Healthy Burgers!
This fabulous, juicy Greek inspired burger, accompanied by terrific vegetables like juicy tomato, crisp cucumber, briny kalamata olives, and pickled onion, is topped with a creamy and garlicky Tzatziki sauce making a perfect, healthy dinner.
I decided to BE BRAVE and make healthier Greek burgers using ground chicken, instead of the traditional mix of ground pork and ground lamb or beef. But since ground chicken has less fat, we needed to up the spices to create depth of taste. Enter the Greek Herb Seasoning with its parsley, mint, chives, tomatoes and thyme aromas, and voila, instant flavor!
Serve this burger, as I did, on a bun with accompaniments, or just serve the patty over a crisp Greek salad with some salty crumbled feta for an even healthier dinner.
Who said burgers couldn’t be healthy!!
Burger on folks!
Greek Inspired Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
(* indicates my preferred ingredients – see notes for alternatives)
¼ red onion, grated
1 egg
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon milk
½ tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon O&V IGP Balsamic vinegar *
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
3 tablespoons O&V Greek Herb Mix *
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
1 lb ground chicken
2 -4 tablespoons Roasted Garlic oil *
Serving accompaniment suggestions
Tzatziki sauce *
Pickled red onions
Slice of feta cheese
Hummus
Lettuce
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Cucumbers
Preparation
Grate onion on the largest holes of a grater and into a bowl (collecting all the juices too). Whisk in the egg.
Add the remaining ingredients listed above from breadcrumbs through to chili flakes and mix well. Add the ground chicken or turkey and combine gently until the breadcrumb mixture is well distributed into the meat, but don’t overmix.
Gently divide into 4 and make patties. Heat Roasted Garlic oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the patties for 4 minutes on each side, or place on a baking sheet in a 400F oven for 15 minutes (if baking in the oven, drizzle them with the roasted garlic oil before placing in the oven)
Remove and serve on toasted buns with your choice of serving accompaniments
Serves 4
Active time 30 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes
Chef Tips
There are endless ways to serve these burger patties — place them in pita bread with a shmear of hummus, some feta and red onion, or over a salad using the tzatziki sauce as the dressing, or as a traditional burger with lettuce and tomatoes.
Notes
* IGP Balsamic adds a delicious tang to the burger along with the tremendous flavors from the Greek Herb mix. You can use any high quality balsamic or balsamic based vinegar including our Red Onion vinegar. If you prefer to create your own herb mix, email me for a recipe that uses a myriad of spices that bring out that Greek inspired flavor profile.
The Roasted Garlic Oil provides great garlicky flavor, but feel free to use a plain oil, but remember to add a little additional garlic to the burgers.
I love to serve this with our Kalamata Olives, and easy Tzatziki Sauce. Just remember that good ingredients make the dish!
All highlighted products are available at Oil & Vinegar stores.
Categories: Entrée, Easy Lunch, Unflavored EVOO, Roasted Garlic Oil, IGP Balsamic, Greek Herb Mix, Kalamata Olives, Tzatziki Sauce, Greek Burger, Summer Grilling, Chicken Burger, Healthy, Grilling, BBQ
