Ground Chicken Burger Recipe with juicy chicken patty like my Ukrainian grandma used to make. Grill for a chicken burger or pan fry as small chicken patties and serve “naked” with quinoa and salad.
We love burgers around here – this salmon burger recipe with mango slaw or ground turkey burgers with zucchini, we love them all!
Table of contents
This ground chicken burger recipe will knock your family’s socks off! Growing up in Ukraine my grandma made the best smaller size ground chicken burgers. We used to say they are like spitz – highly addictive. That’s why this chicken patty recipe makes 24.
But if you want to make chicken burger patties, just shape them twice bigger. No matter what you do, it will be the best chicken burger you ever tried!
Why My Grandma’s Ground Chicken Burger Recipe is the Best?
- Healthy chicken burgers that are low in sodium and lean.
- Pureed onion makes otherwise dry chicken breast meat juicy and adds a lot of flavor.
- Super easy to make in your blender or food processor. Or simply use ground chicken.
- A slice of bread soaked in water (or milk) for a few seconds and then squeezed helps to hold the patties. I suspect it also helped to stretch meat further and make them softer.
- Not too delicate for the grill and can be pan fried.
My absolute favorite way to enjoy these homemade chicken patties is “naked” style with whole wheat spaghetti and ketchup. They also taste great cold. My kids love them and I can guarantee yours will too!
And I believe you may also like these turkey sliders (grandma’s recipe again) and my crazy popular black bean burger recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This chicken burger recipe contains literally 5 main ingredients. Remember, grandma was cooking very simple food back in the 80’s-90’s.
- Chicken: I am using 2 lbs of chicken breasts because I always have them. You can save time (not money) and buy ground chicken. Chicken thighs work – not more juicy because grandma used secret ingredient to keep even breast juicy. Keep on reading.:)
- Bread: I used a slice of sprouted whole grain bread. White or gluten free bread works too. I think you can omit it if you want. However, if you plan on grilling chicken burger I wouldn’t recommend it. Or use about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or quick oats.
- Egg: Egg is a binder. If you add bread and have an egg allergy or are out of egg, you should be good.
- Onion and garlic: Grated onion is grandma’s secret to juicy chicken burger patties, not to mention flavorful. Today we can pulverize onion, garlic, egg and bread in seconds. She would have loved that!
How to Make Ground Chicken Burgers
- Grind chicken: Add cubed chicken in a food processor or high speed blender until it resembles ground chicken. Work in batches and then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Process egg, onion, garlic, soaked and squeezed bread, salt and pepper until well combined.
- Mix everything together: To the bowl with ground chicken add pulverized mixture of egg, bread and veggies and using your hands, mix well. It will smell heavenly!:)
- Preheat grill or skillet while you are forming patties. They will sizzle as soon as they touch the skillet.
- Form any size patties: Tennis ball – for a burger; somewhere between golf and tennis ball size – for “naked” patty. Then flatten.
- Pan fry or grill for about 4-5 minutes per side. It is time to flip when white edges appear and patty is brown on the bottom. Please note that second and third batches will take less time to cook as the skillet (grill) will be hotter.
We Like to Eat Chicken Patties like This
First of all, cold patties taste amazing! That is when we ate them like spitz. I honestly think also due to the lack of a microwave.
For “naked” burger, serve hot ground chicken patties with a side grain plus cucumber tomato salad. Chicken patties also taste very good cold!
If you go for a traditional chicken burger, then use classic fix ins like lettuce, tomato, onion plus funky ones like mashed avocado (or salsa guacamole) and prepared mustard. Serve with potato salad and OMG, so good!
Storing and Freezing Instruction
To store leftovers: You can refrigerate chicken patties for up to 5 days.
To reheat, place on a hot skillet, add a splash of water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. This way patties heat through and do not dry out like in the oven.
Cooked chicken patties freeze amazing-ly!! Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter in under a few hours or in the fridge overnight. You could reheat them from frozen by using same skillet method above, just will take twice longer.
FAQs
You can prepare chicken burger mixture in a bowl, cover tightly with wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
You can also freeze uncooked chicken patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then transfer into a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen following the recipe plus 5 minutes.
Grilling time depends on the grill and thickness of chicken patties. On our gas BBQ, they take about 5 minutes per side (covered). Chicken is ready when internal meat thermometer registers 155 degrees F with condition that you remove them on a platter, cover tightly with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Residual heat will finish cooking them without over drying the meat and resulting in juicy chicken burgers!
Yes. To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F, place burgers on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes.
More Grandma’s (Mom’s) Chicken Recipes
- Baked chicken and peppers
- Roasted chicken thighs and potatoes
- Easy baked chicken thighs
- Chicken potato stew
For more “winner-winner chicken dinner”, browse our extensive collection of healthy chicken recipes.
Do you ever make burgers with ground chicken? I hope you will give this ground chicken burger recipe a try!
The Best Ground Chicken Burgers {Patty} Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs raw boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 small onion cut in chunks
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 slice of bread I use sprouted whole grain
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp oil for frying
- Prepared mustard
Instructions
- In a food processor or high speed blender, add chicken and process until ground. Work in batches and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Return blender to its base, add egg, onion and garlic.
- Quickly soak bread in water, squeeze well and add to the blender along with salt and pepper. Process until well combined and add to the bowl with ground chicken meat. Using your hands, mix well.
- Preheat large ceramic non-stick skillet or grill on medium heat and swirl some oil to coat (spray the grill).
- Form into a ball size of a tennis ball for a burger or somewhere between golf and tennis size for “naked” patty, then flatten.
- Pan fry or grill for about 4-5 minutes per side (grills vary). It is time to flip when white edges appear and patty is brown on the bottom. Please note that second and third batches will take less time to cook as the skillet (grill) will be hotter.
- Serve hot assembled in a burger or with a side grain + salad. They also taste very good cold and pictured sauce is prepared mustard.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Place patties in a hot skillet with a splash of water, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. You can do the same with frozen, just will take twice longer.
Freeze Uncooked: Lay patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, freeze completely and transfer to a large Ziploc bag. Cook from frozen following recipe's instructions + 5 minutes.
Notes
- Chicken: I am using 2 lbs of chicken breasts because I always have them. You can save time (not money) and buy ground chicken. Chicken thighs work – not more juicy because grandma used secret ingredient to keep even breast juicy. Keep on reading.:)
- Bread: I used a slice of sprouted whole grain bread. White or gluten free bread works too. I think you can omit it if you want. However, if you plan on grilling chicken burger I wouldn’t recommend it. Or use about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or quick oats instead.
- Egg: Egg is a binder. If you add bread and have an egg allergy or are out of egg, you should be good.
- Onion and garlic: Grated onion is grandma’s secret to juicy chicken burger patties, not to mention flavorful. I do not recommend to use onion powder instead.
Nutrition
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My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.