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Crispy chicken burgers with huge flavor, crunch and juiciness. Baked not fried, no guilt the entire family will rave about these.
Table of contents
Why Make These Crispy Chicken Burgers
This is my favorite meal in the entire world. Not only is crispy chicken burgers my favorite go-to meal, this particular recipe is baked NOT fried, so it’s way healthier. Made with feel good ingredients and lots of seasoning, you won’t miss the grease one bit. The chicken for these burgers is marinated in pickle juice giving it a unique tangy flavor and making the meat tender and moist. Also, the easy lettuce slaw takes the flavor over the top. Enjoy!
Ingredients Needed For This Recipe
- Chicken Breasts. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best. They will be tenderized with a meat mallet or rolling pin. This helps them bake quick, evenly.
- Pickle Juice. Any pickle juice of choice will work. I use dill pickle juice right from the jar of pickles but hot habanero would be wonderful. Choose pickles that you enjoy and will eat.
- Corn Flakes. The ultimate ingredient to giving these crispy chicken burgers the look and texture of deep fried chicken.
- Seasoning. This recipe leans on seasoning! You will need mustard powder, garlic, onion powder, paprika, salt.
- Parmesan. I usually do fresh parmesan and stick it into my mini food processor but you can buy the pre grater/powdered parmesan as well. This gives a salty, nutty flavor to the chicken batter and helps to keep it on the chicken when it melts in the oven.
- Eggs. You will need these to batter the chicken with.
- Hot Sauce. Just a little hot sauce will be added to the egg wash. I typically use Franks Red Hot. This is optional to add in!
- Romaine Lettuce. This is for the super simple slaw.
- Red Onion. For the slaw as well.
- Mayo. This is to make the slaw.
Recipe Variations
Chicken. You can use chicken thighs as well.
Cornflakes. You can also use panko or breadcrumbs, also crackers will also work!
Parmesan. You can use dairy free parmesan or skip it, but it does help keep that crispy coating on the chicken.
Steps To Make This Recipe
Step One. Cut the chicken breasts in half. Place one breast at a time between a large piece of plastic wrap. Beat the chicken with a meat mallet or a heavy rolling pin to thin the chicken out and tenderize it.
Step Two. Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour pickle juice over it. Let it sit while you make everything else (about 15 minutes) , or you can marinate it for up to 1 hour. Be sure to turn chicken over once throughout the marinade.
Step Three. While the chicken is marinating, add cornflakes, seasoning and Parmesan to a small food processor or high speed blender. Pulse until you have a bread crumb looking texture. Add the mix to a plate or a shallow, wide bowl.
Step Four. In another bowl, add the eggs, hot sauce and whisk. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add wire racks (if you have them) to the baking sheet for ultimate crispiness. If you do not have a wire cooling rack to use that it ok.
Step Five. Dredge the chicken through the egg mixture then through the cornflake crumb mixture, covering fully and heavily. Place on the prepared baking sheet or on the wire racks on the baking sheet (see photo). For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a 2nd time. Spritz with oil spray (any will work) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around.
Step Six. Toast buns, mix up the lettuce “slaw”. Construct the burgers and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ’s
No, these chicken burgers are not spicy, just loaded with great flavor.
Yes, these are baked not deep friend so there is a lot less calories due to the lack of oil in the recipe.
YES! eat these on their own or served over a salad. Really the crispy chicken is the star of the show.
Recipe Pairings
This crispy chicken burger is great with my crispy homemade fries, or you can pair it with my southwest chipotle pasta salad.
Other Chicken Recipes To Enjoy
If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.
Crispy Chicken Burgers
Equipment
- food processor or blender
- baking sheet
- wire cooling racks
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large chicken breasts, 1 -1.25 lbs
- ¾ cup pickle juice , *see notes
Crispy Chicken Coating
- 5 cups cornflakes , *see notes
- ⅓ cup parmesan, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme , *more to taste if needed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp mustard powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp Cholula hot sauce , *see notes
Romaine Slaw
- 2 cup romaine, thinly sliced
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp water
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts in half. Place one half breast at a time between a large piece of plastic wrap. Beat the chicken with a meat mallet or a heavy rolling pin to thin the chicken out and tenderize it.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour pickle juice over it. Let it sit while you make everything else (about 15 minutes) , or you can marinate it for up to 1 hour. Be sure to turn chicken over once throughout the marinade.
- While the chicken is marinating, add cornflakes, seasoning and Parmesan to a small food processor or high speed blender. Pulse until you have a bread crumb looking texture. Add the mix to a plate or a shallow, wide bowl.
- In another bowl, add the eggs, hot sauce and whisk. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add wire racks (if you have them) to the baking sheet for ultimate crispiness. If you do not have a wire cooling rack to use that it ok.
- Dredge the chicken through the egg mixture then through the cornflake crumb mixture, covering fully and heavily. Place on the prepared baking sheet or on the wire racks on the baking sheet (see photo). For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a 2nd time. Spritz with oil spray (any will work) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around.
- Toast buns, mix up the lettuce "slaw" in a large bowl. Construct the burgers and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were excellent and reminded us of something from a restaurant. One of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve had. Thank you.
Hi there. I see thyme in your picture but not in the recipe. How much and where is it added? Thanks! Looking forward to making this.
You will need 1 tsp of dried thyme for the breading (cornflake mix!). Enjoy!
MAKE THESE. The pickle marinade is EVERYTHING they are so flavorful and crispy. I made a pound of chicken and 6 burgers came from that and we ate almost all of it. I’ll double the recipe next time for leftovers.
So happy to hear you enjoyed this as much as I did! Thanks for coming back to let me know.