestire sauce, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until combined.


Form into 4 hamburger patties. I use my burger press to ensure that my burgers are equally sized and perfectly formed.


Then place your burgers in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to have them firm up a bit. This step will help your patties stay together when you are air frying.

Preheat your Air Fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit by running your Air fryer on 360 degrees for about 3 minutes. Place your burgers in your Air Fryer basket, making sure they don’t overlap or touch. Cook on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Your burgers are finished when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a quick read thermometer.


Serve them however you like. I generally top them with lettuce, tomato, and a slice of red onion. I also top them with a little cranberry sauce if I’m feeling fancy.

How to make burgers from frozen in the Air Fryer
These turkey burgers freeze beautifully and can go straight from the freezer to Air Fryer. For frozen burgers, cook on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes, flipping halfway over. Use a quick read thermometer to ensure your turkey burger has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to add cheese to these burgers
Whenever we get the craving for a little melted cheese, I add them after I cooked the burger in the air fryer and then close the basket for a few minutes without running the air fryer. The cheese will melt on your burger while it sits in the warm air fryer.
Subbing Ground Beef
If you would rather make beef burgers, I recommend using ground chuck for your burgers (80/20 fat content) as it has so much flavor. I don’t add any additional ingredients to my beef patties except salt and pepper. I just form and shape ground beef into a patty and coat with salt and pepper. I got that tip from Bobby Flay and it’s one I absolutely agree with.
I generally cook ground beef burgers in the Air Fryer on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-15 minutes or whenever my quick read thermometer reaches 165 degrees. You can also cook frozen ground beef burgers in the air fryer.
I hope you enjoy these turkey burgers as much as we do. If you’re looking for sides to go with these burgers, try these out:
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Easy Air Fryer Baked Potato
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey Butter
- Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts
- Kale and Broccoli Salad with Sweet and Sour Dressing
- Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato
Looking for other recipes with ground turkey? Try these out:
Juicy Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey 85/15
- ¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- ½ onion grated
- 1 Tablespoon ranch seasoning
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine your onion, ground turkey, unsweetened apple sauce, ranch seasoning, Worchestire sauce, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until combined. Form into 4 equally sized hamburger patties.
- Then place your burgers in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to have them firm up a bit.
- Preheat your Air Fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit by running your Air fryer on 360 degrees for about 3 minutes. Place your burgers on your Air fryer, making sure they don’t overlap or touch. Cook on 360 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Your burgers are finished when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a quick read thermometer.
Cara
Friday 24th of March 2023
These burgers were DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Tanya
Tuesday 28th of March 2023
Thanks Cara! So happy you liked the recipe :)
Belinda Suszynski
Sunday 15th of January 2023
I doubled the batch and left out the garlic, ranch dressing, and the added salt and pepper. They turned out great! I must have made the patties smaller, because when I went to flip them after 7 minutes, they were done. I ended up with 13 patties. Instead of a hamburger press, I put my chopper sleeve on a cutting board and tamped down with a tart tool, all from pampered chef. My husband really liked this recipe, too.
Tanya
Tuesday 17th of January 2023
Thanks so much for the feedback Belinda! Glad you liked the recipe :)
Sharriea
Saturday 15th of October 2022
Thank you for sharing! these burgers came out so juicy. My partner was doing a happy food dance and said they are the best he’s ever had. I even forgot to add the Worcester’s until after I formed the pattie so I just put a little on top while I let them firm up for 30 min. lol
Tanya
Sunday 16th of October 2022
Thanks Sharriea, so happy you liked it!
Thom
Monday 6th of June 2022
Amazing!!! What a burger.
Turkey burgers that aren’t dry. Ty!
Tanya
Tuesday 7th of June 2022
Thanks Thom! So happy you liked the burgers :)
Dorothy
Thursday 24th of March 2022
When I printed the recipe I got 0.25 ground turkey 0.06 cup applesauce 0.13 onion 0.25 Tbsp ranch seasoning 0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce 0.25 tsp garlic 0.06 breadcrumbs Would you please give me the correct amount in tsp cup etc that I could understand. I really want to try your recipe. Thank you so so much
Tanya
Saturday 26th of March 2022
Hi Dorothy, I'm sorry to hear that. I am not having those issues when I press the print button on the site. I'll have my tech team look into it and see what's going on.