Simple Ground Chicken Burgers
Published 5/27/2023 • Updated 8/20/2024
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If you are looking for a staple ground chicken burger recipe, this is it! Our secret to super moist chicken burgers is actually adding some cold butter into the mixture. We tested these with and without butter and can I just say HOLY COW butter FTW.
For flavors we used classic ingredients you’d find in other burger recipes, but with one little special addition– pickle juice! Trust us. Oh, and I almost forgot. We slathered her in our secret burger sauce before serving.
How to Get Your Chicken Burgers So Dang Juicy!
If you’re thinking that ground chicken is too lean for burgers, you are wrong! We have a few secrets up our sleep to make sure they come out so flavorful and extra moist (re: pickle juice and butter).
- Add Fat: ground chicken is an extremely lean meat to work with which oftentimes can result in a dry outcome. By adding some diced butter, you are adding just the right amount of fat to make them moist.
- Moisture: you’ll notice that we added a few different liquid flavors into these burgers and this helps add moisture. Worcestershire sauce and pickle juice both help with this,
- Don’t Overcook: always have your meat thermometer on hand so you don’t overcook. Sometimes with chicken burgers, it’s hard to eyeball the doneness with the color of the meat, so a meat thermometer is the most precise way to make sure you don’t overcook.
Why You Don’t need any other burger recipes in your life
Super Simple: homemade ground chicken burgers are so easy to make. Combine the meat mixture, turn them into patties, and cook.
30-Min Meal: In less than 30 minutes, dinner will be ready!
High-Protein: Per burger, you get 16g protein.
Moist: dry chicken burgers no more! We’re sharing our top secrets for moist chicken burgers.
What You Need for Moist Ground Chicken Burgers
- Ground chicken: this recipe calls for 1-lb. ground chicken. You can buy it pre-ground, or make your own.
- Onion: onion adds such amazing flavor to this chicken burger recipe. Feel free to either use yellow or white.
- Worcestershire: we are huge fans of Worcestershire. It’s a savory, vinegar flavor that is so perfect for these burgers.
- Pickle Juice: call us crazy, but every burger recipe needs pickle juice. It adds just the right amount of vinegar to balance all the flavors.
- Breadcrumbs: breadcrumbs help bind the burger together as well as add texture.
- Chives: fresh chives are so good in this recipe!
- Butter: diced butter is essential for adding a little bit of fat to these chicken burgers. Plus, when it melts, it’s like a flavor explosion.
- Spices: the spices used in this recipe are chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Chicken Burgers
Prep Meat Mixture
Place all the ingredients for the chicken burger patties into a large bowl. Mix to combine.
Form Patties
Slightly wet your hands and scoop out 1/3 cup of the meat mixture and then create the patty in your palms. Flatten them until they are 1/2 inch thick. Repeat 6 times.
Quick tip!
As the chicken burgers cook, they will slightly shrink. So, if you bought big buns or want bigger burgers, just beware that they will shrink as they cook.
Grilling Directions
- Place a piece of tin foil on top of your grill and spray with a generous amount of nonstick cooking spray.
- Grill ground chicken burgers at 375ºF over direct heat for around 4 minutes on each side. Once they have gorgeous grill marks, move them to indirect heat and top with a slice of cheese.
- Cook for an additional 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Grill until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Let Rest
Remove the chicken burgers from the grill and transfer to a large plate. Let rest for around 5 minutes.
Serve
Serve chicken burgers with on your favorite bun with avocado, tomato, lettuce, and our secret burger sauce (scroll down!).
Other cooking methods
Don’t have a grill? Here are a few other cooking options for you.
Pan Fry: Pan fry chicken burgers in olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium/high heat for around 10 minutes, flipping every few minutes.
Bake: Bake chicken burgers at 375ºF for around 10-12 minutes.
Just make sure you cook your burgers to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
How to Top Your Chicken Burgers
We topped these chicken burger patties with some of our favorite things: avocado, tomato, and lettuce. Here are a few other ideas
- Pickles
- Relish
- Caramelized Onions
- Fried Egg
- Ketchup
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Secret Chicken Burger Sauce
Every burger needs a secret burger sauce and we’re about to share ours. So, I guess it’s not that secret anymore!
Our burger sauce is made with the base of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise and had other flavors such as pickle juice, ketchup, garlic, and lemon juice, It’s quite life-changing if you ask us and you don’t want to skip this!
Combine all ingredients for our secret burger sauce in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Use in place of ketchup and mustard.
serve your burger with fries!
Serve your ground chicken burgers with any of the following sides for a yummy dinner!
Simple Chicken Burger Recipe (+ Epic Burger Sauce!)
Ingredients
Burger Patties
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 small white onion, finely grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on spice level
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs, gluten-free if desired
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons minced chives
- 3 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small cubes
Burger Sauce
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
Other ingredients
- 6 burger buns
- 6 slices of swiss cheese, or cheddar
- 1 large avocado, pitted and cut into thin slices
- 1 large Roma tomato, cut into thin slices
- 6 large pieces of iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 375ºF.
- Prepare the burger sauce by adding all of the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Mix ingredients together until combined. Place the sauce in the refrigerator for later.
- Next, place all of the ingredients for the chicken burgers (except for the butter) into a large bowl and mix until everything is well combined. Then fold in the cold butter cubes.
- Wet your hands with a little water and then use a ⅓ cup scoop to scoop the burger mixture into your hands. Form a ball with the burger mixture and then flatten the ball into a ½ inch patty. Place the patty onto a greased plate. Repeat until all of the burger mixture has been made into patties. We got 6 burgers.
- Place a piece of tin foil on your grill grates and spray it with a generous amount of non-stick cooking spray. Then place the burger patties over direct heat for 4 minutes on each side.
- Once the burgers are charred and firm, move them to indirect heat and place a piece of cheese on each burger and let the burger patties sit over indirect heat until the cheese melts (about 2 minutes) and the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.* Remove from the grill.
- Let the burgers sit for 5 minutes.
- Assemble the burgers. Place a piece of iceberg lettuce on the bottom half of the bun, followed by the tomato, avocado slices, and then the burger patty.
- Then, add 1-2 tablespoons of the burger sauce to the top half of the bun and place that on top of the burger patty. Enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- If you decide to make 4 large burgers, you may need to cook your patties longer. Just make sure the internal temperature reaches 165ºF before consuming.
- Nutrition information is just for the ground chicken burger patty.
- Option to toast your buns before serving.
- If you are not using cheese, move the burgers over direct heat and monitor the internal temperature of the burgers.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
I’ve made a few different versions of chicken burgers, and this is the best by far! My search is over. Also, one of the tastiest things I’ve eaten, period. Love!
Wow we’re blushing! Thanks so much, Lori!