Best Chicken Burger Recipe
The best chicken burger recipe comes with juiciness and tons of flavor! It’s easy, adaptable, and will change your mind about chicken burgers.
About My Chicken Burger
Ground chicken, much like ground turkey, doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to burgers. I’m thrilled that my turkey burger recipe has gained so much momentum over the last few months, and that led me to hitting the drawing board and coming up with a ground chicken equal.
It absolutely is possible to snub red meat and opt for leaner and healthier choices without sacrificing texture and flavor. It’s all about using the right ingredients. (And, of course, enough spices!)
Recipe Tips
Unlike fatty red meats, ground chicken is more dense and lacks the flavor that fat offers. So it’s important to add ingredients that break up the density and bring tenderness to your patties so you can enjoy your burger. Because nothing is more sad than a shitty burger.
Here are a few key additions:
- Fat. The point of eating ground chicken burgers in the first place is to avoid extra fattiness, I get it. But you do need some fat in order to have good texture and flavor. And full fat Greek yogurt does the trick.
- Binders. Eggs act as great binders and offer up moisture. Another important ingredient that acts as a binder and helps to soften ground chicken is panko breadcrumbs.
- Flavor. You don’t have to be shy with seasonings when it comes to ground chicken. I go for fresh herbs when I can, but you can do dry. I also like to add a dollop of whole grain old style mustard—it adds a subtle tanginess.
- Liquid smoke. This will really give you that charbroiled flavor we all love in a burger.
Ingredients
- Ground chicken
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- White onion
- Liquid smoke
- Plain full fat Greek yogurt
- Whole grain old style mustard
- Egg
- Panko breadcrumbs
How to Make Chicken Burgers
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and give it a good mixing with your bare hands until the mixture is well blended.
- Lightly oil your hand with a smidgen of olive oil; this will help keep the mixture from sticking to your hands because the mixture is a little sticky.
- One at a time, create four patties out of the mixture, placing each one onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press your thumb into the center of each patty to make a divot.
- Pop the patties into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes to set.
- When ready, heat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Oil the grates up nicely to prevent sticking.
- Place the patties onto the grill, close the lid, and let the patties cook for 5 minutes.
- Carefully flip the patties, close the lid, and cook for another 5 minutes or until the patties reach an internal temperature of 165º F. About a minute before the patties are ready, you can top them with a slice of cheese to get a nice melty cheeseburger.
- When the patties are done, transfer them to a clean plate or serving platter.
- Then pop the patties onto some buns and dress your burgers to your liking.
Useful Kitchen Tools
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Sharp knife
- Cutting Board
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Microplane (optional, but great for grating garlic to a paste)
- Meat thermometer
- Tongs
- Grill spatula
Swaps + Substitutions
- You can swap out the liquid smoke for Worcestershire sauce or low-sodium soy sauce. You won’t get the smoky flavor with the latter two, but you’ll get a great punch of umami.
- Using dry herbs in place of fresh herbs is totally okay.
- If you aren’t a fan of Greek yogurt and don’t want to buy a container of it just for this recipe, you could use sour cream or mayonnaise instead!
- The mustard is optional, and you could definitely use a nice spicy brown mustard or Dijon instead.
Have You Made This Recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!
You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme
More Ground Poultry Recipes:
- Greek-Style Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Ground Chicken Meatballs in Sauce
- Italian Wedding Soup With Chicken Meatballs
- Instant Pot Ground Turkey Tacos
- Instant Pot Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes
Best Chicken Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tsp sea salt
- A few cranks of cracked black pepper
- 1 clove of garlic, grate to a paste or minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 TBSP liquid smoke
- 1 heaping TBSP full fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 TBSP Whole grain old style mustard
- 1 egg, ligtly beaten
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Place parchment paper over a baking sheet.
- Put all of the chicken burger patty ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, with clean hands, mix until well blended.
- Lightly oil your hands with some olive oil to help keep the mixture from sticking to your hands. One at a time, form four patties out of the mixture, and place each one onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Gently press your thumb into the center of each patty to make a divot; this prevents the meat from shrinking over high heat.
- Put the patties in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes so that they can set.
- When you're ready, heat the grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grate dipping a wad of paper towel into some canola oil and then, with tongs, lightly dragging the paper towel over the grate to create a slick surface. This will keep the patties from sticking to the hot grates.
- Place the patties onto the grill, close the lid, and cook for 5 minutes. Carefully flip the patties, close the lid, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the patties reach an internal temperature of 165º F. About a minute before the patties are ready, you can top them with a slice of cheese to get a nice melty cheeseburger.
- Once the patties are done, transfer them to a clean plate or serving platter.
- Put the patties onto some buns and dress your burgers to your liking!
105 Comments on “Best Chicken Burger Recipe”
What a burger! This is next level.
I love being able to cut back on calories without cutting out flavor. This is a great recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This was a hit with everyone in my house, and the kids didn’t even know it wasn’t a beef burger. That’s a win-win in my book!
Ground beef has become so expensive that I’ve been substituting ground chicken or turkey in a lot of my ground beef recipes. I hadn’t done it with burgers until now, though, and we loved it!
These are fantastic! Everyone absolutely loved them. Such a great twist on a burger.
This is such an amazing burger recipe! Everyone at my house really enjoyed it!
Oh yum! This chicken burger is amazing. Love all those flavors and especially the melty cheese.
I believe you are right. This chicken burger will change my mind about them. The flavors are fantastic, and I love that I can customize my toppings.
No lies detected when it’s said this is the best chicken burger recipe. Seriously, so delicious! Really nice change from a traditional beef burger. Thank you for this incredible recipe that my family loved!
I love how flavorful these are, and the trick of adding yoghurt is not one I have tried before!
Never thought of adding the yogurt into the patty mix! It definitely kept the burgers moist as we grilled them. Tastes so much better stuffed in a bun!
What a fabulous chicken burger! I love the idea of allowing the burgers to rest in the refrigerator for 30 Minutes before cooking. Hoping to try this very soon!
My mouth is watering just looking at this marvelous chicken burger. I can’t wait to taste it.
YUM girl! This is the best chicken burger recipe and it’s going into the rotation! I love the simple ingredients and all of your tips. Thanks for another winner!
Love this chicken burger so much! Huge win after having so many beef burgers this summer. I loved how light and awesome it was. Thank you for yet another awesome recipe!
The best chicken burger by far! We all loved it, even my three teenage sons devoured them.
Amazing burgers! I never tried liquid smoke before and it worked so well!
I’ve been trying to cut out red meat as much as possible lately, so this chicken burger is exactly what I need when I’m craving a burger! Can’t wait to try this out, it looks delicious!
This looks like a great alternative to the classic burger if you are trying to avoid red meat. Looking forward to trying it for our summer cookouts!
You nailed it on the seasoning for these burgers! I’ve never had good luck with making chicken burgers before. They have always been too sticky to work with and kind of boring in flavor. The breadcrumbs and liquid smoke made this so delish!
Outstanding recipe thanks so much! tasted so much good!
Oh my this recipe was so easy and delicious.
I ground my own chicken trying to make it a little less mushy.
The mixture was pretty soupy so I froze the raw patties for about 30 minutes before putting them in a hamburger grill basket.
We grilled them 6 minutes per side on our electric grill.
I believe my husband told me 10 times during dinner they were the best chicken burgers he had ever eaten .
Now, I did add a chopped seeded jalapeno and chopped pecan to the ingredients.
Next time 2 jalapenos.
Oh, I love the web site name
Definitely the best chicken burger recipe! Thank you! It was so juicy and flavorful.
This chicken burger is fantastic. Thanks for the great recipe.
This is a colourful burger. I haven’t tried liquid smoke but I bet it will be lovely in this recipe.
These chicken burgers were epic. Really juicy.
I never thought of using minced chicken and I love the liquid smoke flavour. Well done.
Thank you! So good! Loved the mustard!
This looks really delicious and fairly simple to make! Can’t wait to try it out! thanks for the recipe 🙂
I’ve not tried liquid smoke yet, I must give it a go. I tend to add marmite if I want a savoury slightly smoky flavour.
WOW! This was very delicious and I cannot wait to make it all summer!
Thank you for the tips on grilling chicken burgers. These will make a nice alternative to beef burgers this Memorial Day!
This was such a hit! Thank you… loved all the ingredients.
Didn’t think chicken burgers could be good but these were awesome. Only made them because we had my parents for dinner and my pa is off red meat. Thank you ma’am!
You’re very welcome, sir! :)
This was a such a delicious and easy recipe! I went perfect with my dinner meal. So good!
I’m glad!
Wow, this flavorful and juicy, chicken burger looks fantastic! I can’t wait to dig into one!
Let me know what you think!
Oh man! This looks like burger perfection to me! Can’t wait to fire up my grill soon. :)
Aww yeah, I feel that! Let me know if you try it.
These chicken burgers were so juicy and filled with flavor! I loved these for dinner and the yogurt made them extra tender. I used a lettuce wrap instead of a bun and it was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
This chicken burger came out super moist on the inside and had the perfect grilled taste on the outside.
Yay!
The thyme in this was so good! I added some mushrooms on top, too. Absolutely amazing!
Love a burger with mushrooms!
When I saw that this had Greek Yogurt added to it, I thought it was really odd. But it made such a huge difference. I loved it!
I’m glad!
I really did like the mustard added to the burger! It gave it such a different flavor when it was cooked in with the meat rather than added as a topper.
Great!
My favourite chicken burger recipe! Loved it!
Awesome to hear, Eni!
These chicken burgers look gorgeous – crisp on the outside and perfectly tender too. So delicious.
Thanks!
Wow, this chicken burger looks and sounds incredible. Definitely trying this ASAP!
Keep me posted!
Thank you
You’re welcome!
I made however used ground Turkey. I was skeptical however it was killer yummy.
I’m glad! I have a highly rated turkey burger recipe too, if you ever want to try that. Here’s the link: https://www.killingthyme.net/2021/11/02/best-turkey-burger-recipe/
We had these burgers for dinner last night and they were incredibly delicious! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
This chicken burger is so flavorful! Thank you for sharing the tip about setting the patties, I never knew!
I’m glad you found that useful!
This is a top notch chicken burger that has the perfect amount of flavor. I highly recommend this tasty recipe.
Thanks, Ryan!
I love the flavours you added. I must buy some liquid smoke.
Liquid smoke is a game changer ;)
Love the flavors in this chicken burger recipe. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Great recipe. Really didn’t think chicken burgers would be this good and this tender, but I’m trying to eat less red meat so gave this a shot. It didn’t disappoint.
I’m so happy to hear this, Trevor! Definitely my goal with this recipe, and my turkey burger.
Move over hamburger! The new kid is on the blog. Loved this burger, really juicy and flavorful patties. Plus, all the trimmmings…yum!
Haha, thanks Irena!
These chicken burgers are tender and juicy! I’m making them again this weekend for our neighborhood BBQ!
Hope everyone loved them, Alison!
The chicken burger is so juicy and full of flavors. We are loving it.
Awesome to hear!
We had these burgers over the weekend and they were absolutely incredible! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
I mean, is there even a better burger recipe than this? This burger is absolutely stunning! Love it…
Ah, thanks so much, Elaine!
Great recipe, it came out very juicy and because the chicken is lean it feels quite healthy too.
Thank you, Chef!
Hi Dana! Great recipe! Who doesn’t love a good juicy chicken burger? Adding a touch of liquid smoke was brilliant. I used GF panko to keep this gluten-free. Thanks!
Thanks, Elaine! Glad you could successfully put a GF spin onto this.
Truelly amazing in taste and flavors in this recipe. Will definitely make again, very good recipe!
Thank you kindly, Suja!
These burgers were perfectly seasoned, my whole family loved them. We WILL be making these again, thank you so much for the recipe!
That’s awesome, April. I’m so glad!
the liquid smoke really made a huge difference everyone loved this here and will make it again it was a hit!
Great to hear!
Drooling over this chicken burger. I just can’t wait to try this delicious recipe/
Let me know what you think, ok?
These were great! We grilled some last night and they were so good — can’t even compare them to past cardboard chicken burgers we’ve tried. This will now be our go to recipe. Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.
These chicken burgers are so good, and it’s going to be perfect for Father’s Day.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
My family loves having this chicken burger! The burger patties came out juicy and not dry. Love the addition of the liquid smoke which gives it a much tastier flavor!
I agree on the liquid smoke! So glad everyone enjoyed them.
I love making burgers, but hadn’t thought of trying it with ground chicken before. These are yummy and perfect for the warm grilling season.
Ground chicken has a bad rap for burgers, which is why it took me a long time to give this a shot too. Glad you think they’re yummy!
I loved all the flavor you’ve packed into this healthy burger recipe! The patties stayed nice and moist too!
So glad you enjoyed them :)