These Chicken Parmesan Burgers put a fun twist on an Italian classic!
Remember when I told you a few months ago about how to save money on meat? One of my favorite tips in that list is checking the meat department at Target because they deeply discount their meat that is about to expire. One day, they had ground chicken on clearance for $1.50 per pound. That is a crazy good deal! I wanted to buy them out, but then that seemed greedy. Also, my freezer isn’t that big and usually already full, so I was satisfied to buy four pounds of chicken. I regularly substitute ground turkey for beef in recipes, but I don’t use ground chicken very much. It does taste noticeably different than turkey (not in a bad way, just different), so I wanted to use it in a recipe that I would expect to taste like chicken. That is how these Chicken Parmesan Burgers were born! Let me tell you, we loved these flavorful, satisfying sandwiches. Since I planned to serve these chicken parmesan burgers on squarish ciabatta rolls, I made squarish burger patties. To do this, simply spread out your seasoned meat into a 3/4″ thick rectangle, and cut the meat into four equal pieces. 
The meat is pretty delicately held together, so be a little careful getting into the pan and flipping it. Once it was cooked though, it stays together fine. While the burgers cooked, I got the buns ready. Allow me to pause for a little story here. The night I made these for dinner, I used provolone slices, which is what is written in the recipe. The next day, I gathered all the leftover ingredients to make a burger for photos (and my lunch!), and the provolone was nowhere to be found. After spending a good five minutes digging through the refrigerator, I checked the trash, and there was our perfectly good cheese. My darling, wonderful husband, who cleans up the kitchen after dinner every single night, had thrown away half a package of cheese for some unknown reason. Husbands! I didn’t mention it to him because it was probably an accident, so I will just publicly call him out here instead… Fortunately, I did have some shredded Italian cheese on hand, so I made do with that. Either one is perfectly fine, so use what you’ve got. Where was I? Right! Getting the buns ready! Slice your rolls in half, spread a couple tablespoons of pizza or marinara sauce on one side, and top it with cheese. On the other half, arrange tomato slices, and top those with more cheese. 
Bake your prepared buns open as shown for a few minutes until hot and melty. Then, place your burger patty on the tomato side. 
Now, roll up your sleeves and enjoy your chicken parmesan burgers! 
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/4 c. Italian salad dressing I used low fat
- 1/4 c. breadcrumbs
- 4 sandwich rolls I used ciabatta rolls
- 1 c. pizza or marinara sauce
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 4-8 slices provolone or mozzarella or 2 c. shredded Italian cheese
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Stir together chicken, salad dressing, and breadcrumbs. Shape meat into four patties sized to fit your buns.
- Slice buns in half. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of sauce on the top half of each bun, and arrange tomato slices on the bottom half. Cover each side with cheese. Arrange prepared buns on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Cook burger patties for 5-7 minutes per side, until cooked through.
- Place a chicken patty on the tomato side of each bun, and cover with the sauce side. Enjoy!
If you'd like to skip the baking step, just heat the marinara sauce in the microwave or on the stovetop and melt the cheese on the burger patties in the skillet.
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
Great idea! I rarely use ground chicken either, but want to try it in these chicken parm burgers!
Andi says
Thanks, Bianca! I hope you like them!
Shannon @ Bake.Frost.Repeat. says
Oh this is great! I buy meat on discount too and I have some ground chicken in the freezer and I’ve been wondering what to do with it. This looks delicious.
Andi says
I think you will like these burgers, Shannon! I have another ground chicken burger coming up in a couple weeks if you bought it in bulk too :) Thanks for stopping by!
Zainab @ Blahik Baker says
This is such a great idea!! The burgers look delicious and I love that you can use whatever cheese you like. Glad the husband made you experiment lol!
Andi says
Thank you, Zainab! When it comes to melted cheese, I’m not too picky ;) The shredded cheese worked just fine!
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Haha! I love that you publicly called out your husband! Hilarious!!
This is a wonderful idea! Such a fabulous idea – especially with the ground chicken!
I’m a little jealous … our Target doesn’t sell meat :(
Andi says
That’s what he gets for not reading all my posts! He doesn’t even know I’m talking about him over here ;) I am grateful that he always does the dishes, so I try not to complain when he does silly stuff like that. Don’t mess with a good thing, right?
I’m so happy to hear that you like the recipe but sad about your Target! I thought they added fresh groceries to all the stores a while back, but maybe it was only in some areas. Check your grocery store meat department for a clearance section, and I bet you’ll find some good deals there!
Jane says
This sandwich looks soooooo yummy! Thanks for the idea, I’ll be trying this next week.
Andi says
Thank you, Jane! I hope you like it too :)
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy says
I want one NOW!! These came out so perfect, Andi! Gorgeous photos! Don’t you love how husbands are always randomly doing things like that? Mine is always eating ingredients before I have a chance to cook something with them! Pinned to make soon, thanks for the recipe!
Andi says
Thank you, Jen! My husband is a bit spoiled, so he doesn’t go browsing around for food very much since I always keep him fed ;) It works to keep him out of my supplies!