Ground Chicken Burgers

Delicious and moist Ground Chicken Burgers are easy to cook on the grill or stovetop—the perfect quick and healthy weeknight dinner recipe.

Chicken burgers are a great healthier alternative to beef. There is almost no fat, and if cooked wrong, you have dry, tasteless patties.

This ground chicken burger recipe uses a panade to keep the chicken patties moist and tender. The chicken will pick up flavors from your favorite seasons to make a perfectly delicious meal.

You can easily make turkey burgers with the same recipe or make the patties gluten-free with your choice of bread crumbs.

Chicken or turkey burgers will fit a healthy diet like a low-calorie or low-fat diet or even a low-carb keto diet.

Related Recipes

For that BBQ cookout, check out these other burger recipes like Grilled Hamburger Tutorial, Juicy Lucy Burger, or Smokehouse Burgers. And for healthy options, see Healthy Low Fat Burgers, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, or Grilled Portobello Mushrooms.

🥣Substitutions and options

• Ground chicken can be either lean from breast meat or fuller fat from chicken thighs. The breast meat will tend to dry easier, while the fat in dark meat can lead to juicier results.
• Ground turkey may also be used with this recipe to make turkey burgers.
• Panko breadcrumbs will give more meat texture, while regular bread crumbs will be smoother. You may use gluten-free bread crumbs.
• Panko breadcrumbs come in various flavors, so choose what you like. I suggest cheese-flavored or Italian bread crumbs.
• The mayonnaise adds flavor and moisture to the panade—use either full-fat or low-fat mayonnaise. Plain Greek yogurt can be used, or even milk.
• A teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce will add a deeper flavor to make the chicken taste more beef-like.
• Seasoning: Chicken takes flavor well, so your possibilities for seasoning and topping are endless. Make it Italian with some basil and Italian bread crumbs. Make it Southwest with some salsa, guacamole or avocado, and jalapenos. Maybe a bit of your favorite BBQ sauce. Or even blue cheese and buffalo sauce.

Making chicken patties ahead

You can make these chicken patties and store them airtight and refrigerated for three days or freeze them for three months.

How to prevent chicken burgers from falling apart?

They are delicate, but you can have excellent results with some care.

1. The panade needs to be thick and pasty. If it has too much liquid, it will tend to fall apart.
2. Don't make the patties too thin. ⅜ is the minimum.
3. Make the patties on wax paper or parchment paper to help when you move them to the grill or pan.
4. Keep the patties cool, work fast, and refrigerate if delayed.
5. Oil everything well, like grill grates or pans.
6. If cooking on the stovetop, use a non-stick or cast iron skillet.
7. Do not flip too much.
8. If all else fails, mix in an egg next time.

❓FAQs

🍴How to serve Chicken Burgers?

Serve on a hamburger bun like a beef burger, and add cheese of your choice and condiments like ketchup and mustard. Then top with lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, and maybe a slice of avocado.

If it is a cookout, the typical cookout dishes like potato salad, coleslaw, potato chips, Macaroni Salad, or Corn on the Cob.

For stovetop, all the above and perhaps Crispy Baked French Fries or Microwave Corn on the Cob.

❄️Storage of leftover chicken patties

Store leftovers for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or a freezer for three months. See the CDC for Chicken Safety Tips.

Safety Tips

Cook the chicken patties to 165° internal temperature measured with an instant-read thermometer—do not guess.

Store all raw poultry separately from other foods and use a separate cutting board. Wash all instruments and surfaces that touch raw poultry with appropriate disinfectants.

Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds after touching raw poultry.

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

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Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Use the seasoning of your choice. You may use ground turkey instead.

Mix 1 pound of ground chicken with ½ cup Panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add seasoning of your choice. I use All-Purpose Seasoning or use ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Do not over-mix.

Use ¼ to ⅓ pounds of meat per burger patty and form into ⅜ to ½ inch thick and about 3 ½ to 4-inch diameter patties. Add a slight "dimple" about the size of a quarter and ⅛ inch deep in the center.

Preheat a well-oiled grill on high heat. Or on the stovetop, preheat a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium.-high heat with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil until shimmering.

Cook for about 5 minutes per side until the internal temperature is 165°.

📖 Recipe

Ground Chicken Burgers

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Delicious and moist Ground Chicken Burgers are easy to cook on the grill or stovetop—the perfect quick and healthy weeknight dinner recipe.

Tap to leave a Rating

4.42 from 31 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 4

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

• ▢ 1 pound ground chicken breast
• ▢ ½ cup panko bread crumbs
• ▢ 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder - optional

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Instructions

Photos ONOFF

• Use the seasoning of your choice. You may use ground turkey instead.
  
• Mix 1 pound of ground chicken with ½ cup Panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add seasoning of your choice. I use All-Purpose Seasoning or use ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Do not over-mix.
  
• Use ¼ to ⅓ pounds of meat per burger patty and form into ⅜ to ½ inch thick and about 3 ½ to 4-inch diameter patties. Add a slight "dimple" about the size of a quarter and ⅛ inch deep in the center.
  
• Preheat a well-oiled grill on high heat. Or on the stovetop, preheat a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium.-high heat with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil until shimmering.
  
• Cook for about 5 minutes per side until the internal temperature is 165°.
  

Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

1. Adjust the number of chicken burgers you want.
2. I suggest panko bread crumbs. Use the flavor you have. You can also use other starches like crackers.
3. I like the mayo here but use milk or plain yogurt if you prefer.
4. Ground chicken needs to cook to 165° for safety but do not overcook, or they will dry.
5. The dimple in the middle of the burger needs to be there to prevent it from puffing up and becoming harder to get to the correct temperature.
6. This recipe will work with a wide variety of grill temperatures. Just be sure to cook to the right final internal temperature.
7. If cooking on a stovetop, a grill pan provides a nice touch of grill marks.
8. Chicken burgers are more "tender" than beef. So handle them with care, or they may fall apart.
9. Seasoning and cooking tips in the recipe post.
10. Nutrition is calculated using lean ground chicken breasts and low fat mayo.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving : 4 ozCalories : 158.1 kcal (8%)Carbohydrates : 6.5 g (2%)Protein : 20.9 g (42%)Fat : 4.3 g (7%)Saturated Fat : 0.8 g (4%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 1.1 gMonounsaturated Fat : 0.4 gTrans Fat : 0.01 gCholesterol : 56.1 mg (19%)Sodium : 459.3 mg (19%)Potassium : 615.2 mg (18%)Fiber : 0.4 g (2%)Sugar : 0.7 g (1%)Vitamin A : 5.6 IUVitamin C : 0.1 mgCalcium : 22.8 mg (2%)Iron : 1.3 mg (7%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : American

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Originally Published May 7, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.