Juicy Chicken Burger Recipe

This ground chicken burger recipe is seriously delicious. The secret is a mixture of spiced veggies that we mix right into the patties. Trust me, you’ll want to make these again and again.

The moment we nailed the recipe for these chicken burgers, I immediately put everything back on my shopping list so we could make them again soon. Mixing veggies right into the ground chicken is a game-changer. They add so much flavor, color, and keep the burgers extra juicy.

If you’ve made our turkey burgers or turkey meatloaf, you already know we’re big fans of sneaking veggies into our recipes. It’s the best way to keep ground meat dishes juicy and flavorful.

Key Ingredients

• Ground Chicken: As with all of our recipes that call for ground chicken, use ground meat with a bit of fat. Look for 93% lean 7% fat or 93/7 on the package, which indicates it’s a blend of ground chicken breast and dark meat. You can also substitute ground turkey for the chicken in this recipe.
• Veggies: We fold a mixture of cooked zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and garlic into the burger mix. You can substitute eggplant or yellow squash (summer squash). Between the vegetables and spices, these remind me of the flavors of late-summer ratatouille. So delicious!
• Tomato Paste, Vinegar, and Spices: This burger recipe is not afraid of flavor, so we add lots with tomato paste, oregano, smoked paprika, and red wine vinegar.
• Egg and Breadcrumbs: We don’t want too much filler here, but a whole egg plus an egg yolk helps the burgers hold together, adds flavor, and a bit of fat (we use the same combo in our meatloaf recipe). Then, a small amount of panko breadcrumbs helps the mixture firm up, making it easier to form into burgers and cook.
• Extras: Choose your favorite burger buns, then spread a bit of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard over them (like a make-shift Dijonaise). I love a little crunch from lettuce, and always add some cheese. Gruyère or Swiss are amazing with the other flavors in the chicken burger patties.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Chicken Burgers

Tip 1: Make the veggie mix. Lean ground chicken needs help in the flavor department, so we cook a simple mixture of finely chopped zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and garlic until cooked down, soft and lightly caramelized. It takes about 10 minutes and is so worth it!

Just as the veggies are finishing up, we stir in tomato paste and dried oregano. Then, as they cool, we stir in red wine vinegar. You can see the final mixture below. It adds so much incredible flavor to these chicken burgers.

Tip 2: Mix the eggs and spices before adding the chicken. We use this trick a lot when working with ground meat. So that the spices, salt, and egg are well distributed, whisk them together first, then add your ground chicken.

Tip 3: Finish with vegetables and breadcrumbs. Before forming your burgers, mix in the vegetable mixture and panko breadcrumbs. Your hands are usually the best tool for this kind of job, but a fork works.

Tip 4: Chill to firm up. Pop the burger mixture into the fridge for 20 minutes to let the breadcrumbs absorb the moisture. This helps with flavor and makes forming the burgers easier.

Tip 5: Start in a skillet, finish in the oven. To get some color, brown the burgers on both sides in a skillet in a little olive oil, then transfer them to a preheated oven to finish cooking in the middle.

We like forming our burger mix into big meatballs, then adding them to the skillet and pressing them into patties. Once they are brown on both sides, we bake them until almost done, then add cheese and continue to bake until the burgers are cooked in the middle and the cheese melts.

Serving Suggestions

When assembling the burgers, we love a buttery burger bun with some mayo and Dijon spread onto each half and crunchy lettuce (iceberg or butter lettuce is great). Then, we keep the sides simple. Adam loves roasted potato wedges or baked French fries. I love sweet potato fries, and our son loves tater tots.

Something fresh, cool, and crispy would be really nice, too. Try our orzo pasta salad, creamy cucumber salad, or our cherry tomato salad. A side salad would be lovely. I especially love homemade ranch or our simple lemon vinaigrette.

More of Our Favorite Ground Chicken Recipes