BBQ Chicken Burgers.
Late last summer, I made some buffalo chicken burgers that rocked the house.
They were so delicious that even I, who doesn’t need chicken to survive, loved them. And Mr. How Sweet, who absolutelynomatterwhat needs chicken to survive (fact), who calls himself a chicken connoisseur (even though he really just likes to eat it plain), who would lay in a lifeless lump on the floor and allow me to hand-feed him chicken in his last hours (notjoking), loved them too.
See, Mr. How Sweet is not a foodie.
In case you haven’t noticed, I sort of am.
Sort of. That may be the understatement of the decade. But it is only 2011, so it’s a little too early to tell.
Mr. How Sweet says that I wasn’t a foodie back when we got married. But I say that indeed I was. Maybe a closeted foodie? A foodie yet to be discovered? When we got hitched, I wasn’t quite the foodie that I am today. I have matured as a foodie. Mr. How Sweet says I lied and tricked him into marrying a foodie.
I take these words with a grain of salt, considering they come from the man who became entranced in a Pajama Jeans commercial last night and said they looked “cool.” Twice. Because that’s normal.
Anyway, where was I?
It can be challenging to be a foodie not married to another foodie. It forces me outside of my comfort zone, because instead of just spicing up plain turkey burgers and fried eggs, I have to spice them up, then spice them down. Make sense?
It doesn’t to me either.
But I have mastered the art of trickery when it comes to delicious food that doesn’t scare those non-foodies away. With a few simple spices that you probably have in your cupboard (and if you don’t have smoked paprika, you must go get it now – quite possibly the best spice ever) and a pound of ground chicken, I made another non-beef, non-turkey burger that we both went crazy for. But if I’m being honest, who wouldn’t go crazy for anything topped with sweet, caramelized onions and a thick, melted slab of gouda cheese?
I love that I’ve grown as a foodie and as a foodie scam artist.
And just so you know, Mr. How Sweet has grown as a foodie himself. Just last week I saw him layer dippy eggs in between pancakes (barf!) and add mustard to his usual ketchup-only burger (snooze!) and well… that is a huge improvement. Trust me.
BBQ Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 1/4 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce – use homemade or your favorite!
- 4 whole wheat buns
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- BBQ sauce for topping
- gouda cheese for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, BBQ sauce, paprika, onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper and cheddar cheese. Mix until just combined, then form 4 patties. Preheat the grill or a skillet and cook the burgers until fully cooked through. I used a skillet and cooked mine about 8 minutes per side – they were juicy and not dried out, but cooked thoroughly.
- While burgers are cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes.
- When burgers are ready, top with gouda (or more cheddar), onions, BBQ sauce and fresh romaine. I also toast the buns!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
P.S -> Serve these with sweet potato fries. You won’t hate it.
205 Comments on “BBQ Chicken Burgers.”
These burgers are making me crave summer weather!!
They look delicious!
This looks like a delicious meal for a foodie or not!
Whoa! Very tasty looking!
MUST MAKE THIS. NOW!
Definitely putting these on my list of yummy How Sweet foods to make!!
Oh my gosh – I am married to a non foodie. It is so hard.. he just doesn’t get excited over food. It’s so sad. Luckily my mom and dad are both foodies. We loooove food, so I tend to just eat with them from time to time. It all balances out.
I want to make these tonight!! I was planning to make pulled chicken sandwiches, but I might just have to change my mind ;)
These would be perfect for the basketball championship tonight!
Have a wonderful day Jess :)
Do it!
These look great. :) So good, I’d like one for breakfast.
This looks amazing. As for you being a foodie…I was just talking to Tony about this the other day, I have such a negative idea of a foodie. A foodie, to me is someone that doesn’t cook. It’s someone that goes out to eat and talks about others’ food. You create the most amazing things and you are definitely cook…not just a foodie. Have a great day Jessica!
Oh my gosh I never thought of a foodie that way but I know what you mean! hahaha! Thanks love. :)
These look great! I love anything BBQ, so there is no doubt I wouldn’t love these! I think these will be on the menu for this weekend! (its monday, and I’m already planning meals for the weekend, is that wrong?)
Sounds like me. :)
Those burgers look awesome!!!! :D
Every time I bake something slightly different, my dad picks at it, or changes it. Like by adding ranch dressing to roasted veggies, butter to banana brown sugar scones that already had a brown sugar glaze, etc.
Those scones sound amazing!
this seems like just the thing your chicken-lovin’-hubby would love :) oh, and mine too for that matter!
My husband thought I was crazy for making ground chicken burgers…he thought it sounded horrible. Low and behold…voila, they were fantastic and he loves them. So good…thanks for posting.
This is such a hearty looking plate of food. In Scott’s dreams would I ever cook this for him; you are such a good wifey :)
They sound and look perfect- its totally grilling season! whoop whoop! Caramelized onions? Drool- so good on practically every savory meal.
These look so good — but I have to agree with Mr. How Sweet that pajama jeans do look cool. I honestly really want a pair!
I totally know what it’s like to live with a non-foodie! I try to shoot my cooking ideas to my husband to see what he would like to try – he always wants the same old boring stuff! Then when I make something snazzy and rave about its yummyness, he tells me I’m crazy. Sigh!!
Also, one of the best things on earth = carmelized onions. Mmmmmm. Love the pics as always :)
I’ve stopped asking Mr. How Sweet if he would like something and then just make it. ;)
Mmm. I loove melty cheeeezee. Mr. How Sweet has some sophisticated taste buds ;)
as always that burger looks FABULOUS and i LOVE sweet potato fries! YUMMY! have a wonderful monday! xo
I absolutely love smoked paprika! I wouldn’t say Mr How Sweet was tricked into marrying a foodie, I’d say he was blessed!
I laughed at the pajama jeans comment. I would totally wear those. Don’t judge. I know what you mean about cooking for two. I’m vegan and my husband is not. I also tricked him, because we were both omnivores when we hooked up! But there are ways to please everyone!
Hahaha I’m pretty sure that if I turned vegan that would be the knife in the heart for Mr. How Sweet.
those onions are making me drool
Yeah, this looks tasty. I have been craving chicken since getting preggers. I had a fried chicken burger at Red Robin last night but this looks definitely better. I wish my little one would let me eat BBQ sauce again…..
Got me in the mood for summer!
I think my husband’s favorite recipe of mine is for Chicken Parmesan Burgers, (http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/?p=19829), so I know he would absolutely adore these BBQ burgers. He also puts BBQ sauce on EVERYTHING. That is not an exaggeration.
Both these and your buffalo burgers are going on the menu for upcoming dinners!
OMG, yum! This is going on my “to make” list, my husband would seriously LOVE this. He’s a BBQ sauce fanatic.
And I totally agree, smoked paprika, best. spice. ever. It always reminds me of bacon!!
Yes! It’s amazing.
can’t wait to try this one when it finally gets warm enough to grill here!
I usually don’t choose chicken for burger making but those look awesome! I’m going to have to give them a try :)
Those onions look unbelievably gorgeous!
These look delicious Jess! Yummy cheesey goodness!
A) Those burgers look AWESOME.
B) LOL! Those pajama jean commercials–ugh. And they’re $39.95!! Just wear sweatpants…
I don’t get them at all!
Oh my goodness, these look delicious! We’re in the middle of renovations right now, so my ability to tinker around in the kitchen has dropped to pretty much nil. But I could probably get away with skipping the onions and grilling these on a barbeque, no kitchen required!
I can sympathize with your situation… my husband’s idea of gourmet is meat and perogies (instead of meat and potatoes) and he hates some of my favourite spices like cumin and curry powder. He’s a typical Dutch boy — he likes his food bland.
Oh my… Mr. How Sweet is obsessed with pierogis at the moment!
Mmm! Your delicious Buffalo Chicken Burgers have earned a regular spot on our menu, so I can’t wait to give these a try, too. Thanks for your seemingly never-ending great ideas, Jessica!
I don’t understand non-foodies. Who doesn’t love delicious food? I’m glad you’re inflicting your foodie ways upon Mr. How Sweet. He’ll come around!
I think that would be perfectly complemented by a summery brew and some al fresco dining :)
Sounds good to me!
They look super moist. I wonder if my boyfriend would eat these?? I just won’t tell him they are chicken!
He doesn’t like chicken?!
Not really. He will eat it anyways if it is made. I think he had too much dry chicken in his life. Lol
Wow!
I’ve never worked with ground chicken before, but these look amazing! My DH MUST have chicken (or at least meat of some kind) with every meal or it’s only a snack, so I feel your pain.
And given that my DH could live on Totinos Party Pizzas (barf!) and macaroni and cheese with taco meat (double barf), I’ve totally stopped asking what he wants for dinner. ;)
Mr. How Sweet used to looooove Totinos!
Looks delicious and honestly I’m a huge chicken fan so this is right up my alley :)
I agree, it is hard living with a nonfoodie! I am still learning to compromise. His idea of a balanced dinner is two steaks. And since he is the one that cooks during the week (since he is home hours before me) I just quickly grab some lettuce to go with the meat. But 3 months into cohabitation and my stomach is reacting with a lot of stomache aches to this sudden meaty diet. I need to figure out how i can eat more healthily while still making him happy. Maybe making a bunch of veggie side dishes on the weekend to pair up with weekday dinners? any advice you can provide from experience?
MY boyfriend is not as into food as I am either. Apparently when we first started dating he was scared to cook for me cause he thought it wouldn’t be good enough. I think he just uses it as an excuse so that I continue to cook him awesome things, because when he has cooked for me it’s been great!
Oh wow….this looks amazing!
these look awesome—might just be my dinner tonight!
Can I tell you a secret? I have avoided ground chicken because I am afraid of it.
AFRAID, I say.
The color makes me nervous. It looks like it SHOULD be beef…but it isn’t.
What does it taste like? Can you come hold my hand while I try it?
I’d love a healthy alternative to beef, and your burgers look super yummy…I’m just scaaarrrd.
It’s really good! I honestly still prefer beef if I am having a burger, but it makes for a nice change. I wish I could cook you one. ;)
“foodie scam artist” <– best phrase ever.
I love your Mr. How Sweet stories. I wasn’t as much as a foodie when I married my hubby, but he’s glad that I am now, as he gets to eat all kinds of new things!
BTW, these burgers look amazing!!
I too have mastered the art of food trickery as my husband is afraid of anything that rhymes with shmushroom or resembles a tomato. Not sure how many more times he’s going to fall for “no that’s a red pepper, i swear!” These burgers however, will invovle no clever deceptioin as they are sure to be an instant hit :)
I love this! I am a foodie dating a major non-foodie so I totally, totally understand your position. It’s tough!!
Why must you always shoot my weekly meal plan to hell??? I’m all set to make whatever for dinner, and then, you post something like this and it’s all I can think of. Must have BBQ Chicken Burgers!!!!
I’m sorry… sort of.
classic!
great photos too!
This looks simple and delicious! I have some ground Turkey…maybe I’ll try that!
Ooooo love the 2nd to last photo!! They’re all great though! I need to start getting creative again with veggie burgers. Might have to happen soon since all we have to cook with is a grill!