Crack Chicken Burgers – the BEST ground chicken burger EVER!!! We ate these for lunch and dinner on the same day. Who knew ground chicken burgers could taste so good?!? Ground chicken, cheddar cheese, bacon, ranch dressing mix. Can make patties ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later. These are a new favorite in our house!
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Pin This RecipeThe BEST Grilled Ground Chicken Burger
Can you believe this is the first time I have ever made a ground chicken burger? You would think that Plain Chicken would eat a lot of chicken burgers, but this is the very first one. I can promise you this won’t be the last chicken burger. We LOVED these Crack Chicken Burgers!!! SO easy and they tasted great. Chicken Legs took one bite and couldn’t stop raving about these delicious chicken burgers! We ate them for lunch and leftover for dinner on the same day. We liked these better than regular beef burgers. I was shocked!

Ground Chicken Burgers Loaded With Cheddar, Bacon, and Ranch
These Crack Chicken Burgers are loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch dressing mix. Our favorite flavor combination. You are going to use the ranch dressing mix dry. Don’t make the ranch dressing. Just use the packet of dry mix. I used the whole packet of ranch mix. Feel free to reduce the amount of ranch mix to your personal preference. I know some people feel the ranch dressing mix is too salty. If you do reduce the ranch mix, you might need to add a tablespoon or two of bread crumbs to the ground chicken mixture. Ground chicken has a tendency to fall apart on the grill if there aren’t enough binders in it.

How to Cook Ground Chicken Burgers
We cooked these Crack Chicken Burgers on the grill. Make sure to spray the grill grate with cooking spray before putting the ground chicken burgers on the grill. They have a tendency to stick.
You only want to flip the burgers one time. Put them on the grill and let them cook 4 or 5 minutes and then carefully flip them. Let them cook an additional 4 or 5 minutes, depending on how thick the burgers are. You want to make sure the ground chicken burgers are cooked completely. Unlike ground beef burgers, you don’t want any pink in these ground chicken burgers.
If you don’t have a grill, you can cook these on the stove or even the air fryer. They will cook approximately the same time as they cook on the grill, about 8 to 10 minutes.

What to Serve with Crack Chicken Burgers
We topped our Crack Chicken Burgers with more cheddar cheese and bacon. I don’t think you can ever have too much cheese or bacon!!! We also added some lettuce and tomato. Perfection! This really is the BEST burger! I can not wait to make these again! We love to serve these Crack Chicken Burgers with fries or roasted potatoes. They also go great with a salad or some pasta salad. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with these Crack Chicken Burgers:
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Watch How to Make Crack Chicken Burgers

Crack Chicken Burgers
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 (1-oz) package ranch dressing mix
- ⅓ cup cooked and crumbled bacon
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- hamburger buns
Instructions:
- Combine ground chicken, ranch dressing mix, cooked bacon, and cheddar cheese.
- Form into 3 or 4 burger patties.
- Prepare grill. Grill chicken burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side.
- Serve on hamburger buns with favorite burger toppings.
Video:
Notes:
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/
- Use the ranch dressing mix dry. Do not make the dip.
- If reducing the amount of ranch dressing mix, add a tablespoon or two of dry breadcrumbs.
- Cook burgers until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
Steph
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Can you use vegan ranch dressing as a substitute? I am allergic to dairy.
Sure, but note that this recipe uses the dry ranch dressing mix – not bottled dressing.
So moist, delicious, quick and easy!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
OMG! Love this recipe, my husband has not grilled beef burgers since I first made these, he always wants the “Chickie Burgers” now!
These were amazing – i will not go back hamburger!
Made them this evening. They were very good. Anyone know the protein amount in 1 burger?
Made these last night. SO good!!!
Does ground chicken taste like chicken? Is it made with white meat? Never had it before.
Thanks
It is literally ground up chicken. So, yes, it tastes like chicken.
would canned chicken work?? would that be the same as ground
never seen ground chicken???….
No. This recipe is for raw ground chicken. It is in the meat section at the grocery store.
Ask your butcher in the meat dept to grind the chicken if you can’t fìnd any.
This is my second time making these – so delicious! This time I used Mexi-blend cheese. Perfect for ketogenic food plan if you skip the bun. I had MYO ranch mix, so I used 2 tablespoons and it was perfectly seasoned.
Could you assemble these ahead of time and then place in the fridge until ready to grill?
yes
This was delicious!!
I made these tonight and they are so good. We topped them chopped green chilies and it was a total game changer! Can’t wait to serve these again!!
So good!! Such a lighter meal than a regular burger. Delicious!!
can they be made with ground pork?
I don’t see why not
These burgers are delicious! I made them for a quick mid week meal. The hubs loved them as well. Will definitely make them again!
Instead of burgers I made this into a meatloaf. I added some panko and egg.
Making these for the 8492nd time tonight. Anyone who I’ve served them to loves them. Awesome recipe when you want a burger but not beef (maybe I’m just weird). Or if you just love anything “cracked”. Everything made from this site has been a success!
SOOO glad you enjoy the burgers! They are a favorite at our house too!
Oh my gosh! I really didn’t think these were going to be great, maybe ok at best. I was so wrong! Even my BF loved them and he really isn’t a chicken guy. I’ll be making them on a regular basis. Thank you!
These were such a hit with my family! A nice change from grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for our Fourth of July barbecue! Melted cheddar cheese on top and had on grilled buns with lettuce tomato, and Mayo. Served with fresh half runner green beans and Cajun grilled corn on the cob on the side, and watermelon for dessert. My husband can’t stop raving about them! I added a little minced green onion as a variation… may try minced jalapeños for my son’s burgers next time. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Delicious! Just had them for dinner and we loved them. Next time When they are ready to flip, I’ll move them to a plate and spray the grill pan again with non stick spray before putting them back in to grill the other side. They stuck trying to get them out after they were done. Moved the recipe to my Make It Again folder!
I don’t have ranch dressing mix only dip mix. Will that work?
Yes, the dip mix will work
using ground taco turkey
This was soooooo good!!! We will be making them again!!! 😋
Just made these, I cooked on stovetop, so easy and delicious!!!
SO glad you enjoyed them, Laurie!
Delicious!!! Used 1 oz of dry leek mix….so very good!!
These were amazing! Shared the recipe with my daughter, they loved them too. Thanks for sharing.
No matter what I do, the burgers fall apart (air fryer, grill, frying pan). I have embraced the struggle and choose to make them as sloppy joe type burgers now. Still taste great!
Where do you find ground chicken??never heard of it ground
At the store in the meat section
Love this recipe. My husband requests these once or twice a week.
Do you have cooking suggestions if you don’t have a grill? What about oven or pan fried? Thank you!
Skillet or oven both work fine
Absolutely delicious….we used swiss cheese in place of cheddar just because thats what we had.
We will definitely make them again.
Left out the bacon (trying to eat healthier) and didn’t miss it. These are sooooo good. Will definitely make again, over and over, and over!
I was just trying to find a substitute for hamburger which has skyrocketed in our area, but boy, howdy! This is a great recipe! Just delicious. Ground my own chicken ($1.99 a pound for breasts compared to $5.88 pound for 90% hamburger.) Thrilled with price, shocked at how good it is! Thank you for sharing!
I made these tonight. I have to be honest, I didn’t think the three simple ingredients could be all you need to have a really good burger but I stand corrected. These were just delicious! I thought the ranch would be overpowering but it wasn’t. It was a well-balanced flavor and I am impressed. I used turkey instead of chicken because it was cheaper but I don’t think it would taste any different had I used chicken. Great recipe, I will definitely make these again.
SO glad you enjoyed them!
I went easy on the ranch seasoning and added Panko. Big mistake – add panko if you wish, but keep all the ranch seasoning! These were delicious, will 110% be making again!!
Perfection!
OMG!!! The best ever!! I don’t like ground turkey or chicken because of the “poultry “ smell ,
But I decided to give these a try- DELICIOUS!!
Definitely our favorite recipe! We have these once a week! Great summer meal off the grill and so easy to put together- I have shared this recipe with everyone I know!!
I made these and they fell apart. I didn’t use any cheese in them, could that be why? Does cheese work as a binder? I added some horseradish sauce to my mix, could that be why?
That could be why. I tested this recipe several times to get it right. The recipe I used did not fall apart.
Absolutely excellent chicken burger! I prefer sliders vs. monster burgers and I mixed everything (except) bacon the night before.
I love every recipe you created and the awesome reviews really seals the deal for me. Thanks
Hey looking to make these soon, they don’t need eggs and bread to help hold together like beef or turkey burgers?
I did not use eggs in this recipe, but you can if you wish.
Why do I think corn would be good in these?? Anyway I’m making them tonight!! They sound yummy!!
Sounds interesting. If you like corn, I say go for it. Let us know what you think.
Can you bake these instead of grilling them?
sure
Outstanding! Added a tad more cooked bacon. Served bun-less. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe.
Love these!!!! Made them for dinner last night, on Brioche buns, they were awesome!
Next time I’m going to make sliders!!!!!
OMG, this was absolutely fantastic. It is definitely a keeper. Thanks for a great recipe.
Just made these for dinner tonight.. wasn’t able to find just plain ranch dip but did find frank’s buffalo ranch for a spicy twist! Hubby and I both loved and would make again!
How many tablespoons of ranch from a jar? Don’t have the packets.
It should say on the side of the jar, but I believe 3 Tbsp is equal to one packet.
We have made these numerous times since I found this recipe. They are excellent and a different twist to a traditional burger. I am going to try this with turkey since chicken is next to impossible to find at least in my area of Indiana
If you freeze these, do they need to be thawed before cooking? We had them last night and they were delicious! I froze the leftovers in patty form. Just not sure about the thawing. Thanks!
You can freeze them cooked or uncooked. I usually freeze them uncooked, thaw and cook.
Will ground turkey work well or too dry?
I think ground turkey would be fine.
I made these for dinner last night, they are so good!! I used a 3oz bag of real bacon bits instead of frying and crumbling my own bacon, and used a George Foreman grill to cook them. I used ranch dressing and a couple of sliced jalapenos on mine, partner used bbq sauce along with lettuce and tomato and we both really enjoyed them.
About how many strips is 1/3 cup bacon?