These Greek Chicken Burgers are totally delicious. They're made up of homemade chicken burger patties seasoned with feta, oregano, and red onion, and topped with tzatziki, lettuce and tomato. I recently made them for a friends' picnic and they were devoured by everyone! Inspired by Greek ingredients and flavors, they're such a crowd-pleaser. I hope you love them as much as we do.
Henry (my boyfriend) and my first holiday together was island hopping around Greece. We spent 6 weeks exploring the countryside, beaches, and most importantly the food. I think we had chicken gyros nearly everyday, devoured dozens of keftedes (greek meatballs), and ate our bodyweight in tiropita (a greek feta pie). The ingredients and flavors from Greece are mouthwateringly delicious, and because I LOVE a burger, I thought it would be fun to develop a Greek-inspired burger. And guys, it does not disappoint. It's flavorful, moist, light, fresh, creamy, and oh so delicious.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Made by someone you can trust: for those of you who are new here, my name's Emily and I'm an ex-chef, turned food content creator/recipe developer. I adore testing and creating new recipes and sharing them with you. I don't use AI, I take inspiration from magazines, travel, restaurants, books, friends, chefs, and turn my thoughts into dishes that I think you'll love and want to make over and over again. So, I hope you love this burger recipe, if so, then check out more of my recipes to make in the future!
Inspired by Greek flavors: just the idea of eating something inspired by Greek food makes you smile, right? The citrus, the freshness of the herbs, the slow cooked meats...so even without you having made this dish yet, I feel like you know it's gonna be a good one.
Easy + homemade: homemade burger patties are 1000x better than storebought ones. And this recipe is very easy, you just need 6 ingredients for the patties and you've got yourself the most delicious Greek-inspired chicken burger.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ground chicken: we're using minced chicken for this recipe but you could use ground pork, ground beef, or ground lamb if you'd like. For a plant-based version, I'd recommend using a combined weight of blended chickpeas and silken tofu to replicate the meat.
Red onion: this adds color, crunch, and flavor. Feel free to use white onion if you don't have red.
Feta: one of the most refreshing cheeses out there! If you don't have feta, you could use halloumi or graviera.
Dried oregano: you can use fresh oregano if you'd like, but I find dried works nicely too. Not got oregano? You could use parsley!
Balsamic vinegar: regular balsamic vinegar or a balsamic glaze work great. This balances out the acidity!
Egg: this helps bind the patties together.
Lettuce: gem or iceberg lettuce, shredded.
Tomato: large beef tomatoes are best, but any large tomato that you can slice into thin pieces is great.
Tzatziki: you can either make homemade tzatziki by combining greek yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon, and lots of ground black pepper. Or you can buy storebought.
Buns: I love sesame buns for this recipe, but ciabatta rolls or seedless buns would work really well too!
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down this blog to the recipe card.
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, chopped red onion, crumbled feta, dried oregano, balsamic vinegar, an egg, big pinch of flaky sea salt and lots of ground black pepper. Combine with a fork or your hands. Form into a ball, don't knead the mixture as we want to create dense patties. Form the mixture into 8 equal-sized patties around 3-4 inches in diameter.
Step 2: Place a large skillet on medium heat (you may need two skillets to cook all 8 at the same time). Once hot, drizzle with vegetable oil and then add in your patties. Cook on one side for 5 minutes, then flip and press down the patties to flatten slightly and cook for a further 3 minutes. The patties should be golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside (cover with aluminium foil to keep warm).
Step 3: While your chicken burger patties are frying, prepare your tomatoes, lettuce, and tzatziki.
Step 4: Place the burger buns in the pan to toast lightly - a few minutes should do!
Step 5: Time to assemble! On the base of your bun, add a squeeze of mayonnaise. Top with a greek chicken burger patty, tzatziki, tomato, lettuce, tzatziki, top bun. Repeat for all of the burgers, serve with a side of chips or a big salad and enjoy!
What to serve with greek chicken burgers
My favorite dishes to serve with these Greek-inspired chicken feta burgers are homecooked oven chips, a big Greek salad, or a potato salad.
What to do with leftovers
Storage: once the burger patties have cooled, store all the separate elements in airtight containers. Keep the elements separate, as storing the burger assembled will just make it go soggy. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: you can totally freeze the patties. Once cooked, store them in airtight containers with a sheet of parchment paper in between each patty. Freeze for up to 3 months. Leave to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: you can either reheat the patties in the microwave, but I would place them in a pan on medium heat and reheat them for a few minutes until piping hot, but not burnt!
FAQs
The egg is your binder here, so don't skip it. The bigger trick is in the shaping: mix just until everything comes together, then form firm, dense patties without kneading the meat. Once they hit the skillet, leave them alone for the full 5 minutes before flipping. That patience is what keeps them intact.
Ground chicken needs to reach 165°F (74°C) in the center, so a quick-read thermometer is your best friend. Visually, the patties should be golden brown on both sides with no pink inside and clear juices. Mine usually get there with 5 minutes on the first side and 3 after flipping.
Absolutely, and they're gorgeous on the grill in summer. Get the grates hot and well-oiled so the patties release cleanly, then cook over medium heat and flip once. I'd go by temperature rather than the clock, pulling them at 165°F internal.
Yes! Air frying is a great hands-off option and keeps them lovely and juicy. Arrange the patties in a single layer with a little space between them, cook them at 180°C (355°F), flip halfway, and cook until they hit 165°F in the middle. Another Greek inspired by recipe that's perfect in the air fryer is my Greek yogurt chicken!
Both work beautifully and make weeknight dinners a breeze. Shape the patties, then refrigerate them covered for up to a day before cooking. To freeze, layer the raw patties between parchment in an airtight container and cook them from there.
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The BEST Greek Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
For the chicken patty
- 800 g ground chicken
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 150 g feta cheese crumbled
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 egg
For the rest of the greek chicken burgers
- 1 gem lettuce thinly sliced
- 2 large tomatoes thinly sliced
- 400 g tzatziki
- Mayonnaise
- 8 buns
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, chopped red onion, crumbled feta, dried oregano, balsamic vinegar, an egg, big pinch of flaky sea salt and lots of ground black pepper. Combine with a fork or your hands. Form into a ball, don't knead the mixture as we want to create dense patties. Form the mixture into 8 equal-sized patties around 3-4 inches in diameter.
- Place a large skillet on medium heat (you may need two skillets to cook all 8 at the same time). Once hot, drizzle with vegetable oil and then add in your patties. Cook on one side for 5 minutes, then flip and press down the patties to flatten slightly and cook for a further 3 minutes. The patties should be golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside. Cover with aluminium foil to keep warm.
- While your chicken burger patties are frying, prepare your tomatoes, lettuce, and tzatziki.
- Place the burger buns in the pan to toast lightly - a few minutes should do!
- Time to assemble! On the base of your bun, add a squeeze of mayonnaise. Top with a greek chicken burger patty, tzatziki, tomato, lettuce, tzatziki, top bun. Repeat for all of the burgers, serve with a side of chips or a big salad and enjoy!
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