Greek Inspired Chicken Burgers With Tzatziki Sauce

Greek Inspired Chicken Burgers
Before I start out this post I'd like to say Happy Canada Day (albeit a bit late!) and Happy 4th of July!  This is a time when we get to gather for picnics, barbecues, and such and grill all kinds of good food. And one of the best foods to throw on the grill are hamburgers!

The hubby and the little one both love it when I make hamburgers, but I don't like to make the same old burger all the time. I like to change the spices and also the meat to make them a bit healthier. So this time I decided to make a Greek flavored burger using ground chicken and lemon juice along with tzatziki sauce to go on it instead of your usual ketchup, mustard and mayo.

Greek Inspired Chicken Burgers

Greek Style Chicken Burgers 
(the measurements below are approximate :D)
  • 1 pound ground lean chicken or turkey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon kalamata olives
  • 1 teaspoon brine from olives
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • pinch of black pepper
  • romaine lettuce
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 4 large mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • Pepperocinis, sliced (optional)
  • 4 whole wheat hamburger buns
In a bowl, put the ground chicken and add in lemon juice, oregano, basil, olives, green onions, garlic, olive brine, feta cheese and black pepper. Using your hands, mix everything into the meat, making sure everything is mixed throughout the meat. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 15 - 20 minutes.

While waiting on the meat, get the tzatziki ready and grill the mushrooms in a pan with just a little bit of olive oil (about a teaspoon if it's a non stick pan) over medium heat.

Remove the meat from the fridge and make into 4 equal parts. Roll the meat into balls, then flatten with the palm of your hand. Place on a hot grill or in the oven set on broil. Cook the patties for about 10 minutes, flipped half way through. The internal temperature should be at 165F and the juices should run clear.

Tzatziki Sauce
  • 1 cucumber, peeled
  • 1 cup 0% plain yogurt or greek yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
Using a cheese grater, grate the cucumber. Once grated, squeeze the extra liquid out of the cucumber and place in a bowl with the garlic.

For the yogurt, if you have enough time to do this before hand, place it in a cheese cloth and allow the extra liquid to drip away from the yogurt. This make the yogurt thicker and not so runny. If not, get the greek yogurt or you can do it with the regular yogurt, but make sure the bit of liquid that always sits on top is already drained away.

Put the yogurt into the bowl with the cucumber and mix together, seasoning with the salt and pepper.

Toast the buns on the grill or in the oven, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn.

Put a bit of the tzatziki sauce on the bun and layer with lettuce, burger, tomato, pepperocinis and grilled mushrooms.
Greek Inspired Chicken Burgers

This burger, is one of my favorites so far. It had plenty of Greek flavor that reminds me of chicken gyros with the lemon and the salty feta cheese and kalamata olives. The spicy pepperocinis are probably my favorite part though, as they are one of my favorite peppers! The hubby and the little one loved it too, so it was a hit with everyone at our home!

13 comments:

Belinda @zomppa said...

Great flavors - happy Canada day happy 4th!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Belinda! Hope You have a great holiday weekend!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

wow!!! now thats a burger!! I have been eating chicken and turkey burgers for so long now, this one would really spice things up for me..I think it would a great sandwich for school too...have to put in on next years menu!
thanks for the inspiration
Dennis

Mother Rimmy said...

You just can't beat Greek flavors. This sounds like a terrific burger.

Steve said...

This is a good example why home made burgers are the best. You are not getting this from any fast food joint. This looks amazing.

penny aka jeroxie said...

Nice burger! Chunk beef patties, getting toppings. YUM.

dokuzuncubulut said...

Great burger! Thanks for the beautiful recipe...
Also thanks for visiting my site. I will be happy with your more visits.

Lazaro Cooks said...

Great recipe for making a chicken burger very interesting.

Malanga is a root vegetable, so any root veg would do the trick.

Be Well

Juliana said...

Wow, your chicken burger sure has mouthwatering look...great pictures as well :-)

Unknown said...

Wow, I like everything in your burger and it looks very good, I wish I had one right now!

Alison said...

Great recipe, thanks for posting! I love love love greek flavors, but never thought about spicing up a burger with them. And certainly never thought of using tzatziki as a burger spread.

I used pitas instead of buns and store bought (but homemade by them) tzatziki from the Turkish grocer I am so lucky to have across the street, and got RAVE reviews. YUM!

Anonymous said...

gorgeous burgers! will definitely make them! what side dish goes with this burgers?

Anonymous said...

Looks great! :D

 

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