Change-up your weekly burger routine with these healthy chicken parmesan burgers. Grill then serve with homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.
I am a burger-year-round kind of woman. While I’m often found making simple burger recipes that please the toddler-duo, sometimes I throw their wishes aside and make burgers and other meals that I know will please Dad too. We can’t forget about Dad! In fact, it all started way back when I loved cooking for Ted and making some of his favorite recipes, which included these chicken parmesan burgers.
You could say Ted got down on one knee the first time he tasted this chicken parmesan burger. While I might have fooled him that this meal had me in the kitchen all day, simple flavors that mirror the classic Italian-American dish couldn’t be easier to make. The key? The world’s easiest marinara sauce! My pantry is never without canned food staples, such as canned tomato sauce and tomato paste, which are the base of the star burger topping. By keeping a well-stocked pantry with canned food staples like tomato products, I know I’m able to make healthy, homemade meals a reality, more often and year-round. A trick of the trade Mom doesn’t make known to her boys too often… sometimes the words healthy and dinner don’t always go over well.
The nutrition profile of this chicken parmesan burger is easier on the waistline than the traditional breaded or fried Italian-American version too. In fact, by using the canned tomato products for my marinara sauce, I know the tomatoes were picked and canned at the peak of freshness, locking in important nutrients our bodies need, such as the powerful antioxidant lycopene. Research shows that lycopene in canned tomatoes can be absorbed more efficiently by the body than fresh varieties of tomatoes. You might be surprised to learn that most canned produce is on par nutritionally with some fresh or frozen varieties, so don’t pass up the canned food isle next time your stocking your pantry!
- 1 pound ground white meat chicken
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 cup canned tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 whole wheat hamburger buns
- Optional: Fresh spinach leaves for serving
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the ground chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and egg using your hands. Form into four equal-sized patties.
- Meanwhile, heat saucepan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Sautee garlic for 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, paste, sugar and dried basil. Stir until combined and heated through, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low until burgers are ready.
- While sauce is simmering, grill chicken burger patties over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes per side. During the last minute of cooking, top each burger with a ¼ cup of mozzarella. Heat until slightly melted. If you do not have access to a grill, you can easily cook these burgers in a skillet. Find those directions here.
- Place burgers and sauce on split buns. Serve immediately.
A healthy twist on the classic Italian dish: Healthy Chicken Parmesan Burgers. Grilled to perfection! Share on X
So if your significant other is like mine, the kind of person that always orders chicken parmesan when he sees it on a restaurant menu, then you have to make this chicken parmesan burger. Momma got the best thank you ever last week when I made this… Ted thanked me by doing bath time and bedtime solo. Now that’s what every toddler-Mom wants!
Disclosure: I am proud to partner with Cans Get You Cooking to bring you healthy recipes that are both kid tested and parent approved. Because of these great partnerships I am able to share delicious and nutritious family-friendly recipes. As always all opinion and ideas are 100% my own. For more delicious and nutritious recipes using canned food products, be sure to visit the Cans Get You Cooking website.
