Disclaimer: If you are a chicken, and burger lover – proceed with caution. Because you might drool a little as you read and hunger may also strike by the end of this post. 🙂

With spring in the air today, there was no question it was a day to fire up the grill. Hello BBQ season! I mean, we grill all winter too, but it’s just better in the spring/summer. Something about grilling, eating outside, enjoying a beverage on the patio while the BBQ is cooking dinner… yum.

I’ve been making homemade chicken burgers for almost a year now. Being the health nut that I am, the thought of buying store bought frozen chicken burgers grosses me out. Where does the chicken come from? What fillers are in there with it? What is the ratio of chicken to filler? Everything about it eventually turned me off from buying them. So I started to buy organic ground chicken from our local butcher. It’s definitely the quick way to whip up some good homemade burgers, and while they were delicious, I found I didn’t like the white to dark meat ratio. I know… it sounds like I’m picky. I prefer to call it “developed tastebuds” haha.

So when Jordan made a random purchase on Amazon last summer, (he may have been under the influence of a few beverages) I can say that the purchase: meat grinder for our stand mixer was the Best. Investment. Ever. Seriously. Even if chicken burgers are all I use it for. Although I do have other ideas for it eventually… 🙂

Anyway, the first few times I made these burgers I experimented with the white and dark meat ratio until I got it to my preferred ratio – to the perfect taste, moisture, juiciness, and texture. Below, I present to you… the perfect chicken burger.

These are juicy, tasty, nutritious, delicious burgers. It’s so much fun to make chicken burgers, because it’s so easy to get creative with them. You can literally add whatever you want to them. Today, I decided to top them with a homemade garlic aioli, grilled jalapenos, and a mix of two cheeses melted on top. A burger without cheese, is not a legit burger in my opinion. ^^^ look at all that melty goodness. Oh, and they’re great leftover. I’m not a fan of leftovers, but these are one of the few things I will actually eat the next day reheated.

Before you scroll to the recipe, there’s two notes.

1- I actually made these wheat free. See special instructions to make them wheat/gluten free.

2- I didn’t give detailed instructions on how to make chicken burgers with a meat grinder. I figured most people don’t have a meat grinder hanging out in their cupboard like I do… if you can find ground organic chicken from your local butcher or grocery store, that will work just as good.

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Cheddar-Swiss Grilled Chicken Burgers

Skip the store bought burgers for these juicy, moist homemade chicken burgers.  Make these in advance and store them in the fridge until you're ready to pop them on the grill.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 medium carrot shredded
  • 2 green onions finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese grated
  • 1/4 cup swiss cheese grated
  • 4 jalapenos, sliced in half deveined and seeded
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 fresh hamburger buns
  • 1 Red onion sliced thin
  • 1 handful spinach or lettuce of your choice

For the garlic aioli:

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, shredded carrot, green onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. 

  2. Crack the egg into the bowl, and add the breadcrumbs. Mixed until combined. If the mixture is too wet, add a couple more tablespoons of breadcrumbs.

  3. Divide the mixture into 4 balls. Form into patties and place on a piece of parchment paper on a plate.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill. 

  4. Preheat the barbeque to 350 degrees. Oil the grates and place the burgers on the grill. Cook for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. While the burgers are cooking, rub 1 tsp of olive oil on the jalapenos and place on the grill with the burgers. 

  5. Grate the cheddar and swiss cheeses, and mix them in a bowl together. Set aside until you are ready to melt in on the burgers.

  6. Once the burgers are flipped, cook for 3-4 minutes then add the cheese blend, about 2 minutes before removing from the grill. Once the cheese is melted, remove both the chicken and jalapenos from the grill.

For the garlic aioli

  1. In a bowl, add the garlic and mayo and stir until garlic in mixed into the mayo. Cover and refrigerate.

Constructing the burger

  1. Slice the buns in half and spread the garlic aioli on both sides of each bun. Add the chicken burger, then the red onion, jalapenos, and spinach.

Recipe Notes

You can make these burgers up to 24 hours before they go on the grill. The longer they sit, the better they taste.

If you're gluten-free, instead of breadcrumbs use cornmeal. It holds the burgers together just as well.

 

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