Description
These Buffalo Chicken Burgers are a delicious paleo and Whole30-friendly meal featuring lean ground chicken mixed with grated zucchini and infused with a spicy buffalo sauce. They are juicy, flavorful, and perfect served with lettuce wraps or your favorite buns and toppings for a satisfying and healthy dinner option.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken (93-96% lean)
- 3/4 cup grated zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 2 Tbsp. cilantro
- 2 Tbsp. buffalo sauce*
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp. salt
For Serving
- Buns or lettuce for lettuce wraps
- Lettuce
- Ranch dressing
- Additional buffalo sauce*
- Other burger favorites like sliced tomatoes, red onion, avocado, pickles, cheese, etc.
Instructions
- Prepare Zucchini: If you haven't already, squeeze the excess moisture out of your shredded zucchini. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean paper towel or kitchen towel, wrap tightly, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Mix Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, grated zucchini, sliced green onion, cilantro, buffalo sauce, garlic powder, and salt. Stir with a fork or mix with your hands until everything is well incorporated.
- Form Patties: Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and gently shape them into patties approximately the size of your buns or slightly larger, keeping in mind they will shrink slightly as they cook.
- Cook Burgers: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties without crowding the pan (work in batches of two if needed). Cook each side for 5-7 minutes until fully cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Assemble Burgers: Transfer cooked burgers to a clean plate. Build your burgers on buns or lettuce wraps. Layer with lettuce, a drizzle of ranch dressing, additional buffalo sauce, and any other desired toppings such as tomato, cheese, onion, or pickles. Alternatively, serve the burgers wrapped in lettuce or on a bed of lettuce as a burger bowl.
Notes
- For a lower-calorie option, use lettuce wraps instead of buns.
- Squeezing out the zucchini moisture is crucial to avoid soggy burgers.
- You can adjust the amount of buffalo sauce to increase or decrease the spiciness according to preference.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure burgers are safely cooked to 165°F for best results.
- Leftover patties can be refrigerated and reheated in a skillet for a quick meal.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger patty
- Calories: 157 kcal
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 844 mg
- Fat: 5.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.9 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 24.8 g
- Cholesterol: 111 mg
