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These ground chicken burgers are juicy, moist, and flavorful! No more dry chicken, and you can have these burgers on the table in half an hour.
You may also like these Easy Ground Turkey Burgers or Chicken Patties next.
Why you’ll love it
Ground chicken doesn’t always conjure up mouthwatering images, but this chicken burger is moist! I don’t like that word, but when you think of chicken burgers, “moist” doesn’t always come to mind. Cardboard does. As long as you don’t overcook this burger, it’ll be fantastic.
These homemade chicken burgers are really easy to make, juicy, and absolutely delicious. I whipped up a simple but flavorful mayo-based burger sauce to complement these burgers that has a hint of smoky flavor. They’ll be a favorite all summer long!
What you’ll need
- Ground chicken – the star of these burgers. Make sure to adequately season with salt & pepper.
- Mayo – for moisture to ensure they don’t dry out
- Lemon juice – a touch of acidity and brightness
- Italian breadcrumbs – to bind everything together and add herb flavor
- Oregano and chives – to boost the flavor and impart a freshness
- Garlic – more savory goodness. Easily mince it with a garlic press.
- Sauce – the optional sauce has mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and smoked paprika
Helpful tips
- Don’t overhandle the meat. You don’t want the ground chicken patties resembling hockey pucks.
- Make a little depression with your thumb in the center of each burger so that they cook evenly.
- Make sure you oil the grill before it’s up to temperature so they don’t stick. Slide the burgers onto the grill using a metal spatula.
How to make ground chicken burgers
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a medium bowl, combine the burger sauce ingredients. Oil and preheat the grill. Add the burger patty ingredients to a prep bowl, and mix using your hands. Don’t overwork the mixture.
Form each patty, and place them on wax paper. Press your thumb into the middle of each to make a depression. Grill until cooked to 165F. Toast the buns if desired. Assemble the burgers, and enjoy!
How long do you grill chicken burgers?
- It depends on the grill and the thickness of the burger patties, but with our gas BBQ we grilled them for 5 minutes on one side and 4 minutes on the other side (lid down).
- When an instant read meat thermometer registers 165F in the middle, they’re safe to eat. The meat thermometer helps ensure that you don’t overcook them! Dry burgers are no fun.
Substitutions and variations
- Don’t have a BBQ? You could also use a grill pan or frying pan to make these.
- Feel free to change up the fresh herbs depending on what’s in your garden.
- If you want a little heat in the burger sauce, add a little bit of sriracha for a kick.
What to serve with chicken burgers
- As always, you can top these with your preferred toppings. These burgers can be pretty healthy depending on how you top them. I like the suggested burger sauce, sliced tomato, avocado, Quick Pickled Red Onions, and butter lettuce, but the possibilities are endless!
- Don’t forget the southern Sweet Tea on the side!
- They would also be delicious served with a refreshing side salad like my Creamy Cucumber Salad, this Best Coleslaw, Jalapeno Slaw, or spring mix with my Simple Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover cooked patties in the fridge for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- These ground chicken burgers can be frozen for up to 3 months.
If you made this ground chicken burger recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also tag me on Instagram with any of your S&L creations.
The Best Ground Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
Burger sauce:
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Burgers:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
For serving:
- Hamburger buns, butter leaf lettuce, tomato, avocado, red onion, etc. optional, to taste
Instructions
- Stir the burger sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Oil and preheat your grill to medium-high heat.
- In a medium-to-large bowl, add the burger ingredients. Using your hands, gently mix everything together, taking care to not over handle the mixture.
- Form burger patties one by one and place them on a sheet of wax paper. You should be able to make six average-size burger patties or four larger ones. Using your thumb, create a depression in the center of each patty so they cook evenly.
- Cook the burger patties until their internal temperature is at least 165F. Cooking time really depends on your grill and the thickness of the patties. Mine generally take 5 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the second side (gas BBQ).
- Once the burgers are cooked, you can toast the buns on the grill for about 30 seconds if desired.
- Assemble burgers by spreading the sauce onto each bun and adding the burger patties and toppings.
Notes
- See more tips & tricks within the blog post.
- Chicken is safe to eat when it’s reached an internal temperature of 165F. Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness. Overcooked chicken burgers will be dry.
- You can also find this recipe in chapter 7 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
My family loved these burgers, I made mini burgers and served them on Hawaiian buns. I cooked them on the grill, about 9 minutes total. Will definitely be making these again!
I am so happy that your family enjoyed them!! 🙂 Thanks for leaving a sweet comment.
Hi Natasha
I bought ground chicken by accident. I am going to try this out. Thank you so much.
Hope you like it, Rian!
Hi Natasha,
This is my first time making chicken burger, been searching for recipes… I found yours.and tried making it. It was delicious , everyone loves it, moist and juicy!. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I am so happy to hear that, Hyunika! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
I just finished eating one of these burgers and all I can say is OMG!!! I have tried other chicken burgers before and I did not care for them. As self professed burger lover I never thought I would be typing these words. For all you reading this, THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this recipe with us.
That’s so great to hear, Christopher! I’m so happy you liked the burgers. 🙂
This is without a doubt the best chicken burger I have ever tasted.
I ground fresh organic chicken breast and put a slice of provolone cheese on each burger on the grill.
Other than that I followed the recipe exactly, our dinner company all gave this a 10 rating.
Thank you so much, this recipe is now in my “best of” recipe rack.
Oh wow… I’m so pleased to hear that, Ted!! 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving such a thoughtful comment.
Hi Ted. I would like to grind my own chicken breasts as well. I’m curious as to what you used to do it? An old fashioned meat grinder, or a food processor?
Absolutely wonderful! So easy and flavorful and moist (I don’t like that word either 🙂 The smoked paprika mayo sauce really made this burger special. Adding the fresh oregano which I had left over from Thanksgiving added to the freshness. Just follow this recipe and you won’t be disappointed. I did not have the bib lettuce so I used arugula..so good! Thank you this one I will be making it again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Sharon! 🙂
These are the best chicken burgers ever! So juicy and flavorful! I have made them several times, much better than beef!
Your comment made my day! So happy you love them, Maureen! XO
This is a really great recipe. I use it all the time!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m so glad. 🙂
I started making these last year. My girls are hesitant on trying anything”new” so I called these crabby patties(they love SpongeBob) my girls absolutely love these! They are a monthly request now and I use 2lbs so we can have leftovers 🤣.
Haha I love the crabby patties idea!! So glad your girls like them!
Love this Natasha! And the grill marks on that burger look amazing!
Thanks Debs!!
Surprisingly, I have never made a ground chicken burger. I usually just grill a chicken breast and then use that in place of a ground patty, but I’m thinking I should give this a try.
I’ve done that too. It’s definitely a bit different and lighter than beef. Let me know if you do try it 🙂
I made this tonight – and it was great! So I tweaked the recipe a little bit based on what was in my fridge…I happened to have Kewpie mayo (if you don’t know what this is, look it up and then hunt it down at your local Asian food store; you won’t be sorry) and Panko crumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs. Also added a splash of Caesar salad dressing in place of the dijon and garlic, this did the trick. Everything else as advertised, including oregano. I had a bottle of yum-yum sauce (see Asian market reference above) so used that instead of the also-delicious-sounding sauce recipe provided. As Natasha said, make your burgers gently and then handle with care on the grill…check often to see that they’re getting those nice grill marks without burning. They were not at all dry as poultry burgers tend to be, and so awesome when topped off with a slice of provolone left to melt and some fresh avocado. I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Natasha!
So happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing your tweaks! I definitely need to get some of that mayo. 🙂