Mexican Chicken Burgers
These Mexican Chicken Burgers are packed with all the amazing Mexican spices and topped with fresh Pico de Gallo, smashed avocado and chipotle mayonnaise. 
With endless opportunities to enjoy burgers, it’s easy to get bored with eating the same ordinary burgers over and over again. To add a bit of variation to your grilling routine, try this Mexican burger recipe. The patties are spiced with cumin and smoked paprika and mixed with red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro for extra flavor and texture. I love to top each patty with smashed avocado and a fresh salsa, but feel free to let your imagination and personal preferences go wild and enjoy this in a number of different ways.
Why You Will Love These Mexican Chicken Burgers
- These flavorful chicken burgers have it all; they’re smoky, zesty, and so addictive!
- This incredible burger is totally adaptable to your tastes and preferences. Be creative!
- You can have this juicy burger served in less than 30 minutes.
- Create a burger buffet for everyone to assemble all the elements themselves, with all your favorite sides.
- Serve these on regular buns, gluten-free buns, or on top of butternut squash or sweet potato to meet all dietary needs.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Ground Chicken: I recommend using fresh ground chicken instead of the tubes of ground chicken. The consistency will be watery, and they won’t hold like they need to, with the tubes.
- Red onion: I love to use a box grater for the onions for a delicious small bite of onion in every bite, and then again in the Pico de Gallo.
- Tomatoes: Use finely chopped beef steak, Roma tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes. You can’t go wrong with your ripe tomato of choice for the Pico.
- Jalapeno Peppers: Jalapeno is a classic choice for Mexican burgers like these.
- Fresh Cilantro: You can leave out the cilantro or cut it in half if it’s not your favorite flavor.
- Lime: Fresh lime juice and zest are used in all components of this incredible meal.
- Spices: Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, and Kosher Salt make a simple yet flavorful combination.
- Fresh Garlic: I recommend finely mincing the garlic to release all the flavor, but you can also use pre-minced garlic.
- Almond Flour: Almond flour holds it together, but you can also use bread crumbs or panko crumbs.
- Egg: Egg is another binding ingredient and adds a bit of protein too.
- Toppings: I love to go simple and use mashed avocado and Romaine lettuce. Feel free to swap the avocado for store bought fresh guacamole.
- Mayonnaise: I use my delicious homemade mayo, but you can definitely use store-bought mayo.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo: You will want to use the sauce from the can rather than a whole pepper.
- Hamburger Buns: Use your favorite bun of choice, or lettuce wrap it. I love using a whole wheat bun.
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Small Bowl
- Large Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Grill of choice: Gas, Smoker, Charcoal, Griddle Pan, Grill Pan, or Large Frying Pan will all work.
How To Make These Mexican Chicken Burgers
- Preheat a grill over medium-high heat or you can cook them in a cast iron skillet. In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken with all of the burger ingredients. Using your hands, blend the burger mixture together so that the seasoning is evenly distributed throughout the ground chicken. Form the mixture into four patties with even thickness.
- To make the pico de Gallo, in a small bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice. Stir until combined and sprinkle with a little salt. Taste and add more lime juice or jalapeño as desired. Set the salsa aside.
- In a bowl, break up the avocado with a fork until it’s broken into small chunks. Stir the chipotle mayo ingredients together in a bowl.
- Place the burgers on the grill and leave to cook over medium heat, and cook on each side for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through.
- Assemble the burgers. Place a piece of lettuce on the bun bottom, top with the patty, then a big spoonful of the chipotle mayo, the smashed avocado, and a spoonful of the pico de Gallo, and top with the bun top.
How to Modify
- You can modify the meat and use ground beef, pork or turkey.
- Make it spicier and swap out or add Serrano peppers or Fresno peppers, or make it mild by removing the seeds and using half the pepper.
- Get creative with your spices. Add cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, or onion powder.
- Add more toppings, like sliced onion or grilled onion, pickled jalapenos or a slice of cheese such as cheddar, queso fresco or spicy pepper jack cheese.
- In the mayo, you can use chipotle powder instead of canned chipotle peppers in adobo, and use half mayo and half sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
Dietary Customizations
- Use your favorite gluten-free bun in place of a regular bun.
- Grilled butternut squash or sweet potato slices as a base “bun” is an excellent replacement for anyone on Whole 30 or Paleo or use lettuce wraps for an easy grain free swap
- Use breadcrumbs instead of almond flour to make this nut-free.
Making Your Own Ground Chicken
Making your own ground chicken only requires cooked chicken breast. After boiling or pan-frying the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, pulse the chicken in batches in a food processor until it reaches the desired ground texture. Avoid overprocessing, as it can turn the meat into a paste, giving the chicken patties a strange texture.
Serving Suggestions
- You can’t go wrong with a side of French Fries, Sweet Potato Wedges, Crispy Butternut Squash Chips or tortilla chips!
- For a salad, you’ll love this Mexican Chicken Salad or Mexican Couscous Salad.
- A side of refried beans is always a good idea!
Meal-prep and Storing Leftovers
Meal prep: Go ahead and prep all the components up to 4 days in advance, and then thank yourself later for being so organized. Be sure to store everything in separate airtight containers.
Leftovers: When stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, you can keep the leftovers for next time for up to 4 days. Again, store the components separately. Reheat the patties in the microwave or warm them in a hot pan for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.
More Burger Recipes You’ll Love:
- Shrimp Burgers
- Air Fryer Turkey Burger
- Lemon & Herb Salmon Burgers
- Greek Lamb Burgers
- Cajun Salmon Burgers with Mango Salsa
- Top 10 Burger Recipes
If you make this Mexican Chicken Burger recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Mexican Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
Chicken Patties
- 1 ½ pounds ground chicken
- ½ medium sized red onion grated on a box grater
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 tbsp almond flour or panko bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp salt
- Juice and zest from 1 lime
- 1 jalapeno finely diced
- ¼ cup cilantro roughly chopped
Pico de Gallo
- 2 large ripe tomatoes seeded and chopped
- ½ a red onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped
- 1 lime
- Pinch of salt
Chipotle Mayonnaise
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo use the sauce from the can rather than a whole pepper
- 2 tsp lime juice
- Pinch of salt
Optional Toppings
- 4 hamburger buns
- 1 avocado mashed
- Romaine lettuce
- 4 slices red onion
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium high heat or place a grill pan on the stove.
- In a bowl combine the ground chicken, onion, cumin, smoked paprika, minced garlic, egg, almond flour, salt, juice and zest from 1 lime, jalapeño and cilantro. Using your hands blend everything together so that the seasoning is evenly distributed throughout the ground chicken.
- Form the mixture into 4 patties approx ½ inch in thickness
- To make the pico de gallo In a bowl combine the chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice. Stir until combined and sprinkle with salt. Taste and add more lime juice or jalapeño as desired. Set the salsa aside.
- In a bowl break up the avocado with a fork until its broken into small chunks (like a chunky guacamole)
- Stir the chipotle mayo ingredients together in a bowl
- Place the burgers on the grill and leave to cook for 5-7 minutes per side until cooked through.
- Assemble the burgers. Place a piece of lettuce on the bottom bun, top with the patty, then a big spoonful of the chipotle mayo, the smashed avocado and a spoonful of the pico de gallo. Finish with the top bun
Nutrition
This post was originally published on August 9, 2016 and updated with new photos and copy on May 8, 2025.
This were so good! I will definitely make these again!
Where’s the nutrition on this Mexican burger recipe?