Your next Italian night can get a fun new addition with these Chicken Parm Burgers! These are made with a super tender seasoned ground chicken patty, then broiled with Mozzarella cheese, and topped with pesto mayo on a buttery toasted bun. What’s not to love?!
You’ll love these chicken parm burgers because the end result looks like something you’d get from a gourmet burger restaurant!
We’re not just cooking up a chicken burger, spooning on some marinara and Mozzarella and calling it dinner. With a few simple extra steps you’ll make everyone say “Wow!” when they take a bite!
The first thing that elevates this burger is broiling the cheese onto the cooked patties. That’s going to give you that idyllic chicken parm appearance. Something about that browned bubbled Mozzarella cheese just lets you know it’s going to be tasty.
Next, you’ll add a pesto mayo. For me, burgers need a sauce. And while there is marinara on the burger by also adding an Italian inspired mayo just makes this more “burgery” to me…and you’ll be adding that robust pesto flavor.
And last, we’re not ignoring the buns here! Get a nice brioche bun, add softened butter and garlic powder and toast them in the pan. It’s the final step to really making sure these will impress every taste bud.
SEASONING THE GROUND CHICKEN BURGERS
Ground chicken needs A LOT of seasoning to make sure it’s not bland. Trust me on this, what you think is a good amount of seasoning, you’ll probably want to double it then that’s enough for ground chicken. I’ve definitely learned the hard way in my earlier days of cooking that under-seasoning ground chicken is a sad culinary mistake.
Since it doesn’t have flavor extra help from fat like ground beef does we need to help it along to make sure we don’t end up with a burger that’s a huge taste disappointment.
For this recipe I use garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, extra grated garlic, and grated Parmesan cheese!
KEEPING GROUND CHICKEN TENDER
Since ground chicken doesn’t have the fat content like ground beef it can get super dry if you don’t incorporate some moisture into the mix.
The simplest and cheapest way to do this? Just add water!
In this recipe you’ll add 1/8 cup of water right into the mix. You want the patties to be slightly wet, that let’s you know you’re not going to end up with dry crumbly chicken burgers.
And really important, I highly recommend getting yourself a digital meat thermometer! This is the thermometer I use, and it really helps prevent you from over or under cooking your meat!
THE TRICK TO FORMING CHICKEN PATTIES
Adding the water to the mixture means you won’t have dry burgers, but it also means the ground chicken is going to be a little wet and sticky. I’m going to share with you an easy trick to forming the patties with less mess!
Fill a large bowl with warm water and wet your hands, then form a patty. Repeat until you’ve got the 4 burgers. Keeping your hands wet and clean with the warm water will prevent the raw chicken mix from sticking all over your hands!
More chicken burgers? Here are my favorites!
Chicken Teriyaki Burgers
BBQ Chicken Burgers
Buffalo Chicken Burgers
And if you like this recipe you’ll love my Chicken Parm Meatballs…it’s the most popular recipe here on the blog!
PrintChicken Parm Burgers
An Italian seasoned chicken burger topped with Mozzarella, marinara sauce, and a pesto mayo. Chicken parm burgers would be a fun way to change up your next Italian dinner night!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/8 cup water
3 cloves of garlic, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 slices of Mozzarella cheese
Marinara sauce
You will also need
Mayo
Jarred pesto
Softened butter
Brioche buns
Olive oil
Instructions
1. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, grated garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, egg, and water. Mix will then form into 4 patties, making a small indent in the center of each patty to prevent them from puffing up in the center as they cook.
2. Add a few teaspoons of olive oil to a large fry pan and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken burger patties and press down slightly. Cook for 6 minutes.
3. While the burgers cook, combine as much mayo and pesto together as you’d like to make the pesto mayo spread. Add softened butter to both sides of the brioche buns and sprinkle with a little additional garlic powder, set aside.
4. After the burgers have cooked for 6 minutes, flip them and cook for an additional 5 minutes, pressing down slightly after flipping them. After 5 minutes check for internal temperate is 165 degrees before removing from the pan. If temperate has not been reached, add a tablespoon or 2 of water and cover with foil and cook for another 30 seconds, repeat as needed.
5. Add the burgers to a foil lined baking sheet and top each patty with a slice of Mozzarella cheese. Broil on high for 2:30 – 3 minutes…checking often. You want the cheese to have that slightly browned bubbled top but not so melty that the cheese slides off the burger.
6. While the cheese is broiling, add the buttered buns to the hot pan and toast until lightly browned.
7. Add the burgers to the buns, top with as much marinara and pesto mayo as you’d like then serve!
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