These Turkey, Apple and Bean Burgers are a great way to slip a few more legumes into your meal. A healthier burger patty that’s easy to make, freezes well and is also easily baby and toddler friendly! Gluten free, nut free and dairy free.
Are you trying to add more legumes into your diet? This is something I’m actively working on for our family meals this year. I’m pretty good at chucking some chickpeas in a salad – and we go through hummus by the kilo – but it’s time to get more creative than that. Lentils, butter beans, cannellini beans, black beans, I want to use them all.
In these Turkey, Apple and Bean Burgers I’ve used cannellini beans to make some awesome hybrid meat/bean burger patties. Adding legumes to meat-based dishes is great for your gut (more plants, more fibre) and your wallet too, as it stretches out the more expensive meat across more meals. This recipe is a simple, sly way to increase your legume intake and moderate your meat consumption!
How to make baby friendly burger patties
With only a few very minor adjustments these burger patties make a great finger food for babies and toddlers. I have given them to my boys (aged around 10.5 months) both as finger food, and crumbled up and mashed in with some pureed sweet potato.
To make baby friendly burger patties – just make these without adding salt! Small children shouldn’t consume too many foods with added salt because their tiny kidneys cannot handle the sodium. I usually make the burger patty mixture up completely without the salt, portion some aside for the bubs, then season the remaining mixture that the adults will eat.
I’d also recommend making the patties smaller so they’re easier to break apart into pieces that little fingers can hold. You could even shape some of the mixture into mini meatballs which are always a fun food.
My Turkey, Apple and Bean Burgers are a healthy and family friendly recipe. The patties are gluten free, dairy free and nut free, so they cater to many intolerances and can also be included in a school lunch box. I have also made the burger patties without the egg before – they don’t hold together as perfectly but you can still make the burgers without it if you need to make this an egg free recipe.
How to freeze burger patties
These burger patties can be frozen either uncooked or cooked. Either way,
- layer them between slices of non stick baking paper, so they don’t get all jammed together, and then
- store in a suitable airtight container or freezer bag.
Make a healthy turkey burger bowl!
At home, we love these burger patties on top of a homemade burger bowl, which usually has the following ingredients:
- roasted potato and/or sweet potato – or sometimes my Cinnamon Paprika Sweet Potato Fries;
- shredded lettuce;
- diced tomato;
- diced cucumber;
- grated carrot;
- sliced onion;
- beetroot and/or pickles if we have them!
Top it all off with your favourite sauces and tuck in. I’ll also usually drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt over the salad veggies to give them a bit more flavour.
If you make my Turkey, Apple and Bean Burgers let me know! Take a snap and tag me on Instagram, you’ll find me at @moniquecormacknutrition 🙂
Turkey, Apple and Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 500 grams turkey mince
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 apple (I used a pink lady apple in the burgers pictured)
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 4 tbsp brown rice flour or standard (white) rice flour
- salt and pepper to season
- olive oil for pan frying the burgers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Grate the apple and set aside.
- Drain and rinse cannellini beans. Place in a large bowl and mash roughly using a fork or potato masher. It’s okay if a few whole beans remain.
- Add the turkey mince, grated apple, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to the beans. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Sprinkle over the flour and stir again so the flour is incorporated into the mixture.
- Use your hands to shape the mixture into eight patties. Heat a pan up to moderate heat and add a teaspoon of oil to the pan. Pan fry the patties for 2 minutes on either side or until starting to brown, then place on the lined baking tray.
- Once all the patties are browned pop the tray in the oven and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the patties are cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
What does mince mean? Is it cooked meat? I’m not familiar with this term