Crispy Panko Chicken Burger - Baked, Fried or Air-fried!
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These Crispy Panko Chicken Burgers are a homemade take on the fast food classic! Enjoy the crunchy, juicy chicken with your favourite toppings, all in between lightly toasted burger buns. Options for oven-baking, frying, or air-frying!
This Crispy Panko Chicken Burger recipe will show you how to make the best crispy chicken burger YOUR WAY - fried, baked, or air fried! Bring your fast food favourite at home and enjoy whenever you’ve got a craving for some crispy chicken!
The Love for Crispy Chicken
My favourite meaty burger would have to be a crispy chicken sandwich. From McDonald’s India, my favourite burger was the McSpicy Chicken. In Canada, my favourite crispy chicken sandwich is the KFC Zinger Burger. I can’t tell you how many cravings I’ve had for it, and I just go out and get it! I’m not sure what it is that I love about crispy chicken so much… I just love the crunch on the outside, but how juicy and tender chicken is on the inside. Having that amazing chicken wrapped up in burger buns is such a delightful experience!
But let’s be honest and say that as much as we wish we could eat it every day, we probably shouldn’t! Not to mention that the burgers are quite expensive when you compare it to the cost of making it yourself, adding up the quantities of the ingredients you use in the recipe!
If you bake or air fry the chicken, however, you’re making this sandwich much healthier by avoiding all of the vegetable oil used to fry the chicken. Not to mention that this will make less of a mess, so it’s going to cook faster too! That’s always a bonus!
I’ll give some more details on how to make a crispy chicken sandwich at home healthy, so let’s get on to the recipe!
Ingredients for Panko Crispy Chicken
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make your crispy chicken:
Chicken breast
Flour
Egg
Panko breadcrumbs
That’s it! It’s super basic, but a few ingredients will really go a long way!
Preparing and Breading the Chicken
Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag or between two plastic wraps and pound thin using a meat tenderizer (about 1/4 inch thickness). If using a large chicken breast (>150 g) cut the chicken into smaller portions by cutting it diagonally in two equal halves.
Measure out the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in different plates or large bowls. Season flour with salt and pepper, lightly whisk the egg.
Working with once chicken portion at a time, dredge the chicken in flour, shake off excess. Dip the chicken in the egg and evenly coat both sides. Let excess drip off and coat the chicken in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to press the breadcrumbs on the chicken for an extra crispy chicken.
Shallow-Fried Crispy Chicken Burger Variation
Frying the chicken
In a pan, heat about 1/2 cup of oil on medium heat and fry the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Use tongs to flip the chicken to help evenly brown each side.
Once the chicken has finished cooking, set it aside on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. The wire rack will help prevent the crispy crust from turning soggy.
As the chicken is cooking, start cooking the bacon by placing it on a cold pan and setting it to medium heat. Cook, turning every 2-3 minutes until crispy. Toast the burger buns and prepare the burger toppings.
When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread 1 Tbsp of mayonnaise and buffalo sauce on the buns. Add the lettuce, tomato, crispy chicken, bacon, and onions. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
Baked Crispy Chicken Burger Variation
Baking the Chicken
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Bake on the top-most rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes turning once at the 7 minute mark. In the final two minutes of cooking, turn on the broiler to lightly roast the breadcrumbs.
As the chicken is cooking, toast your burger buns and prepare the burger toppings. When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread 1 Tbsp of BBQ sauce on the buns. Add the lettuce, tomato, crispy chicken, cucumber slices, and avocado slices. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Place breaded chicken in the air fryer basket and set the air fryer to Air Fry mode, at 375 F and set timer for 20 minutes.
After 5 minutes have passed, brush each side of the chicken with oil, flip the chicken and resume the air fryer.
With 5 minutes remaining on the timer the chicken should be golden brown across. Add the cheese over the chicken and continue cooking until the cheese has molten.
As the chicken is cooking, toast your burger buns and prepare the burger toppings.
When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread the sriracha sauce and mayonnaise on the buns.
Add the lettuce, crispy chicken, cucumber slices, onion and avocado slices. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
Which Burger to Choose?
If you’re like me you want to eat delicious food every day. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here! With a classic crispy chicken burger, we use oil to shallow fry the chicken. This adds to the fat content of the burger. Additionally, the oils used to fry, such as canola oil and vegetable oil, are not considered the healthiest cooking oils. Furthermore, it can make for quite a mess to fill your pan with oil, fry the chicken, then discard the oil and clean your pan. You also need to place paper towel on the counter when your chicken has finished cooking to pat out the excess oil.
On the other hand, you’ll just need a wire rack and baking tray to bake the chicken. You’re also avoiding the extra fat content that comes from frying. However, while I do say that the baked version is extremely crispy, let’s be honest here and admit that it just isn’t the same fast food flavour you get from the fried version.
The third option is air frying. That’s become my new favourite choice! I love air frying my French fries or chicken wings, as you can see from my Juicy Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings and Spicy Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings recipes! If you want an ultra-close option in terms of crispiness and taste to actually shallow frying the crispy chicken burger,
So what do you do? Well, it’s up to you! Just like how you can easily use my Yogurt Caesar-Sour Cream Dressing as a sauce for the buns.
You can easily make the baked and air fryer options for a nutritious lunch or dinner. It won’t take much clean-up or preparation time. As the chicken bakes, you can go ahead and do something else.
If you’re looking forward to replicating your fast food favourite and bring some nostalgia, then go ahead and make the fried version! There’s a time and a place to indulge and treat yourself. Balance is key. But with the three options I’m showing you here, there’s no reason NOT to enjoy a crispy chicken burger! You can make it an every day thing with the baked version, or a special occasion with the fried version!
What to Serve with Crispy Chicken Burger
Of course you could serve this crispy chicken sandwich with some fries! I have three French Fry recipe options:
Choose whatever you’re in the mood for! For a lighter side, you could make my Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad - if you’re already using the Homemade Yogurt Caesar Dressing in this burger, then you’re already half way there!
Can I Use Chicken Thighs?
Thighs will fit right in to this recipe. They are more tender than chicken breast and will give much more flavour that chicken breast. If you prefer chicken thighs over chicken breast, go ahead and replace it.
Freezing the Crispy Chicken Patty
The breaded panko chicken can easily be prepped in advance and frozen for use later. This is very convenient for weeknight dinners, it will save you up to 15-20 minutes if your prepare the chicken in advance. Furthermore, this recipe for breaded chicken can also be adapted for all of these awesome recipes:
Lemon and Thyme Chicken Schnitzel (recipe coming soon)
To freeze the chicken, cover the chicken with parchment paper and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Then, transfer the patties to a freezer safe Ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to 6 months.
To defrost and use, remove the chicken from the freezer the night before and let the chicken defrost naturally.
Watch How to Make crispy panko Chicken burger here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Crispy Panko Chicken Burger - Baked or Fried!
Ingredients
- 2 small chicken breasts or 1 large chicken breast
- 1 large egg, lightly whipped plus more as needed
- 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper or paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- mayonnaise and sriracha sauce or BBQ sauce
- lettuce
- cucumber slices
- onions, sliced
- avocado
- 2 burger buns
- mayonnaise
- buffalo sauce
- cheddar cheese slices
- lettuce
- tomato slices (1/4 inch thick slices)
- onion, sliced into rings (1/4 inch thick rings)
- 2 bacon strips
- 2 burger buns
- peanut oil, for shallow frying
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag or between two plastic wraps and pound thin using a meat tenderizer (about 1/4 inch thickness).
- If using a large chicken breast (>150 g) cut the chicken into smaller portions by cutting it diagonally in two equal halves.
- Measure out the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in different plates or large bowls. Season flour with salt, pepper and cayenne/paprika, lightly whisk the egg and season breadcrumbs with oregano.
- Working with once chicken portion at a time, dredge the chicken in flour, shake off excess. Dip the chicken in the egg and evenly coat both sides. Let excess drip off and coat the chicken in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to press the breadcrumbs on the chicken for an extra crispy chicken.
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Bake on the top-most rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes turning once at the 7 minute mark. In the final two minutes of cooking, turn on the broiler to lightly roast the breadcrumbs.
- As the chicken is cooking, toast your burger buns and prepare the burger toppings.
- When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread the BBQ sauce on the buns.
- Add the lettuce, crispy chicken, cucumber slices, onion and avocado slices. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
- In a pan, heat about 1/2 cup of oil on medium heat and fry the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Use tongs to flip the chicken to help evenly brown each side.
- Once the chicken has finished cooking, set it aside on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack and top with cheese. The residual heat will be enough to melt the cheese. You can also place the baking sheet under the broiler for 30 seconds if you want.
- As the chicken is cooking, start cooking the bacon by placing it on a cold pan and setting it to medium heat. Cook, turning every 2-3 minutes until crispy. Toast the burger buns and prepare the burger toppings.
- When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread the mayonnaise and buffalo sauce on the buns.
- Add the lettuce, tomato, crispy chicken, bacon, and onions. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
- Place breaded chicken in the air fryer basket and set the air fryer to Air Fry mode, at 375 F and set timer for 20 minutes.
- After 5 minutes have passed, brush each side of the chicken with oil, flip the chicken and resume the air fryer.
- With 5 minutes remaining on the timer the chicken should be golden brown across. Add the cheese over the chicken and continue cooking until the cheese has molten.
- As the chicken is cooking, toast your burger buns and prepare the burger toppings.
- When the chicken has finished cooking, begin assembling the burger. Spread the sriracha sauce and mayonnaise on the buns.
- Add the lettuce, crispy chicken, cucumber slices, onion and avocado slices. Place the top bun over the bottom. Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
927.10Fat (grams)
34.17Sat. Fat (grams)
8.86Carbs (grams)
108.92Fiber (grams)
15.52Net carbs
93.41Sugar (grams)
13.77Protein (grams)
49.00Sodium (milligrams)
1289.89Cholesterol (grams)
169.42Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
