Name: BBQ Chicken Burger
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 lb ground chicken (dark or white meat); 1 tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp pepper; ½ tsp salt; ¼ cup barbecue sauce (plus additional for topping burger with, if desired); 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese (diced into tiny cubes or shredded); 1 cup homemade coleslaw; 4 buns

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This BBQ Chicken Burger is the BEST Chicken Burger you will ever have! This Healthy Chicken Burger is seasoned with barbecue flavors, studded with cheddar cheese, grilled and basted in barbecue sauce, and topped with a creamy slaw. This easy chicken burger may just replace all burgers at your house!

This chicken burger is delicious served with Homemade Coleslaw, Corn on the Cob, and Baked Beans.

Chicken burgers are often thought of as dry or flavorless. I must admit that my husband was not thrilled to hear that I was making chicken burgers instead of beef hamburgers. He was afraid they would be dry and flavorless--and I get that! There have been many experiences with dry chicken in both our lives--I am betting yours too!

But when seasoned and cooked correctly, a flavorful, juicy chicken burger is possible--and even my husband agrees!

Secrets to the Best Chicken Burger

Flavoring--Chicken is pretty bland on its own and demands A LOT of flavors to make it memorable. The same is true for chicken burgers. While with a beef patty you can season the outside of the burger with just salt and pepper, a chicken burger needs the seasonings dispersed through the entire burger patty. For this BBQ Chicken Burger, I use garlic powder, salt, and pepper and mix evenly through the chicken patty.
Moisture--Chicken also can dry out easily, especially if you are using all-white meat. To keep these burgers juicy (and flavorful), I like to add in barbecue sauce along with the seasonings. The added sauce to the burger helps to add moisture to the chicken, helping to prevent a dry burger.
Cooking--While it is not safe to eat a chicken burger that is not cooked fully, a common mistake is to overcook chicken burgers. This will always result in a dried out burger. You do not want your chicken burger to reach over 165 degrees. I recommend using a digital thermometer and removing your chicken burgers from the grill or stovetop once they reach 160 degrees. Let the burgers rest for 5-10 minutes for the temperature to reach 165 degrees and for the juices to redistribute through your burger.

Ingredients

The ingredients in this homemade chicken burger are simple.

Ground Chicken--A blend of dark and white meat, all dark meat, or all-white meat chicken can be used for these BBQ Burgers. Use purchased ground chicken or see my tip below to make your own ground chicken at home to save money.
Cheddar Cheese--instead of topping our burger with cheese, dice or shred cheddar cheese and mix into the chicken burger. This is another way to keep these burgers flavorful and juicy. Tip: Be sure to grate the cheese yourself. If you use pre-grated cheese, that cheese will be coated in anti-caking agents which will cause the cheese to not melt as uniformly into the burger.
Seasonings--garlic powder, salt, and pepper
Barbecue Sauce--your favorite brand
Coleslaw--this is optional, but a creamy slaw on top of anything barbecue is delicious, and the slaw adds additional moisture to these burgers.

How to Make Homemade Ground Chicken

At my grocery store, I would pay at least $5/lb for ground chicken and only $2/lb for chicken breasts, so making my own ground chicken not only saves me money, it allows me to know exactly what is IN the ground chicken (I can do a mixture of dark meat or all-white meat, etc).

To make ground chicken breast: Place one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks, into a food processor and pulse until chicken is broken down enough to form into patties--this is only 5-7 quick pulses in my food processor.
To make ground chicken with chicken thighs: Place one pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks, into food processor and pulse until chicken is broken down enough to form into patties--this is only 5-7 quick pulses in my food processor.

Tip: Be sure that the chicken is cold when processing--it will work a lot better. And feel free to use a mixture of both white and dark meat!

How to Make Homemade Chicken Burgers

Step One: Prepare Chicken Patties

Gently combine the ground chicken with the diced cheddar cheese, seasonings, and a bit of barbecue sauce. Remember to NOT over mix your burger ingredients--this will make your burgers become tough!
Divide the meat mixture into 4 equal portions and shape into patties. Place a thumbprint into the middle of each burger, to help prevent shrinkage and even cooking.

Step Two: Cook

You can opt to grill, smoke, or even pan-fry these burgers.

To grill:
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Grill chicken burgers for 5-7 minutes per side (flipping ONLY once--this helps keep the burgers juicy!)
- Grill until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
- Remove chicken burgers from the grill and smear the burgers with the reserved barbecue sauce on both sides. Tent with foil and allow the burgers to come to 165 degrees.
To smoke:
- Preheat smoker to 300 degrees.
- Add the chips to your smoker and let smoke for 5 minutes (I just use a combination blend of hickory blend for these barbecue chicken burgers)
- Place prepared chicken burgers on a heated smoker.
- Cook burgers until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees, about 45 minutes (turn halfway through cooking)
- Remove chicken burgers from the grill and smear the burgers with the reserved barbecue sauce on both sides. Tent with foil and allow the burgers to come to 165 degrees.
To Pan-Fry:
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat.
- Place prepared patties into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes per the first side and then flip and cook until chicken burgers reach 160 degrees.
- Remove burgers from the pan and smear with barbecue sauce and both sides, tent with foil and rest for 10 minutes.

Step Three: Serve

Place chicken burger on a bun of your choice.
Top with creamy coleslaw and additional barbecue sauce.

Serve Chicken Burgers with: