Create burgers: Place ground chicken in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, sprinkling them over the meat. Mix gently by hand to combine. Divide mixture into 4 even portions, gathering each into a ball shape before flattening into patties between parchment. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or prepare day before if time allows.
Prepare spicy mayo: Place ingredients into small bowl, stirring to combine. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Cook toppers and burgers: Preheat the griddle or grill to high heat, about 500°F. Lightly coat grill grates with oil or drizzle oil onto heated griddle. Add the pineapple and jalapeño slices, cooking for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to stay warm.
Grill burgers for 4 minutes per side—internal temperature should reach 165°F (74°C). During the last two minutes of cooking, add cheese to patties and add ham to grill or griddle, cooking until warm and slightly crispy.
Assemble burgers: Place shredded lettuce and ham on the bottom half of the burger bun. Add the burgers, tomato, shaved red onion, pineapple slice, a drizzle of the spicy mayo and slices of jalapeño.
Serve immediately with desired sides.
Hawaiian Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
For the burgers:
1 pound ground chicken
½ red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
½ cup cornflake crumbs
1 egg
To serve:
4 hamburger buns
4 pineapple slices
1 cup shaved ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 jalapeño, sliced
shaved lettuce
shaved red onion
tomato slices
Spicy mayo:
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons WATC Spicy BBQ Sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Directions
Create burgers: Place ground chicken in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, sprinkling them over the meat. Mix gently by hand to combine. Divide mixture into 4 even portions, gathering each into a ball shape before flattening into patties between parchment. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or prepare day before if time allows.
Prepare spicy mayo: Place ingredients into small bowl, stirring to combine. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Cook toppers and burgers: Preheat the griddle or grill to high heat, about 500°F. Lightly coat grill grates with oil or drizzle oil onto heated griddle. Add the pineapple and jalapeño slices, cooking for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to stay warm.
Grill burgers for 4 minutes per side—internal temperature should reach 165°F (74°C). During the last two minutes of cooking, add cheese to patties and add ham to grill or griddle, cooking until warm and slightly crispy.
Assemble burgers: Place shredded lettuce and ham on the bottom half of the burger bun. Add the burgers, tomato, shaved red onion, pineapple slice, a drizzle of the spicy mayo and slices of jalapeño.
Serve immediately with desired sides.
Hawaiian Chicken Burgers
5 / 5. 1
Juicy chicken burgers topped with Swiss cheese, shaved ham, grilled pineapple and tasty toppers, drizzled with spicy mayo…
Do your burgers need an upgrade? These GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS will do the trick!
Without a doubt, burgers remain one of our most requested weekend meal ideas. But, in our humble opinion, there are burgers and then there are burgers. These GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS fall in the latter category—here’s where this is going:
We’re making homemade chicken burgers flavoured with onion, garlic, ginger, herbs and seasoning, making them way tastier than your basic chicken patty.
These patties cook up tender and juicy, a common issue with homemade chicken burgers (we did it!).
We got all creative, stacking up toppings that give the finished sandwiches some serious Hawaii-inspired vibes.
Here’s how to make the very best GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS:
INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN BURGERS
These homemade chicken burger patties deserve their own dedicated post. Why? Because even without these unique toppings, they’re still seriously delicious. We transformed simple store-bought ground chicken by adding some moisture—red onion, fresh parsley, toasted sesame oil, egg—and flavour—garlic, ginger, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika. Finally, we used cornflake crumbs to deliver extra texture while helping bind the patties.
MAKING THE PATTIES
Making the patties themselves is easy. Simply spill all of the ingredients into a medium bowl, then gently combine everything together. You can use a spoon or a spatula, but I find it easier to mix everything by hand. Something about feeling the chicken mixture come together helps signal when the mixing is done.
After that, we’re dividing the meat mixture into four equal-sized portions; just eyeball it. Roll each portion into a ball, place it onto a parchment-lined tray, then push down on each with a square of parchment to create a handmade chicken patty.
Pro tip: Don’t miss our direction to cover the patties and place them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will help them hold their shape when they hit the griddle, grill or grill pan. One other little good to know suggestion: make the chicken patties hours or the day before you intend to cook them. This is a great timesaver, especially if you decide to double or triple this recipe to serve a crowd. Trust us, this recipe is recommended for picnics, weekend barbecues, family celebrations and summer holidays. Your hungry crowd will love them.
TOPPINGS
Chicken patties are assembled and chilling, so let’s talk toppings. When it comes to hamburger buns, pick a favourite variety, though we do think the sesame-topped glossy buns are often most flavourful. Then, for the Hawaiian flavour profile, we recommend fresh pineapple, slices of Swiss cheese and shaved ham or bacon: think Hawaiian pizza.
Finally, we’ve also included some of the usual burger toppings like shaved iceberg lettuce, tomato slices and shaved red onions. Oh, and one more thing, you can serve chipotle mayo with this burger recipe, but why do that when you can pop the flavour with our homemade spicy mayonnaise.
SPICY MAYONNAISE
We first crafted something similar to this spicy mayo when we posted our hugely popular recipe for these SMASHED BURGERS. That one was similar to a classic burger dressing, usually made with THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING. For these GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS, we needed something extra special. Say hello to WATC SPICY BBQ SAUCE mixed with mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce! Easy to make with a big, punchy taste, this simple condiment takes these burgers from simple to amazing. Oh, and the thing we didn’t show in the VIDEO attached to this recipe, wait until you try it with French fries!
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN BURGERS
We’ve alluded to a variety of ways you can cook this chicken burger recipe. If preparing outdoors, grill them on a barbecue or campfire. If the weather is less than cooperative, you can make these patties indoors on the stovetop using a cast-iron skillet or grill pan. Fair warning, they will spit a bit, so there will be some clean-up. For this post, I cooked everything up on a flat-top griddle, my SLATE from Weber Grills. Blackstone griddles will work the same.
Before cooking the burgers, we suggest cooking the pineapple slices and jalapeño peppers. These can be done on the hot cooking surface preheated to a higher heat, about 500°F. Once the pineapple slices are caramelized and everything is golden brown, transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Once those two toppers are done, it’s time to cook the chicken patties. We suggest adding a bit of extra virgin olive oil to the cooking surface before adding the patties. Cook them for four minutes per side. The burgers should flip without incident.
During the final 1 – 2 minutes of cook time, add a slice of Swiss cheese to each patty and place the shaved ham onto the grill or pan to crisp it up. You’ll know your chicken burgers are done when the internal temperature is 165°F (74° C).
ASSEMBLING
Once the burgers are perfectly done, it’s time to assemble. You can prepare them and serve or allow guests to make their own, but here’s how we love to stack ‘em:
Start with a hamburger bun, plain or toasted bun, up to you. Add shredded lettuce, the crispy morsels of ham, then the burgers, topped with the melted cheese. Next, lay down a slice of juicy tomato, some shaved red onion, a caramelized pineapple slice, drizzle on some of the spicy mayo and finish with the slices of jalapeño. Looks good, right? Wait until you take your first bite!
ENJOY
Now that the magic of these GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS is all stacked up and ready to be enjoyed, you can add a side of potato chips, corn chips or French fries. Some folks also love it served with a side salad. Feel free to toss up a large bowl of our CREAMY COLESLAW or easy-to-make CARROT SLAW. However you decide to present this stellar meal, you’ll be inundated with compliments like “Best burger ever!” and “OMG! Can I have this recipe?” Fab!
PIN
This soon-to-be-classic burger idea is so wonderful, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite sandwich, lunch, burger and dinner board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGERS are the weekend meal idea everyone’s been waiting for!
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Ingredients
For the burgers:
1 pound ground chicken
½ red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
½ cup cornflake crumbs
1 egg
To serve:
4 hamburger buns
4 pineapple slices
1 cup shaved ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 jalapeño, sliced
shaved lettuce
shaved red onion
tomato slices
Spicy mayo:
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons WATC Spicy BBQ Sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Directions
Create burgers: Place ground chicken in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, sprinkling them over the meat. Mix gently by hand to combine. Divide mixture into 4 even portions, gathering each into a ball shape before flattening into patties between parchment. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or prepare day before if time allows.
Prepare spicy mayo: Place ingredients into small bowl, stirring to combine. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Cook toppers and burgers: Preheat the griddle or grill to high heat, about 500°F. Lightly coat grill grates with oil or drizzle oil onto heated griddle. Add the pineapple and jalapeño slices, cooking for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to stay warm.
Grill burgers for 4 minutes per side—internal temperature should reach 165°F (74°C). During the last two minutes of cooking, add cheese to patties and add ham to grill or griddle, cooking until warm and slightly crispy.
Assemble burgers: Place shredded lettuce and ham on the bottom half of the burger bun. Add the burgers, tomato, shaved red onion, pineapple slice, a drizzle of the spicy mayo and slices of jalapeño.
Until Canada Day
