Okay, so I'm sure you are wondering why I am calling this the ALMOST CHICKEN PARMESAN BURGER. It's simple, I wanted it to be a chicken parmesan burger. I really did. I had this amazing (in my opinion) idea to get all the great flavors of chicken parmesan rolled into a summertime favorite.
So, what happened?
The stupid store, that's what happened. Once again, my grocery store is the death of a recipe. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but it's happened more than once that I head to the store, recipe in mind and I can't find what I need. Or, the "what I need" is ridiculously priced for some reason. That's what happened this time, I picked up the ground chicken and it was $7.99/lb!!! I knew I wanted two pounds in order to make super thick burgers and well, I just wasn't willing to pay $16 for ground meat! Call me cheap if you must. So I grabbed the ground turkey, which was reasonably priced at $3.99/lb and a new recipe was born!
If you ask me, 99% of recipes that call for a specific ground meat can be substituted out for whatever ground meat you can get your hands on.
You don't have to make your patties as big as I did. I made these HUGE! I mean, I only got 4 burgers out of 2 pounds of meat. It was actually almost too big, especially because I used thick Texas toast too. I couldn't even get my big mouth around it, okay I could, but it felt like I unhinged my jaw to do so.
My husband was pretty psyched for this thing too. He was working on our basement reno all day and came up the stairs and set his eyes on a burger. He doesn't say a word just pulls out his iPhone and snaps a picture and walks away. Huh? What the heck was he doing? I thought for a second he might have just been making fun of me, but that's not really his style. When I see him come back, he's typing in his phone and says "what is this" and I tell him a Chicken Parmesan Burger. Finally, I get out of him, what he was doing was texting a picture of it to his friend, telling him to come get one. This gave me a laugh, but then I decided instead of it being funny, I was flattered, what a great compliment that he's bragging to his buddy about this awesome burger set before him. Poor Ryan, did not make it back for a burger, but I fed him two other meals that week, so not a huge loss for him.
So if you are in the mood for the flavors of Chicken Parmesan but don't want the heavy meal of breaded chicken and pasta, give this {ALMOST} Chicken Parmesan Burger a try.
Oh, one last thing, even though I used turkey, I fully plan on making it again with chicken and it should be chicken, so I'm writing up the recipe below with chicken as the ingredient. And, if you don't have Texas Toast around, use a regular hamburger bun!
Printable Recipe Card
{Almost} Chicken Parmesan Burger
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 8 slices Texas toast or 4 hamburger buns
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- 1 C marinara sauce prepared
- Optional: freshly torn basil for topping
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and cook until just soft. Add garlic, cook 1 minute and turn off heat. Allow to cool enough to handle.
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, onion mixture, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning by hand. Form into patties.
- Preheat grill to medium heat level.
- Place burgers on grill and cook about 8 minutes per side, making sure internal temperature reaches 165.
- While burgers are cooking, toast your bread on grill if desired and warm marinara.
- Just before removing burgers from grill, add a slice of mozzarella cheese to each patty and close the cover , just to melt (about 1 minute).
- Serve burgers on toasted bread and top with warmed marinara. Top with fresh basil if desired.
Baby June says
Haha I can totally relate to your situation--I'm cheap with ingredients sometimes too. You know you're a cheapskate when you are sitting their comparing the pennies difference between two brands 🙂 These look delicious, though, I'm sure they were just as great as they would have been with chicken!
foodyschmoody says
Hahahah, thank you, I'm glad I'm not the only one! Ever since I stopped working and became a stay at homer, I'm very aware of prices. The important thing is it still turned out awesome!!!
Brenda@SugarFreeMom says
I love this! I'm an Italian Parm lover so this would work for me, and keep it light with the chicken instead of a typical beefy burger!
Angie says
Your grocery store super sucks. But your sandwich is marvelous!!!
foodyschmoody says
Hehehehe, Angie, I just almost spit out my coffee laughing at you saying my store super sucks! You are right! thanks
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
Are you serious about that price?! Robbery, for real. That's ok though because this looks just as good with turkey! And I have that on hand so double bonus!
foodyschmoody says
I know, right?! Thanks for agreeing w/ me and not making me feel like a cheapskate 🙂
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I hate when I can't find what I need at the store!! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a real bummer. I'm sure these are awesome with turkey OR chicken!
Amy @Very Culinary says
I shop at a few different local markets, one of them for their produce only, because their meats are outrageously expensive, too. Steak and fish are really a treat these days. Bring on the chicken. And this sandwich!
Stephanie @ Back For Seconds says
Chicken parm is one of my faves! This looks awesome!
Aunt Bee says
I know a certain 'UNCLE BEE' that will FLIP for this!!!! XoXo
Ginny McMeans says
You can't beat a good sandwich!!!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Gah hate when grocery stores are the death of my recipes too! But this looks completely tasty : )
foodyschmoody says
thank you Paula
Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says
I can totally relate to the store situation...but, great things, like your sandwich, often are the result! Yum!
foodyschmoody says
Thanks Marjory, I know I love when a bump in the road has a great result too
Erlene says
Holy smokes that's expensive ground chicken! The outcome looks great, so I guess it was a good thing :-). Thanks for sharing this on The Weekend Social.
Jamie @ Coffee With Us 3 says
I read on another blog recently that at some butchers they will grind meat for you for free. I thought of that when I read that's price (that's seriously outrageous! And for chicken!). Anyway, not sure if it would work at your local store, but it's worth asking. Looks delicious!
foodyschmoody says
It's funny you say that Jamie, because the other day boneless chicken breasts were on sale for 1.99/lb and I was thinking to myself, can't I bring this to the counter and have them stick it in the grinder, but then I didn't want to feel like an idiot if they told me to take a hike, lol. I wonder if Stop & Shop would do it, usually the big chains are less likely to help. I guess I could call. Thanks for the idea, I think I'll call them today!
Marly says
I've got a great veggie crumble product I could use to make this a veggie parm sandwich. Thanks for the inspiration!
Nutmeg Nanny says
These look great! Love all that yummy cheese on top.
Colleen (Souffle Bombay) says
Haha! Sometimes improvising leads to the best dishes!!
Melissa from HungryFoodLove.com says
Chicken patties are so much better. yUM
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
Grocery stores are so annoying, but look how awesome your recipe came out!!
foodyschmoody says
Yes there is always an upside, thanks Lauren
Jenn @ Deliciously Sprinkled says
UGH, I hate grocery stores sometimes! But I am loving this burger, perfect for summer on the lighter side! 🙂
foodyschmoody says
Thanks so much Jenn
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
I just love that you used thick slices of Texas toast!
Susan says
I'm just laughing a little because here I am thinking $7.99 a pound, eh that's normal - but you know pricing is just different depending on where you live! Great looking burgers and I like mine big two. 1 pound of meat at home equals two burgers for us.
foodyschmoody says
Wow, that's the norm where you are for ground chicken???? Yikes!
Sarah Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella) says
I hate when that happens! But sometimes the most annoying of circumstances can birth the best recipes. This looks delicious!
nibbles by nic says
I adore these burgers!!! Congrats..they are being featured this week as Nibbles By Nic favorite at WONDERFULLY CREATIVE WEDNESDAYS!!!! Thanks for sharing and make sure to stop by 🙂 Warmest, Nic
foodyschmoody says
Awesome, that's so great, thank you Nic! I'll be by w/ my latest and greatest for this weeks party
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
These look delicious, look at the thick cheesy topping, yum! Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
Donna says
I made these for dinner tonight, so delicious!! I have a Kitchen Aid with a grinder so I ground my own chicken. I added in a little shredded cheese to the burger to make sure it wouldn't dry out. These were a hit!!! Thanks for the recipe!
foodyschmoody says
Oh, YAY, Donna! Thank you so much for coming back and telling me you tried my recipe! Seriously, you have no idea how happy it makes me, I love feedback!