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This chicken teriyaki burger has it all – sweet and tangy with the perfect texture. Made with ground chicken, a quick homemade teriyaki sauce, and a spicy mayo, you have never had chicken burgers like this!
Best Chicken Teriyaki Burgers
If you search for “teriyaki chicken burgers” you’ll find lots of recipes that are actually “grilled chicken sandwiches”. This recipe is a legit chicken burger with ground meat!
Normally I find ground chicken burger recipes to be kind of tough and rubbery because of the lower fat content. One way around this is to use ground chicken thighs, which have a higher fat content and tend to be more flavorful. That’s really where the panko and egg come in here. It’s like creating a massive, flavorful meatball. This is how you get a really tender burger texture that’s similar to ground beef. This chicken teriyaki burger is:
- Super flavorful – With the combination of homemade teriyaki and spicy mayo.
- Best texture – These have a soft and tender texture that’s similar to a juicy beef burger.
- Special diet friendly – These can be made gluten free, dairy free, and low sodium.
Ingredients
Here are some tips for choosing the best main ingredients for these teriyaki chicken burgers.
- Ground chicken – I recommend using ground chicken thighs or a combo of both ground breast or ground thighs for the best flavor and texture. Ground chicken breast will also work, just won’t be quite as juicy and flavorful.
- Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos offers a sweeter flavor than soy sauce, which cuts back on the added sugar and sodium in these chicken burgers.
- Toasted sesame oil – Provides a deeper savory flavor. This can be found with other types of oil or in the ethnic food section.
- Brown sugar – This adds just a hint of sweetness for the teriyaki flavor, but isn’t overpowering. This can also be substituted with honey.
- Panko – Any type of panko will work for this recipe, and it’s necessary to create a more tender texture, as well as hold the mixture together.
- Buns – I love Martin’s Potato Buns which are usually found at Target, but feel free to choose a favorite or go with whole wheat.
- Cilantro – While cilantro definitely adds a great flavor without being overpowering, if you hate cilantro, just omit it from the recipe.
- Mayonnaise – I typically use Chosen Foods Avocado Mayo.
- Sriracha – Melindas (Target), or Kitchen Garden recommended. Also I love Pretty Thai (contains lime).
- Mango – Adds the best sweetness! I even prefer this to the usual pineapple you see on chicken teriyaki burgers.
How to Make
Step 1: Make the mixture. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, panko, green onion, cilantro, grated ginger and garlic, coconut aminos, toasted sesame oil, sugar, and sriracha. Stir with your hands or a spoon to fully combine.
Step 2: Form the patties. Section off the ground chicken mixture into 4 even compartments and use your hands to form each one into a burger patty. Cover and chill these for at least 30 minutes, up to several hours.
Step 3: Prepare the grill. Preheat a grill over medium high heat till it reaches a temperature of 400 degrees F. Turn the heat down to carefully oil the grill grate (a paper towel and tongs or brush with oil will work), then turn the heat up and place the chicken burgers onto the grill grates. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until firmed up on one side and grill marks have formed. Flip and cook another 4-5 minutes until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer for this.
How to make without a grill – You can also make these chicken burgers by searing them in a pan on both sides for about 5-6 minutes on medium heat or air frying them at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12-14 minutes. They will also need to reach that internal temperature of 165F.
Step 4: Make the burgers. Quickly mix together mayonnaise and sriracha for a homemade spicy mayo and place on burger buns. Add the teriyaki chicken burger patties and favorite toppings. Serve warm!
Tips for Grilling
Chicken burgers can be a little more difficult to grill. Here are a few of my favorite tips to make things easier.
- Chill the burgers – Chill the burgers for at least 30 minutes after you form them to help them stay together.
- Make sure the grill is prepared – Make sure your grill grate is nice and hot, then use a paper towel to lightly oil the grill grates before cooing.
- Get a meat thermometer – Grilling chicken burgers are not the same as grilling beef where pink is ok! Chicken needs to be cooked through and this means it would register an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Substitutions
- Gluten free – Because we’re making a soy-free teriyaki here, the burger patty is gluten free if you use gluten free panko, you’ll just need to get gluten free buns or do a lettuce wrap.
- Mango – You can leave the fruit completely off or use the traditional pineapple slice, if desired.
- Panko – Crushed cornflakes or rice crispies can be used as a substitute.
- Ground chicken – Turkey can be used (get one with a higher fat content) or beef.
What Goes Well With These Burgers?
Some ideas to pair with these chicken teriyaki burgers:
- Grilled Bok Choy
- Trader Joe’s frozen french fries (regular and sweet potato).
- Butter lettuce salad with ginger dressing
- Plain potato chips
- Healthy coleslaw
- Potato salad
Storage Suggestions
- Make ahead – If you want to meal prep these, I recommend freezing them after they’ve been grilled. They reheat well! If you plan to eat these quickly, I recommend storing an air tight container up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freezer instructions – Place each cooked chicken patty between wax paper and stack in a freezer bag or airtight container. Store for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, and quickly pan sear on both sides or microwave in 20 second intervals till warmed through.
Grilled Recipes
For more recipes that are great for a warm summer night of grilling, check out these posts. And for great teriyaki recipes, don’t miss my air fried teriyaki salmon and pan-seared teriyaki salmon.
Chicken
Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
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Chicken Teriyaki Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup panko
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 ½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ½ tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup cilantro (optional)
- kosher salt to taste
Spicy Mayo
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 teaspoons sriracha
Burgers
- 4 burger buns
- butter lettuce
- 1 large mango, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken with panko, scallions, beaten egg, chopped cilantro, ginger, garlic, coconut aminos, sugar, sesame oil, sriracha and a pinch of salt (1/4-1/2 teaspoon). Mix with hands till fully (and evenly) combined and form into 4 patties. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the spicy mayo by combining the mayo with the sriracha sauce.
- Prepare, clean, and oil grill grates using a lightly oiled paper towel. Heat to medium-high. Grill for 4-5 minutes on one side, then flip and grill another 4-5 minutes until fully cooked through (165 degrees F).
- To pan sear – Sear over medium heat for about 6 minutes on the first side, then 4-5 minutes after flipping till cooked to 165F. For air fryer – Fry at 380F for about 12-14 minutes, or until cooked through, flipping halfway through.
- Spread burger buns with spicy mayo, top with butter lettuce, and add mango.
Notes
- Ground chicken thighs are recommended for the best flavor and texture, but all will work. Ground turkey or beef can be substituted as well.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of sriracha to the burger mixture if you like more heat.
- For gluten free, use a favorite gluten free bun or wrap this in butter lettuce. If you do find GF buns, you can use gluten free panko like Jeff’s Creations or Aleia brand (both found on amazon)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does the nutritional information reflect a burger WITH a bun and spicy mayo or just the patty?
It is with the bun and spicy mayo, but please keep in mind my calorie counts are calculated by a program that uses a general estimate. Buns and mayonnaise can vary greatly with calorie counts depending on the brand and type used, so it’s best to calculate it yourself for an accurate measurement.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed these! The flavor reminds me of egg roll filling. I omitted the scallions and cilantro because I despise them. I also left out sriracha because I can’t handle any hint of spice at all! My husband added it to his mayo and loved the sweet and spicy combo with the mango slice. The patties were so moist and juicy! It was very difficult to form them because the meat was too mushy. I stuck it in the fridge for 30 mins, then formed patties and into the freezer for another hour. They were frozen and formed, so we grilled them a little longer and made sure the internal temp was at least 165. I would love to try it with ground turkey next time! I ate it with chips and grilled asparagus. I’ll be making this again, double batch!
Hi Alicia! Can these be made with ground turkey? I have some in my freezer I need to use up.
Amazing recipe! It’s a go to now for me!!
Can’t wait to make these! But, am I not seeing the homemade Teriaki sauce?
It’s just combined into the burger not a separate teriyaki sauce.