Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers

These Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers are easy, tasty, and full of flavor, with cheese and barbecue sauce right inside the burger patty! Cheese and barbecue sauce go so well with chicken, so putting them all together in a burger just makes sense. My husband thought these were good even without toppings and a bun, since they’re basically already full of toppings! These Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers are super easy to make and cook quickly on the stovetop for a simple weeknight dinner, and any leftovers make a great lunch the next day. As made in the recipe, one of these chicken burgers with the toppings and bun is just 324 calories or 6 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here.

Recipe Notes

• Meat: I use ground chicken breast in this recipe because it’s very lean and gives the flavor of barbecue chicken! If you have ground turkey breast on hand you can use that instead, or you can use a less-lean ground chicken mix (but that option will change the WW Points/nutrition info if you’re tracking that). You can also toss some chicken breasts in your food processor to use in place of the pre-ground chicken breast.
• Barbecue Sauce: I pretty much always use Stubbs Original Barbecue Sauce because it tastes great and is naturally lower in sugar than many other sauces. If you choose to use another sauce, look for one that’s similarly lower in sugar or know that the WW Points and nutrition info may change.
• Cheese: The sharp cheddar cheese is right inside these burgers, rather than on top!
• Buns: I used Martin’s Potato Sandwich Rolls because I just like how they taste and they’re available at all my local stores. I do recommend those, but feel free to substitute your favorite hamburger bun.
• Toppings: I kept it simple and did lettuce, tomato and red onion on my burgers, but feel free to omit any of these or add some of your own! More cheese or some pickles would be delicious, I’m sure.
• Make Ahead: You can make the patties in the morning and let them chill in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them for lunch or dinner to make prep go quicker at meal time. It may also help the moist patties stay a little firmer, though mine stayed together just fine while cooking and flipping. It may also help the flavors meld together.
• Cooking Method: I like to cook these on a grill pan or griddle pan on the stovetop. They cook really quickly and easily and stay together really well on a pan. If you’re going to try to cook them on a traditional grill, I would definitely recommend refrigerating the patties for at least an hour before cooking to try to get them as firm as possible.

More Tasty, Lightened-Up Handheld Recipes

Looking for more tasty, lightened-up handheld recipes like burgers and sandwiches? Check out my Crispy Pickle-Brined Chicken Sandwiches, Buffalo Chicken Burgers, Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, Greek Turkey Burgers, Cajun Turkey Club Sandwich, Chicken Bacon Apple Cheddar Wraps, Crispy Caesar Chicken Sandwiches, Beef and Turkey Meatball Subs, Cucumber Sandwiches, Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps, Open-Faced Greek Steak Sandwiches, and more in the Sandwiches and Handhelds section of my recipe index!

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Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Optional Chill Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Calories: 324kcal

These easy Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers are so flavorful with cheese and barbecue sauce right inside the burger!

Yield: 4 burgers

Ingredients

• 1 lb raw 98% lean ground chicken breast, (can substitute ground turkey breast)
• 6 tablespoons barbecue sauce, divided (I use Stubb’s Original)
• 1 ½ oz shredded 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 4 hamburger buns or sandwich rolls, (I use Martin’s Potato Sandwich Rolls)
• 4 leaves green leaf lettuce
• 4-8 slices tomato
• 4-8 slices red onion

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, 2 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce, the shredded cheddar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir together with a fork until mixed. Form into four equal patties and place on a platter or cutting mat. Optional/Recommended: Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to let the flavors meld and patties firm up.
• When the burgers are ready to cook, lightly mist a nonstick grill pan or skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium heat. Place the burger patties on the pan (you may need to work in batches depending on the size of your pan) and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the patties and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the burgers are cooked through.
• To build each burger, place a lettuce leaf on the bottom half of a burger bun. Add the cooked burger patty and drizzle a tablespoon of barbecue sauce over the patty. Add a slice or two of tomato and red onion (if using), followed by the top of the burger bun.

Notes

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

WW Points per burger on a bun with toppings: 6 (Points calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Nutrition Information per (1 burger on a bun with toppings) serving:
324 calories, 33 g carbs, 10 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 36 g protein, 2 g fiber, 544 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
8 per (1 burger on a bun with toppings) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course, Sandwich

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 20 Minute Recipe, Cheeseburger, Weight Watchers, WW Burger