Big Fat Greek Chicken Burger

This healthy Greek chicken burger is a fire recipe that you can add to your weekly meals because it is so easy to make! Turkey and chicken burgers have always been a big favorite of mine. It's not that I won't eat red meat, because trust me, I do. But I think my big fat Greek chicken burger can take on a regular burger any day of the week. Read on about this fire Greek recipe.

Greek chicken burgers are one of my favorites to make for weekly meal preps, especially in the summer. We can make 4-8 burgers and have them for dinner on the buns at night and maybe for lunch, have them over a salad. I love to cook, but I can't do it every night. I try to maximize my time by making extra but some recipes don't work as leftovers. But I love these burgers for lunch meal prep.

What You'll Need to Make These Burgers

Burger

• 1 lb Ground Chicken
• ¼ cup Feta
• ½ cup Fresh Spinach Chopped
• 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley Chopped
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1.5 tbsp Breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp Kalamata Olives Chopped

Tabbouleh

• 1 head Parsley Chopped
• 2 tbsp Bulgur drained
• 1 tbsp Red Onion Chopped
• 1 tbsp cucumber chopped and drained with cheesecloth
• 1 tbsp tomato chopped and drained with cheesecloth
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ Lemon Juiced

Simple Tzatziki

• 1 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbsp White Vinegar
• ½ cup Cucumber Chopped and drained with cheesecloth

About the Healthy Toppings

Tabbouleh and tzatziki are some of my favorite toppings for burgers because they are both healthy and easy to make. Tzatziki is a less processed and more nutritious alternative to mayonnaise or ketchup.

Tabbouleh is mostly parsley and is exponentially better tasting and more nutritious than iceberg lettuce. Parsley contains so much Vitamin K which improves bone health and blood clotting. Half a cup of fresh parsley also contains over 100% of the necessary Vitamin A for the day which has been found to improve your eye health, immune system, and your skin. It also helps block pro-inflammatory cytokines to help decrease unnecessary inflammation in the body.

How to Make the Greek Chicken Burger

Start with making your toppings first so they have time to marinate. I like to give my tabbouleh about 3-4 hours in the fridge so it can soak up the oil and flavors.

Boil the bulgur first and give it time to cool before you continue. Clean your parsley and remove as much of the stems as you can. Roughly chop the parsley. You have to drain your cucumber and tomato with a cheesecloth after chopping them. You could also use a strainer or check out some other substitutes here. I like to drain them separately because I drain extra cucumber for the tzatziki at this time. Add the parsley, bulger, cucumber, tomato, red onion, lemon juice, and olive oil to a bowl and combine.

The tabbouleh is not necessary but I think it is a nice touch. You always want your toppings to match your burger.

A Simple Tzatziki as a Greek Yogurt Burger Sauce

I make a very simple tzatziki. I'm not trying to pretend I'm Greek or this is some authentic Greek recipe. Just mix together Greek yogurt, white vinegar, and the drained cucumber to make this Greek yogurt burger sauce. It's good enough for me and can always be replaced with your usual toppings, but I think it highlights this "Greek-style" burger.

Making the Chicken Burger

Mix together the ground chicken, feta, chopped parsley and spinach, breadcrumbs, olive oil, olives, and spices in a large bowl. Combine it well so that the ingredients are spread throughout evenly. Breadcrumbs can be left out, for those looking for a gluten-free recipe, but it does make for a juicier burger. I had a friend call me and said that she left the breadcrumbs out and the burgers ended up being a little denser than the previous time she had made them. Also, the Kalamata olives are optional. They're not optional for me, but for you olive-haters, go ahead and leave them on the side.

I like to let the ground chicken marinate for 3-4 hours before making the patties and grilling. If you have time, place the mix in the refrigerator for a while before making the patties. This recipe is best for 4 burgers but if you double everything you can get up to 8 quarter-pound burgers.

Finally, it's time to grill this healthy chicken burger. I like to grill them outside, raise the temp up as high as I can get the grill, and then put the grill down to medium once I slap them on. I cook them for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Let them rest for 5 minutes once you pull them off the grill.

You can do any assortment of toppings for these that works for you. The tabbouleh and tzatziki go great with this burger, but I also like adding some tomato, red onion, and cucumbers on top. My wife does the same, but 86 the cucumbers.

I've got my parents hooked on this recipe. My mom called me last night and told me she made 20 of them and froze them. She uses ground turkey to make her Greek burger. Either ground turkey or chicken will work for this healthy burger recipe.

What Else Can You Do with this Healthy Greek Recipe?

My wife likes to put her burger over salad sometimes. She'll add more olives, red onion, and tomatoes with a Greek dressing. We will also just chop them up and mix them with the tabbouleh and the tzatziki if we're out of buns. These chicken burgers reheat well in the microwave, so make extra and you can have them for lunch the following day.

Why make this healthy chicken burger

I try to eliminate red meat for a lot of reasons but the main one for me is Acid Reflux. Red meats are not all created equally. Meats higher in fat can slow down the emptying of your stomach and increase the risk of acid reflux. Ground beef can be particularly high in fat and for me, that triggers my acid reflux.

Acid Reflux

Chronic acid reflux or GERD can increase the risks of head/neck cancer and esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer has increased by 850% since 1975 and 40% of Americans have reflux today according to Dr. Jamie Koufman's research which is discussed in more detail in her book. Over half of the people diagnosed with reflux didn't know that their symptoms were due to reflux. Most people with reflux don't feel heartburn, or as my family likes to say, "I got agita."

Anti-inflammatory

Tabbouleh contains loads of parsley, which is a great herb to fight against unnecessary inflammation. Inflammation is a necessary function in our body to help fight against damage to our body, for example, if you cut your finger chopping up the parsley for the tabbouleh, you'll need inflammatory cells sent to the cut to start the healing process. But, chronic inflammation isn't good for us, so herbs, like fresh parsley, leafy greens, tomatoes, and olive oil have anti-inflammatory properties to help fight against inflammation.

If you love burgers and meal preps check out some of our other recipes that are convenient for leftovers!

Cast Iron Lemon Basil Orzo with Chicken Thighs

Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets

Apple Cider Marinated Chicken

Roasted Chickpea Veggie Grain Bowl

Follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch. Leave us a review below! It goes a long way to help with our recipes!

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

My Big Fat Greek Chicken Burger

This Greek Chicken burger is the perfect health option for those who want a burger on the grill but without the red meat. It has the perfect mixture of flavors in the patty and can be mixed with tabbouleh and tzatziki to make a Greek masterpiece.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chicken burger, healthy, summer

Servings: 4

Cost: $15

Equipment

• grill or cast iron
• mixing bowls

Ingredients

Burger

• 1 lb Ground Chicken
• ¼ cup Feta
• ½ cup Fresh Spinach Chopped
• 2 tablespoon Fresh Parsley Chopped
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• ¼ tsp Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 1.5 tablespoon Breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoon Kalamata Olives Chopped

Tabbouleh

• 1 head Parsley Chopped
• 2 tablespoon Bulgur drained
• 1 tablespoon Red Onion Chopped
• 1 tablespoon cucumber chopped drained with cheese cloth
• 1 tablespoon tomato chopped drained with cheese cloth
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ Lemon Juiced

Simple Tzatziki

• 1 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbsp White Vinegar
• ½ cup Cucumber Chopped drained with cheese cloth

Instructions

Tabbouleh

• Boil ¼ cup of bulgur following directions on package. Allow to cool
• Finely chop tomatoes and cucumber and drain with cheese cloth. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
• Mix together all ingredients until combined well and store in fridge.

Simple Tzatziki

• Finely chop cucumber and drain with cheese cloth
• Mix all ingredients and store in fridge until serving.

Burger

• Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Marinate in fridge for 1-4 hours
• Heat grill to high heat and wait until temperature reaches 600 degrees.
• Form four patties. Place patties on grill and lower heat to medium. Grill for 3-5 minutes on each side. Let rest for five minutes
• Place tabbouleh on bottom bun with burger on top. Then top with tomato and red onion with your tzatziki sauce on top.