Crispy Chicken Burgers | These fried chicken burgers have a spiced crispy coating and are juicy and tender on the inside, making them the perfect crispy chicken sandwich.
I love these shallow fried crispy chicken burgers. These homemade crispy chicken burgers are easy to make, have a crispy coating that you can flavor however you want (add a bunch of hot sauce!) and are quick to cook because you'll pound them a little thinner - this makes them stay nice and tender. No dried out chicken here thanks!
For my crispy chicken burger recipe, I use a yogurt milk combo to tenderize the chicken before lightly dredging in spiced flour and frying them. It's really easy, and delicious.
You can use the finished chicken patties on a bun and have a burger, or you could cut them in a few pieces and have them on a salad or in a grain bowl.
Try my easy brioche buns if you're having a burger - this would make a great weekend treat!
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Ingredients
About the ingredients for this recipe. See the recipe card below for exact amounts.
- chicken breasts - I use two large chicken breasts for this chicken burger recipe and make four burgers.
- plain Greek yogurt + milk - I use Greek yogurt often and here I combine it with the milk to make a buttermilk like liquid to soak the chicken in before cooking.
- hot sauce - I really like this Magma hot sauce by Tasty Heat Hot Sauce. They're a Manitoban company and they just make really good hot sauce. This gives flavor to the chicken patty but it doesn't give a whole bunch of heat because it's just in a sort of brine. So use a different one if you prefer, use more or leave it out.
- flour - a spiced flour gives the chicken a thin coating which gets crispy when fried.
- kosher salt and black pepper - I use fresh cracked pepper, you can use already ground black pepper too, it doesn't really matter. I use kosher salt. If you're using a different salt, use about half the amount.
- paprika + dried basil - I like the flavor and color that paprika and basil give, but you can feel free to add your own favorite spices. You could add dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, or cayenne powder for some heat.
- Buns, toppings - Use whichever buns you prefer, my brioche buns are probably my favorite. And you can top the burgers how you like. I use a creamy jalapeno avocado sauce and lettuce.
- oil for frying - you can use canola or vegetable oil or your favorite frying oil.
Instructions
Prep Tips
- Prepare any burgers toppings like lettuce, tomato or pickle slices.
- Buy or make buns (my Brioche Buns are really good)
- Prep a sauce like my Creamy Avocado sauce or a spiced mayo.
For this recipe, you'll flatten the chicken, bread it and fry it. I suggest leaving the chicken in the milk, yogurt and hot sauce for at least 30 minutes, but you can shorten that time if you want to.
Step 1. Prep the chicken. To get the chicken ready, place one chicken breast on a cutting board. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound it to an even thickness, using a meat mallet or something similar. Once both chicken breasts are pounded, cut them in half so that you have four chicken pieces.
Step 2. Make the coating. For the wet mix, combine the milk, yogurt and hot sauce. For the dry mix, combine the flour, salt and pepper and either the spices I suggest or your favorite spices.
Step 3. Coat the chicken. Add the chicken to the milk mix. Let sit for half an hour to really penetrate the chicken, or you can just move on after a few minutes if you're in a hurry.
Lift each piece of chicken from the liquid, let the excess drip off and then coat each piece in the spiced flour. Set aside for frying. (I clean up while the oil heats in the pan).
Step 4. Fry the chicken. Heat oil in a large skillet. You can use a large non stick skillet or a cast iron pan. Cover the bottom with just enough oil to shallow fry. For my non-stick skillet I heat to medium high, but for my cast iron I heat to just medium as it holds and conducts heat better.
When the oil is hot, fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, until brown and crispy and cooked through.
*The Government of Canada says chicken pieces are cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
How to serve the chicken burgers
Step 5. Make the crispy chicken burgers. I like to serve these chicken pieces as burgers.
To assemble the crispy chicken burgers:
- Spread a sauce on the bottom bun. (I use a creamy avocado sauce)
- Add lettuce. Add one piece of chicken. You can add cheese, tomato or pickles, or whatever else you want.
- Add the top bun and serve.
RECIPE TIP: Pounding the chicken breasts a little thinner helps in two ways: 1. The chicken will cook more evenly and 2. The chicken cooks faster, making them easy to pan fry without drying out while knowing they are cooked through.
Substitutions
✔ Use your favorite spices in the flour mix. Use your favorite buns and top the burgers how you like, using sauces and greens that you prefer.
> To make this spicy, coat the cooked chicken in buffalo sauce.
> Try different sauce, like curry mayo, or gochujang aioli.
Equipment
I like to use either my favorite non-stick pan or a cast iron skillet to cook these. I link both pans below.
Storage
Store leftover chicken pieces in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat by microwaving, pan frying or in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
More burger recipes
Tips + FAQs
To make chicken crispy cover it in a coating of spiced flour and then pan fry it until golden brown and crispy and the chicken is cooked.
Two tips for keeping your fried chicken moist are to tenderize it by soaking in a buttermilk or yogurt before cooking and to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness before frying.
Recipe
Crispy Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon Tasty Heat Hot Sauce I use Magma
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- bun and toppings for serving optional
Instructions
- Mix together the yogurt, milk and hot sauce.
- Lay a chicken breast on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Use a meat tenderizer, rolling pin or something similar to pound the chicken thinner in it's thickest spot until you have a pretty uniform thickness, about a centimeter or so. Slice in half. Repeat for the second chicken breast.
- Add the chicken pieces to the milk mixture and marinate for 30 minutes to a couple of hours.
- Mix together the flour and spices and lay out on a plate.
- Lift a piece of chicken from the milk mix, letting the extra liquid drip off. Lay the chicken in the flour, turning and coating to completely cover the chicken in the flour. Use one hand as the wet hand – this hand will lift the chicken from the milk and place it in the flour. Use your other hand as a dry hand, this hand will pick up flour and press it into the chicken.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Coat the bottom of the skillet with a layer of oil.
- When the oil is hot add the chicken. Fry on one side for 4-5 minutes. Flip and fry on the other side for 3-4 minutes or until crispy, browned and cooked through. Serve as is or on a bun for a burger.
Equipment
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
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