8 Frozen Turkey Burgers, Ranked Worst To Best

Everyone loves a good burger. Well, not everyone, but most people. And that's especially true now that burgers have evolved by leaps and bounds, beyond just your standard beef patty a la McDonald's or a July 4th cookout. Vegetarians can enjoy black bean or "impossible" burgers. Pescatarians can enjoy salmon or shrimp burgers. And anyone who doesn't eat beef can turn to a worthy competitor, the turkey burger.

Turkey burgers are often more nutrient-dense than their beef counterparts — typically less fat and fewer calories — but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're lighter on flavor. Well, not unless you buy the wrong ones! That's why this list exists: To help you pick out the best frozen turkey burgers for quick and satisfying meals. I found 8 widely available brands and put them to the test to determine which ones really stand out. Turkey burgers can be moist, flavorful, and meaty, too. You just need to know where to look.

Now, I love Trader Joe's, from its best snacks to its most popular chocolate treats, so I was prepared to love the turkey burgers from one of my favorite grocery stores. Trader Joe's is just the kind of store that's so pleasant to shop in (unless it's a super crowded weekend) that you hope all its products are amazing. Unfortunately, at first bite, I found these burgers had a bit of a strange texture; there was a grittiness, and also gristle caught between my teeth, which was immediately unappetizing. You never want to bite into a burger and be put off by a mysterious texture!

The Pros: $3.79 for four burgers is also a very nice price point, which is big potential plus. The other plus is that the flavor was nice, salted but not overly so, and with a clean turkey taste But the pros (flavor, price) weren't enough to make up for the cons, or make me want to finish eating his turkey burger.

I have tried Applegate products before and enjoyed them. It was always chicken, however, so I was interested to see how turkey stacked up. Unfortunately, these were far from my favorite turkey burgers, and I enjoyed many others in this ranking much more.

Applegate's burgers were a little on the dry end, and I really have a tough time enjoying a dry burger. The texture wasn't bad — neither spongy nor plastic — but the dryness was enough of an issue that I didn't really care for it otherwise. There was also very little flavor. Some, like Wahlburgers, have very few ingredients (just meat and salt) but still pack in a ton of turkey flavor. Applegate's has some rosemary extract, but lacks salt entirely, and I could certainly taste that. Also, I paid $11.99 for only four burgers, so these don't come cheap. I still like the brand quite a bit, but I probably won't buy Applegate turkey burgers again.

Simple Truth products can be found in stock at Harris Teeters around the country. These frozen turkey burgers cost me $11.99 for six, which is cheaper than Wahlburgers or Bubba, but pricier than Trader Joe's or Good & Gather. The ingredients are only turkey and rosemary extract, so these are unsalted. And yes, I could tell; a pinch of salt would have done wonders for these burgers.

I found Simple Truth's quite similar to Good & Gather; very middle-of-the-road, a bit dry and a bit bland, but ultimately serviceable. The texture was slightly dense and chewy, which didn't make for the most pleasant bite, but again, it wasn't as bad as some others were. So I had to rank this below Good & Gather, its taste and texture equivalent, due to the higher price point. Still, there's nothing seriously wrong with these turkey burgers. There's just nothing seriously memorable or delicious about them, either.

Target's Good & Gather line offers an alternative to name-brand products, and is often more affordable than its counterparts. It makes what we consider the best boxed beef broth and sells it for cheaper than the competition, and it's clearly taking a similar approach to turkey burgers too. These burgers run at around $8.99 for a pack of six patties, which is definitely on the more affordable end. They consist of white meat turkey, with pinches of seasoning like pepper, garlic, and onion in the patties.

These burgers are fine. They don't have a lot of flavor, and they're a bit on the dry end, but definitely not as dry as the burgers that rank lower on this list. They definitely need some sauce if you're putting them on a bun, and ideally some cheese, and especially, particularly, a sprinkle of seasoning. The texture isn't the best, being slightly spongy rather than meaty, but it's still passable. Due to their blandness and the existence of many other, better turkey burgers, even though I didn't hate these, I couldn't rank them any higher.

If you really, really, really like bacon, these turkey burgers from Mighty Spark could be for you. They are absolutely, completely, utterly packed with the flavor of, naturally, bacon. Honestly, biting into this patty felt like biting into a cluster of freshly fried bacon bits glued together with ground turkey. True, once the burger cooled more, I was better able to taste the turkey. But overall, this burger has a very bacon-forward flavor profile, aided by the fact that turkey does a great job of emphasizing other flavors.

It's also worth noting that these burgers had a fantastic texture. Think the opposite of a thin, lacey-edged diner smashburger; these are thick, juicy, and have a great mouthfeel. Not a bit of dry meat in the whole thing, perhaps aided, again, by the greasy bacon. Because yes, this burger is a little greasy, more than a little salty, and slightly extravagant. They're definitely not for everyday eating, and that's also due to the fact that I paid $5.99 for two patties, meaning each burger cost $3.00. They're totally worthwhile for a splurge, though! The brand offers Queso Fresco Jalapeño Turkey Patties, in addition to Bacon Bursting, but no basic plain turkey variety (or those would have been the ones I tasted for this ranking.)

Wahlburgers turkey burgers really surprised me! They have a ton of flavor, extremely meaty and genuine, and I checked the ingredients expecting to see plenty of herbs and spices. I was very surprised to see that these burgers only have two ingredients: turkey and salt. The salt really shows; these have a bit of a greasy, salty aftertaste, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for. If you'd like your burger to taste like the turkey version of a beef hamburger from a drive-through or diner, these are perfect.

They are very moist, tender, and juicy all the way through. After a few disappointing, dry, mostly flavorless turkey burgers, these were a refreshing change of pace. I'd eat these over most beef hamburgers any day. However, it's worth noting that I paid a whopping $14.99 for six of these burgers, so price is a major consideration. It's your choice whether or not the extra flavor is worth the extra cost.

The Bubba brand is on our list of best store-bought beef burgers, and the turkey burgers it sells also merit consideration. These sounded very promising, and thankfully, Bubba delivered. The burgers come out of the package misshapen, not in nice round circles but irregular blobs. That doesn't mean that they aren't delicious, though. Don't judge a burger by its frozen hockey-puck patty!

Bubba's turkey burgers come in a hefty eight-pack for only $11.49, and include turkey, salt, and rosemary extract. In my opinion, they have the perfect amount of salt — enough to bring out the natural flavor of the turkey, but not enough to taste overly salty. They are also very substantial and meaty, something you can sink your teeth into. Overall, I was a big fan of these burgers, but they didn't blow me away like the top turkey burgers did, so they earned the silver medal on this list.

These are the turkey burgers. They happened to be the final turkey burgers I tried, and wow, did I save the best for last! 

Butterball's contributions to this list are incredibly juicy and moist, while also being light rather than dense or heavy. They have a touch of that greasy diner flavor that you want in your burger, but not enough to be oily or leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Honestly, it's the ideal burger texture, be it turkey or beef. Any version of a burger hopes it can have this amazing texture.

As for the taste, it's also perfect — a clean, straight-down-the-line turkey flavor that's super savory and bright. I'd barely had a bite before I knew that this was the flavor profile I was looking for, the ideal balance. I paid $12.99 for six burgers, and they were well worth the price. Overall and in every category, these are the gold medal-winning frozen burgers. I'd absolutely buy these again.

There are fewer turkey burgers than beef burgers on the market, but as this ranking proves, a fine variety. I bought the most pure, basic turkey burger option each brand offered, but honestly, other than Mighty Spark, I don't think many brands offer more flavor-forward options in the same way beef burgers would (added cheese, spice blends,  in the patties).

All listed turkey burgers were cooked in the same way, as advised by the packaging, cooked on both sides in an oiled pan until the patty reached a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I then made sure to eat them plain, rather than on a bun or with sauce, to get the best sense of their flavor. I also made sure to eat them hot and fresh from the pan, to give them all their best shot.

I ranked the burgers considering a few simple factors: taste, texture, and price. The flashiest burgers — the ones with more spices or the thicker patties — didn't necessarily rank higher than the ones with fewer ingredients. It was all down to the success of the burger itself.