Last updated on October 12th, 2021 at 03:08 pm
This chicken parm burger is one of my wife’s favorite meals. Any time I ask her what I should make, this dish is always mentioned. This recipe is the definition of fresh. The chicken becomes the backdrop for the bright herbs, creamy cheese, and tangy tomato sauce.
My mom originally found the inspiration for this recipe when I was in high school. While searching for new recipes, she happened across a chicken parmesan burger recipe on Epicurious. She had wanted something new to try and so she gave it a shot.
The whole family enjoyed it, as far as I recall.
Classic chicken parmesan is a crispy chicken coated with tomato sauce and mozzarella then baked until the cheese is golden brown. This one takes that concept and instead turns it into a pan-fried burger – still topped with mozzarella and marinara.
But now it is in a convenient hand-held package.
Chicken Parm Burgers?
For making my version of the chicken parm burger, I made a few adjustments to that original inspiration recipe.
I treated the patties more like a beef burger or even more like meatballs. Instead of using breadcrumbs and breading the outside of the patty, I make a panade and mix it all inside the burger. I discuss the finer details of a panade in my meatball recipe. But it is basically soaking bread in milk and mixing it in with the meat and seasonings to help keep the burger moist.
This is especially helpful with chicken burgers because chicken does not have a lot of natural fat and will have a tendency to dry out in the cooking process.
Only one ingredient needs to be pre-prepared: the marinara. I highly recommend following this Serious Eats pizza sauce recipe to make your own. But a jar from the store will work in a pinch.
So get to mixing, forming, cooking, and topping.
Chicken Parm Burger Recipe
Course: EntréeDifficulty: Moderate8
servings25
minutes20
minutes45
minutesHerb-filled chicken burgers topped with mozzarella and marinara
Ingredients
2 cups cubed white bread
1/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon oregano (1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 tablespoon rosemary (1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 tablespoon thyme (1/2 tsp dried)
25 medium basil leaves, divided
2 pounds ground chicken
1/4 cup grated white onion
2 large eggs
1 and 1/4 cup marinara, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella, cut into 1 ounce slices
8 large leaves of butter lettuce
8 large leaves of radicchio
8 large buns or rolls
Directions
- In a small bowl, soak the cubed bread in the milk and mash it with a fork to make sure it is fully saturated
- Pulse the parmesan, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and 5 of the basil leaves in a food processor for 20 seconds until fully combined and it looks like breadcrumbs
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk-soaked bread, herbed parmesan, ground chicken, grated onion, eggs, and 1/4 cup marinara
- Mix it all until everything is evenly distributed
- Form 8 patties from the mixture
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium until hot
- Cook the patties on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway through – cook in batches if needed so as not to overcrowd the pan
- When the patties are about a minute from finishing, add a slice of fresh mozzarella to the top of each chicken burger
- Assemble the burger with buns, lettuce, radicchio, burger, marinara, and basil
