Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple

Most weeks I have no problem coming up with ideas for The Hungry Pinner, but not this week. I was really struggling after combing through my pins, so I asked my husband for suggestions. He surprised me by suggesting teriyaki. Teriyaki? Hmmm. I know I’ve had it, but it’s been a very long time. And I think I liked it, so why not blog it? So I went back to my boards and found Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple. Grilled burgers with a healthy twist, topped with a slice of pineapple. This I had to try.

Hawaiian Teriyaki Burgers. Moist, juicy chicken or turkey burgers topped with a sweet and tangy teriyaki burger sauce, grilled pineapple, and onion.

Recipe Author: Erin at Well Plated by Erin
Get the recipe

The Ingredients

Now that I had decided on a recipe, the next logical step was grocery shopping. I ordered my groceries from Whole Foods delivery this week because I was having a fibromyalgia flare-up. It makes getting around difficult and painful, so a big shopping trip was out of the question.

Whole Foods delivery service is usually excellent, but this week there were a few issues. First, the ground turkey listed on their website was listed as 94% lean. The recipe calls for 93% lean, so I wasn’t sweating the slight difference. However, the ground turkey they delivered said it was 99% lean on the packaging. Eeek! That sounded like the makings of a very dry burger.

Another issue I had was with the fresh ginger. I thought the pieces they delivered were very small, but that wasn’t a big deal. Then I started peeling a piece as I was preparing my burgers. That’s when I realized it wasn’t ginger at all but turmeric root. Ugh! They are not interchangeable. Fortunately, a quick Google told me I could substitute ground ginger. It wasn’t ideal, but it saved me since I had already started cooking.

Otherwise, the rest of the ingredients I ordered were just as expected. The only thing I couldn’t find was the whole wheat panko bread crumbs. I just used regular panko instead.

Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple Ingredients
Ground turkey, whole wheat hamburger buns, red onion, garlic, ginger, panko bread crumbs, cilantro, honey, soy sauce, pineapple rings, rice vinegar, cornstarch, and black pepper

The Process

Making these teriyaki burgers was very straightforward and divided into two major parts: making the sauce and making the burgers. Here is how the times broke down:

  • 15 minutes to prepare the sauce and form the burgers
  • 30 minutes to refrigerate the burgers
  • 16 minutes to grill
  • 3 minutes to assemble 4 burgers
  • 62 minutes total

The instructions were clear and easy to follow as written. The sauce was the easiest part of this recipe, and all I needed was a small saucepan to make it. It did thicken up pretty fast though, so be sure to keep an eye on it.

Grilling the pineapple, onions, buns, and burgers was a bit more work, but mostly because I had to gather the food and tools to grill outside. A long spatula and basting brush were essential tools here. I’m sure I don’t have to mention that it’s not fun to get too close to a hot grill.

As you can see, I didn’t really plan when I laid out the food on the grill. It ended up being a fit everything where there’s space situation, but it all worked out.

The burgers had rested for five minutes by the time I brought everything inside, and it was time to assemble them. No extra condiments were needed, so this step was just a matter of layering the grilled items and extra teriyaki sauce on the buns. Super simple!

Grilling the burgers, pineapple, onions, and buns
Grilling the teriyaki burgers, pineapple rings, red onions slices, and whole wheat buns

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
These teriyaki burgers were easy to make just looked gorgeous thanks to the grilled pineapple topping. Although I ended up using leaner ground turkey than was recommended, I ended up with juicy burgers. That was impressive! As far as taste, they were good not great, at least from my point of view. I think my husband liked them more but said he probably wouldn't ask me to make them again. The teriyaki sauce had a little bit of a zing but mostly tasted like soy sauce to me. I found that it overpowered the rest of the ingredients. I'm not sure what teriyaki sauce is supposed to taste like, so I don't know what went wrong here. It may have been too much soy sauce or it may have been too strong. It may also be due to having to replace the fresh ginger with ground ginger at the last minute, but I'm not certain.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

Popular

This post may contain affiliate links to products available to purchase through Amazon. These purchases earn a small commission that funds The Hungry Pinner. There is never any additional cost to you.

More Recipes Like This

LEAVE A REPLY

Comments are welcome! Please be aware that all comments are reviewed before they are posted and will not appear immediately.

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

These teriyaki burgers were easy to make just looked gorgeous thanks to the grilled pineapple topping. Although I ended up using leaner ground turkey than was recommended, I ended up with juicy burgers. That was impressive! As far as taste, they were good not great, at least from my point of view. I think my husband liked them more but said he probably wouldn't ask me to make them again. The teriyaki sauce had a little bit of a zing but mostly tasted like soy sauce to me. I found that it overpowered the rest of the ingredients. I'm not sure what teriyaki sauce is supposed to taste like, so I don't know what went wrong here. It may have been too much soy sauce or it may have been too strong. It may also be due to having to replace the fresh ginger with ground ginger at the last minute, but I'm not certain. Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple