These Chicken Quesadilla Burgers are my take on a delicious chicken quesadilla in a burger package. Essentially, it’s a chicken burger, packed with quesadilla-like ingredients, such as black olives, jalapeño peppers, onions, and topped with homemade spicy guacamole. It was the perfect canvas for these Chicken Quesadilla Burgers .
I had never tried to cook with ground chicken before making these Chicken Quesadilla Burgers, and to be honest. I was somewhat hesitant. I’ve heard that ground poultry can get somewhat dry if it isn’t cared for properly, and I really wanted to make something spectacular. So, to combat the fear of dryness, I added an egg and some breadcrumbs to the meat, along with some lime juice to give it some more flavor and moisture.
I went easy on the spices, just adding some Cajun spice and cumin to help boost the Mexican flavors a bit. Garlic makes everything better, so I threw in some of that, too, along with some onion to boost the flavor profile. I already had a pretty good homemade guacamole recipe, so I used that as a topping, along with some cheese and tomato, keeping with the quesadilla theme. They turned out so good! I cannot even begin to describe the sheer joy of the amazing flavors I had created. It was a hit, and it wasn’t difficult at all!
Easy and Hearty Chicken Quesadilla Burgers
Print RecipeIngredients
- FOR THE GUACAMOLE:
- 4 ripe avocados
- 2-3 limes, juiced (it really is important to use fresh juice here)
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1 big handful of cilantro, finely chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
- FOR THE BURGERS:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for grilling
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup black olives, chopped
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup bread crumbs or panko
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoon lime juice (fresh or bottled)
- Salt and pepper
- 9 hamburger buns, any variety (or enough for the number of burgers you’re making
- Cheddar cheese, shredded or sliced (for garnish)
- 2 tomatoes, sliced (for garnish)
- Lettuce (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
For the guacamole:
1. Halve and pit the avocados. A simple way to get the pits out is to insert your knife into the center of the pit, as shown below, and turn your knife to the side. The pit will slide right out; pull it out of the knife and repeat with the rest of the avocados.
2. Next, you need to scoop out the flesh of the avocado. A good way to remove it from its shell and cleanly chop it is to use a combination of a knife and a spoon. First, use a small spoon to scoop the flesh from the shell, causing it to come out in one large piece.
3. Then, use your knife to chop into smaller pieces.
4. Collect all of the avocado chunks into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mash the avocados with a fork, leaving them somewhat chunky. Add all of the remaining ingredients, and mix everything together using the fork. Lay a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the guacamole, so it doesn’t brown and refrigerate while preparing the burgers.
For the burgers:
1. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add to the skillet: green pepper, onion, jalapeño peppers, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender and somewhat transparent, about 7-10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the black olives; mix everything together in the skillet.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together: ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, cumin, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, and the cooked vegetables (once they’ve cooled a bit). Make sure you mix until the ingredients are just combined; if you over mix, the burgers won’t hold together as well.
3. Form the chicken mixture into burger patties; you can choose your own size. I made 9 burgers from these ingredient amounts, and my burgers were pretty large. Make an indent in the center of each patty, so it doesn’t puff up on the grill. You can use a grill or a grill pan for cooking the burgers; I used a grill pan. Heat the grill/grill pan over medium-high heat and coat with olive or canola oil. Place the burgers on the grill.
4. After 5-6 minutes, flip the burgers onto the other side to finish cooking.
5. Top the burger with cheese, guacamole, and a tomato slice. Lettuce is optional. Enjoy!
