Why let beef have all the fun? Our Chicken Burger Recipe is the best. I’m talking a chicken burger recipe that is extremely juicy, bursting with flavor and will blow your mind. These bacon cheeseburgers leave other chicken or turkey burgers in the dust.
This chicken burger recipe is based on Murphy’s chicken, spinach and bacon burger from their 2005 25th anniversary cookbook. And it’s still on their menu…………you think it’s good?
And what else I love is these chicken burgers are a 30 minute meal. Mix and done! Love it! Perfect weeknight meal.
I love eating the chicken burgers at Murphy’s, but when I used their recipe to make them at home I couldn’t get the right consistency. In my recipe the ingredients are basically the same as Murphy’s but different ratios.
How To Make Our Chicken Burger Recipe That Will Make You Toss Your Turkey Burger Recipe
Dice the onion. Heat oil and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the fresh spinach and cook until spinach wilts, about another 5 minutes. Cool. Wipe pan with paper towel and reuse pan to cook the burgers.
While onion cooks, dice the bacon.
Mix the uncooked bacon with the ground chicken, use your impeccably clean hands as the best tool for this job. No need to overmix.
Add the cooled onions, cream, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Form into 4 burgers (or make 8 sliders). Sprinkle the tops of burgers with cayenne pepper.
The mixture will be very moist, more than a regular hamburger, you want it that way. If it’s so moist that the burgers won’t hold their shape, then add some more breadcrumbs to the mixture.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon cheeseburgers until firm to the touch and no longer pink in the middle, about 4-5 minutes. Flip, add cheese and cook another 5 minutes or so.
Serve on your favorite burger bun with mayo, arugula, tomatoes and provolone cheese. Toasting the buns makes this chicken burger recipe even better.
Spread buns with mayonnaise. Wipe the chicken burger pan with a paper towel. Add the buns to the pan to brown over medium-high heat. It won’t take long to turn a beautiful golden brown.
Toppings For Our Chicken Burger Recipe
Oh this one is easy. Either use our suggested toppings in the chicken burger recipe or these other combinations.
Try Avocado, tomato, lettuce, mayo or red onion. I checked Murphy’s recent menu and they are still serving this chicken burger! The only change I see is that the regular mayo has been switched out for a pesto mayonnaise, which sounds terrific!
Sides For Our Chicken Burger Recipe
Of course French fries or tater tots are always a favorite choice with homemade hamburgers. Or try some sweet potato fries.
A green salad, grilled peach salad or fresh fruit to lighten the meal a bit and goes really well with the chicken burgers.
Creamy Coleslaw, Vinegar Based Coleslaw, mashed potatoes, chips and potato salad are great choices as well.
Substitution Ingredients
Ground Chicken – You can substitute ground beef or turkey, but chicken is my favorite for this chicken burger recipe.
Spinach – of course you can skip the spinach. When my son saw me making these chicken burgers he groaned “not vegi burgers!”. After eating these he was a convert and absolutely loved them.
Cayenne pepper – which is also known as red pepper can be skipped. It really adds a very gentle heat that I personally love. Just don’t go too heavy with it. Look at the pictures above to see how much cayenne you should sprinkle on the burgers.
Fresh spinach – frozen spinach can be substituted. Be sure to thoroughly thaw and squeeze ALL the excess water out or you’ll have a soggy burger that won’t hold together well. I think fresh spinach is much easier to work with than frozen.
Cream – ½ & ½ can be substituted. If necessary milk can be used but won’t give the same rich flavor of cream. You should also use ½ the amount as the cream.
Make Ahead Tips
The chicken patties can be formed up to 2 days ahead of cooking. Form the patties, place on a wax paper or parchment paper lined tray and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
Or better yet freeze the uncooked chicken burgers. I always double the recipe and make dinner for that night and then freeze the other half of the chicken burger recipe for another meal. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
If using frozen spinach, you can thaw and squeeze dry up to 2 days ahead of time. Put squeezed spinach in a resealable baggie or container.
The onion can be chopped up to a week ahead of time and stored in a resealable container or a freezer baggie. If you don’t have freezer bags, then double up a normal one to keep the onion odor contained.
The bacon can be chopped and stored in a baggie in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Chicken Burger Recipe
Based on Murphy's Famous Chicken & Spinach burger. I altered the amount of each ingredient to make the patties form better. If you want Murphy's original recipe it's in the post. Better than beef………really.
Ingredients
Burger
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 medium sweet onion finely chopped, about 3/4 cup
- 2 strips uncooked bacon finely chopped
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs if using fine bread crumbs then only use 1/2 cup
- 10 ounces fresh spinach or 1/2 pound frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 pinches cayenne pepper
Other
- 4 medium hamburger buns I like potato buns
- 4 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 handful arugula washed and dried
- 1 medium tomato sliced
- 4 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
-
Finely dice the onions.
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Heat oil and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the fresh spinach and cook until spinach wilts, about another 5 minutes. Cool. Wipe pan with paper towel and reuse to cook the burgers.
While onions cook, dice the bacon.
-
Mix the uncooked bacon with the ground chicken, use your impeccably clean hands as the best tool for this job. No need to overmix.
Add the cooled onions, cream, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Form into 4 burgers (or make 8 sliders). Sprinkle the tops of burgers with cayenne pepper.
-
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon cheeseburgers until firm to the touch and no longer pink in the middle, about 4-5 minutes. Flip, add cheese and cook another 5 minutes or so.
-
Serve on your favorite burger bun with mayo, arugula, tomatoes and provolone cheese.
-
Toasting the buns makes this chicken burger recipe even better. Spread buns with mayonnaise. Wipe the chicken burger pan with a paper towel. Add the buns to the pan to brown over medium-high heat. It won’t take long to turn a beautiful golden brown.
Recipe Notes
Make Ahead Tips:
The chicken burgers can be formed up to 2 days ahead of cooking. Form the patties, place on a wax paper or parchment paper lined tray and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
Or better yet freeze the uncooked chicken burgers. I always double the recipe and make dinner for that night and then freeze the other half of the chicken burger recipe for another meal. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
If using frozen spinach, you can thaw and squeeze dry up to 2 days ahead of time. Put squeezed spinach in a resealable baggie or container.
The onion can be chopped up to a week ahead of time and stored in a resealable container or a freezer baggie. If you don’t have freezer bags, then double up a normal one to keep the onion odor contained.
The uncooked bacon can be chopped and stored in a baggie in the refrigerator for up to a week.
See post for ingredient substitutions, topping and side suggestions
A hit with the teenagers! Thanks!
Glad you liked them. Even picky eaters…..non-spinach eaters….love these burgers.