I'm obsessed with these Cheddar Jalapeño Chicken Burgers. I mean how could I not be? They are decked out with sour cream, GUACAMOLE and salsa. Shouldn't all burgers be decked out like this? I think so.
Table of Contents
Toppings make the burger, don't you think? Sometimes it's easy to get stuck in a burger and topping rut. Lots of times I just top my burger with some cheese and ketchup. That's what I've done for so many years - but it's easy to change the game with a few fun toppings. This juicy chicken burger is not only stuffed with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro and jalapeños, it's enhanced even more with the addition of a spoonful of guacamole and a dollop of sour cream and some pico de gallo.
You could easily make this with ground turkey or ground beef. Either way the flavors from the jalapeño, cheddar, cilantro and guacamole makes these burgers incredible. Here's a video on how to make these Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers with Guacamole!
Variations & Substitutions
Ground Chicken - 93/7 ground turkey or 80/20 ground beef are great substitutes.
Yellow Onion - feel free to swap with a sweet onion or a white onion.
Fresh Cilantro - if you're not a fan of cilantro you can omit it or swap it for chives.
Chopped Jalapeño - if you're serving kids you can totally omit the jalapeño, I usually omit or reduce the amount when making chicken burgers for Poppy.
Shredded Cheddar Cheese - I love using either white or orange cheddar cheese in this chicken burger recipe, but monterey jack or pepper jack are great substitutions.
Ingredients
- Ground Chicken - try to use one that's not too lean.
- Yellow Onion - make sure to finely chop your onion as evenly as possible so it can blend into the burger uniformly. Here is my lesson on how to dice an onion.
- Fresh Cilantro
- Garlic Cloves
- Chopped Jalapeño - remove the seeds before chopping.
- Spices - I use ground cumin, paprika, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese - if you can buy the block and shred it yourself it's worth the little bit of extra prep.
How to Make Chicken Burgers
You can easily make chicken burgers outdoors on the grill or indoors on a grill pan or cast iron skillet. Start by preparing an indoor or outdoor grill or grill pan over medium heat.
Then begin making the burger patties. In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken diced onion, chopped cilantro, finely chopped garlic, chopped jalapeño, cumin, paprika, cheddar cheese, salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Then using your hands, evenly incorporate everything together without over mixing the ground chicken.
Form the mixture into four ½"-thick patties. Grill burgers over medium heat until cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side.
Serve each patty in a burger bun topped with guacamole and sour cream and any additional toppings needed.
Tips & Tricks
The key to juicy and flavorful chicken burgers is all in the ground chicken you use. A leaner mixture like 98/2 will yield dryer and tougher chicken burgers with less flavor. That's why I opt for something like a 90/10 or 93/7 mix to make my burgers.
FAQ's
How do you keep chicken burgers from falling apart?
Chicken burgers tend to fall apart on the grill when they are over mixed and not pressed firmly enough into a patty. A trick to prevent over mixing is when you remove the block of ground chicken from the packaging pinch off smaller 1-inch pieces of ground chicken from the block and add them to a medium bowl. Then when you add the other ingredients and spices everything easily incorporates together evenly without over mixing the ground chicken.
What makes a chicken burger a burger?
A chicken burger has a patty formed of ground meat where a chicken sandwich uses a whole chicken breast, cutlet, or thigh that is typically breaded or grilled.
How to Store Chicken Burgers
After forming them in patties freeze them raw, then thaw, and cook when ready!
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers with Guacamole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground chicken
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ⅓ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Toppings
- 4 burger buns toasted
- 1 cup guacamole
- Sour Cream
- Lettuce
- Sliced Red Onion
Instructions
- Prepare an indoor or outdoor grill over medium heat.
- Transfer the ground chicken to a medium bowl. Add in the onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, paprika, cheddar cheese, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Using your hands, incorporate everything together. Make sure everything is evenly incorporated without over mixing the ground chicken.
- Form the mixture into four ½"-thick patties. Grill burgers over medium heat until cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side.
- Serve each patty in a burger bun topped with guacamole and sour cream and any additional toppings needed.
Notes
- Chicken burgers tend to fall apart on the grill when they are over mixed and not pressed firmly enough into a patty. A trick to prevent over mixing is when you remove the block of ground chicken from the packaging pinch off smaller 1-inch pieces of ground chicken from the block and add them to a medium bowl. Then when you add the other ingredients and spices everything easily incorporates together evenly without over mixing the ground chicken.
- You can easily make chicken burgers outdoors on the grill or indoors on a grill pan or cast iron skillet.
Nutrition Information
Made these for Father's Day BBQ and everyone loved them. I am low carb too and the flavors were awesome. Will definitely be making these again. My first time making burgers from scratch!! Thank you for a fantastic recipe!!
Why can't I see the comments?
These were GREAT! The grocery store was out of ground chicken so I went with turkey. So good with my homemade guacamole. YUM! Can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch. Thanks so much!
Made these this evening for dinner and they were AWESOME! I paired them with sweet potato fries, a salad and sweet tea my husband said this could be every night's dinner, great burgers Gaby!
Made these this evening for dinner and they were AWESOME! I paired them with sweet potato fries, a salad and sweet tea my husband said this could be every night's dinner, great burgers Gaby!a salad
This looks wonderful! Could I substitute the cilantro with something else? any recommendations? 🙂
you could use chives or parsley to sub out the cilantro for sure!
I made these and they were AWESOME!! I cooked them in the oven on 375* F for 10 mins , then upped it to 400*F for 5 mins in a foil lined cookie sheet. They released some water but i didn't let that scare me... I just finished them off on a hot pan to get them browned 🙂 And eating it with sour cream and salsa was just genius! Good one Gaby 😉
I will be making these for sure on memorial day. So I am curious to know what type of buns are those. Is it home made or even possibly a roll?
Yum! These look delicious, I'm making these tonight. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these this evening - I eat low carb mostly, so I used a lettuce leaf instead of a bun, and it was deliciious!
Wonderful!! A perfect low-carb way to go!
My husband seems to think they would NEED some sort of breadcrumbs or something to "hold them together". Has anyone had any problems with this? I'm ready to try these!!!
Hey Pamela!
You can take a peek at some of the comments above - I've been making these weekly and haven't had a problem holding them together because I don't use any liquid that needs the binding effect of bread crumbs 🙂 Hope this helps!
I'm always looking for an alternative to beef. My husband, on the other hand, does not feel the same. I made these a few weeks ago and he was really impressed! The flavor is soooo delicious it makes up for the fact that its chicken and not beef. I'm making them again for some friends tonight.
Made these tonight...so good! We'll be making them again - thanks!
yay!! so glad you liked them!
I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I made these burgers last night and they were awesome! We didn't put the guac or sour cream in an effort to cut calories and fat but the burgers were still great and tasty!
yay!! so glad you liked them Amy!
My husband made these burgers for us the other night & they were so good! This is our new favorite burger recipe!
yay!! glad to hear it Carolyn 🙂