Take a classic chicken burger up a notch by mixing some pesto into it and drizzling a creamy pesto sauce on top. If you love burgers, but are stuck in a bit or a rut or you want to make more burgers at home, then give these Chicken Pesto Burgers a try!
Adding pesto to your chicken burgers not only adds lots of extra flavour, but it keeps them nice and moist too. Boost the pesto flavour by adding our creamy pesto burger sauce and you are in pesto heaven!
Put the burger in between a soft bun with some melted cheese and some peppery rocket lettuce and you have a burger that will blow all others out of the water.
If you are looking for more ways to use pesto, why not try our Chicken Pesto Pasta, Pesto Salmon or Pesto Chicken Sandwich?
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Why You Will Love It
- Quick - Ready in 15 minutes, so it's quicker than going out for a burger.
- A new way to enjoy a burger - If you are burger lovers, then this is a new ways to mix up burger night.
- Adaptable - This chicken pesto burger is easy to adapt with different flavours, so carry on reading for more ideas.
- Kids will love them - Our kids love pesto and burgers, so this is the perfect combination for them.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chicken breast - We used boneless and skinless chicken breasts to keep it nice and lean. However, you could use boneless and skinless chicken thighs, which are juicier and would give the pesto burgers more flavour.
- Shallots - These add a touch of sweetness to the burgers. You could use a small brown onion instead.
- Pesto - This is the star of the recipe, so the quality is important. We used our Mixed Herb Pesto recipe, which is a great way to use up leftover herbs. Or use our Spinach Pesto. But to save time, you can use a store bought pesto. Make sure to use the best quality you can, as you really will be able to tell the difference. You could use a red pesto instead.
- Breadcrumbs - This helps to bind the burger together by absorbing the moisture. You can use any breadcrumbs, but using panko will add a nice crispiness.
- Burger buns - We used wholewheat for added fibre, but brioche burger buns are lovely and buttery.
- Rocket (arugula) - An easy way to add some greens to the finished burger and it has a lovely strong peppery flavour too.
- Low fat yogurt - This is what gets mixed with the other half of the pesto to make an amazing creamy sauce.
- Mature cheddar cheese - You can't have a burger without cheese, right?! We used a mature cheddar because it's strong and a little goes a long way.
Variations
Cheese - Anything that melts well will work here. Cheddar, mozzarella, blue cheese, goat's cheese, Swiss.
Bacon - Everything is better with bacon, right? Try our Air Fryer Bacon recipe.
Salad - I know, I know! But it does have a place in a burger. We added some rocket lettuce (arugula), but chopped little gem or iceberg would work. You could also add slices of tomato, onions or avocado. For a kick of heat, add some jalapenos.
How to Make Chicken Pesto Burgers -Step by Step
- Step 1: Put the chicken, shallots and half the pesto into a food processor and blend until minced.
- Step 2: Combine the mince with the breadcrumbs and form the mixture into two burgers.
- Step 3: Make the pesto burger sauce by mixing together the rest of the pesto with the yogurt.
- Step 4: Add a little oil to a frying pan and cook the burgers for 10 minutes or until they reach 75°C/167°F, flipping every couple of minutes. Melt the cheese for a couple of minutes before finished.
- Step 5: Stack your burger by adding some sauce to the bottom and top bun, then putting some rocket on the bottom, topping with the cooked burger and putting the bun top on.
Pesto Sauce
A burger seems a little bit unfinished without an epic sauce to go with it and this pesto burger sauce just takes things to the next level. It's so simple it's genius!
We just mixed 2 tablespoons of low fat yogurt with 2 tablespoons of pesto - that's it. Shop bought pesto works great, but we used our amazing Mixed Herb Pesto for this recipe. You could also use our Carrot Top Pesto.
What to Serve With Chicken Pesto Burgers
Burger and fries is the perfect combination. Why not try our Air Fryer Chips, Masala Chips, Air Fryer Potato Wedges or Sweet Potato Wedges?
We love slaw on the side of a burger and we have got you covered there too. Try our BEST Homemade Coleslaw, Broccoli Slaw, No Mayo Slaw or Mexican Coleslaw.
We love hosting burger nights and to bulk it all out a bit we serve them with some of these sides that go down very well:
- Baked Jalapeno Poppers
- Cheesy Cauliflower Nuggets
- Parmesan Truffle Fries
- Baked Halloumi Fries
- Oven Baked Onion Rings
Extra Tips
- You could use lean beef mince instead of chicken to make a pesto beef burger.
- Sneak a some vegetables in by adding in some grated courgette. It will bulk the burgers out a little and add some extra goodness.
- If you don't like the strong peppery flavour of rocket lettuce, you could swap it for iceberg instead.
- Go bun-less and use a giant lettuce leaf instead for a low carb option. You could even use grilled Portobello mushrooms.
- We fried the burgers in a pan, but you could save yourself some oil and cook them under the grill instead or on the BBQ.
- Mix things up a little and swap the cheddar for some Swiss cheese or goat's cheese.
- These go great with some Onion Rings.
Frequently Asked Questions
We fried our burgers in a pan to give them that nice crispy coating, but you could always grill them instead. Either put them under the grill (broiler) or pop them on the BBQ. For grilling, they will need about 5-7 minutes each side.
Yes, you can cook these in the air fryer. They will take around 12 minutes.
Once the burgers are made up with the buns, sauces and toppings, they need to be eaten straight away. However, you can make extra of the burger patties themselves and store those. You can wrap them up and store them in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
The same goes for freezing. You can't freeze the made up burger, but you can freeze the chicken burger patties. Wrap them in cling film and then put them in a freezer bag and they will keep for up to 3 months.
More Burger Recipes
If you’ve tried this pesto burger recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Chicken Pesto Burgers
Ingredients
Instructions
- Put 150 g Chicken breast, 2 Shallots and 2 tablespoon Pesto into a food processor and blend until minced.
- Combine the mince with 4 tablespoon Breadcrumbs and form the mixture into two burgers.
- Make the pesto burger sauce by mixing together 2 tablespoon Pesto with 2 tablespoon Low fat yogurt.
- Heat 0.5 tablespoon Olive oil in a frying pan and cook the burgers for 10 minutes or until they reach 75°C, flipping every couple of minutes. Melt 30 g Mature cheddar for a couple of minutes before finished.
- Stack your burger by adding some sauce to the bottom and top of 2 Burger buns, then divide 1 handful Rocket (arugula) on the bottoms, topping with the cooked burger and putting the bun top on.
Recipe Tips
- You could use lean beef mince instead of chicken to make a pesto beef burger.
- Sneak a some vegetables in by adding in some grated courgette. It will bulk the burgers out a little and add some extra goodness.
- If you don't like the strong peppery flavour of rocket lettuce, you could swap it for iceberg instead.
- Go bun-less and use a giant lettuce leaf instead for a low carb option. You could even use grilled Portobello mushrooms.
- We fried the burgers in a pan, but you could save yourself some oil and cook them under the grill instead or on the BBQ.
- Mix things up a little and swap the cheddar for some Swiss cheese or goat's cheese.
- These go great with some Onion Rings.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Dave says
At what point do the breadcrumbs get used??? :D
Dannii says
Hi. Sorry, for some reason this step was omitted from the recipe, but has been included now. It is in step 2 when forming the burger patties.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Jeanette says
Hi, I made the pesto chicken burgers and they were DELICIOUS. So quick and easy. I only had enough pesto for the burger so didn’t do the yogurt/mayo thing and tbh the burger was so lovely and moist, nothing was needed on the bun