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Cranberry Pesto Chicken Burgers

These cranberry pesto chicken burgers are packed full of flavor and the perfect balance of sweet and savory. You’ll love how easy these burgers are to make and they pair perfectly with all your summer bbq favorite side dishes. Plus they’re ready in just 30 minutes!

This post is sponsored by US Cranberries. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. 

It’s burger time! You know I LOVE a good burger and you also know I LOVE me some ground chicken. While I will always have a soft spot for beef burgers, time and time again I choose to make chicken burgers. I think it’s because it can handle A LOT of flavors and I’m big on flavor when it comes to my burgers. A few years ago I took ground chicken and transformed it into a Thai chicken burger and this year I’m taking ground chicken and throwing in dried cranberries and pesto to create a crazy delicious burger with hints of sweetness and TONS of savory goodness.

Plus, who doesn’t love Brie cheese all melted on top of their burgers? So. Freaking. Good.

I feel like cranberries sort of get the shaft when it comes to summer cooking. I mean, no one forgets about them in the fall and winter but they are a little ignored in the summer. Well, I’m here to change that! While we all know that dried cranberries are awesome when thrown in leafy or potato salads, they also work CRAZY WELL in these cranberry pesto chicken burgers. I rehydrated mine in a little warm water to make sure they were soft and plump and worked perfectly in the burger.

Then I threw in a few tablespoons of pesto because who doesn’t love basil? Seriously, basil is one of the best flavors of summer. Finally, I topped it off with creamy Brie cheese, pesto mayonnaise and a handful (or two!) of micro greens.

PLUS, did you know that 80% of the U.S. population enjoys cranberries and 44% voted them one of the most versatile fruits. Which I have to say I agree with considering I have used them in everything from smoothies to BBQ sauce to burgers. Plus cranberries are America’s Original Superfruit and who doesn’t love enjoying a superfruit? Especially when it’s in burger form!

I know all of you are dying to make this burger so get to grilling and get this baby made! Trust me, you’ll want to put dried cranberries in all your burgers after you give this a try! Also, don’t forget to enter in the #SummerCranFan contest below! With your help, your local food bank could receive a $1,000 donation! The directions and link to enter are below!

Here’s how it works:

The top five mentioned food banks will each receive a $1,000 donation from the Cranberry Marketing Committee.

The challenge will run from June 12 to July 31, 2017

For details, visit https://bit.ly/2rk0XcZ

{For more burger recipes try my Apple Butter Onion Chicken BurgersChicken Tandoori BurgerOpen Face BBQ Chicken Burger with Peach Corn Salsa or my Chicken Souvlaki Burgers}

Cranberry Pesto Chicken Burgers

These cranberry pesto chicken burgers are packed full of flavor and the perfect balance of sweet and savory. You'll love how easy these burgers are to make and they pair perfectly with all your summer bbq favorite side dishes. Plus they're ready in just 30 minutes!

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For burger:

  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons pesto
  • 1 tablespoon grated garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 slices Brie cheese

For basil mayonnaise:

  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons pesto

For assembly:

  • 4 brioche buns
  • Micro greens

Directions:

For burger:
Add dried cranberries to a small bowl and just cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes while they reconstitute. Once plump, drain and chop.

In a large bowl add ground chicken, panko bread crumbs, pesto, grated garlic, kosher salt, black pepper and chopped cranberries. Using you hands mix together until thoroughly combined.

Shape into 4 equal-sized patties.

In a large skillet add olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the burgers and cook on both sides until the patties are golden in color and the meat is fully cooked, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, top with Brie cheese, cover and let the warmth of the pan melt the cheese.

Optional: You can also grill the burgers by heating your grill to medium heat and cooking for about 10 minutes. Add the cheese at the end of grilling to melt.

To serve, lay out the buns, slather with basil mayonnaise, add the burger and top with a handful of micro greens.

For mayo:
Mix the mayonnaise and pesto together until fully combined and smooth.