Green Chili Chicken Burgers
I’m going to tell you something.
I have a few bad habits, and one of the worst is never refilling the ice cube tray. We don’t have a fridge that makes ice, so we use the old-school trays that need to be dumped and refilled. When we’re entertaining or drinking, an empty tray becomes a real annoyance — and for me it’s up there with emptying the dishwasher and folding laundry as one of the most tedious tasks.
Apparently this reached a breaking point for my husband. He tossed an empty, room-temperature tray onto the floor and asked, “Why are these always sitting on the counter? Is it really that hard to take five seconds, fill them with water, and put them back in the fridge?”
Why yes. Yes it is.
I don’t know why I do little lazy things like set a new roll of toilet paper on top of an empty one instead of replacing it. I’m part of the internet generation that gets things instantly with a click, and some of those habits stick in annoying ways.
To be fair, one reason he snapped was that he was starving — the kind of hunger that builds fast and makes people irritable. Half an hour before the confrontation, I had a hunch trouble might brew in the kitchen, so I decided to make the green chili chicken burgers I’d been craving. To keep things calm and to save time, I made only one burger to tide him over. Because it was something new and he can be picky, I tasted it.
One bite became another, and before I knew it more than half the sandwich was gone. He burst through the door like an angry bull, saw the empty ice trays, and started complaining. Luckily my half-eaten burger softened him right up. He apologized profusely, then devoured a second burger, finished mowing the lawn, and came in for a third. This is my life — and the joy of simple, irresistible food.
But you don’t need to hear all of that. The point is: we love these. Truly love them.
Green Chili Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 2.5 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into tiny cubes, plus more for topping
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- juice of half a lime
Instructions
Preheat a grill or heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, garlic, the cubed Monterey Jack, and half a can of diced green chiles. Mix gently until just combined — avoid overworking the meat. Divide the mixture into four equal portions and form into patties.
Place the patties on the grill or in the skillet and cook 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. When you flip the burgers, top them with additional Monterey Jack so it melts while the second side cooks.
While the burgers cook, toast the buns if desired. In a small bowl combine the remaining diced green chiles with the honey, lime juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper to make a bright, slightly sweet green chili sauce.
To serve, spoon the green chili sauce over each cheeseburger and enjoy. These pair beautifully with extra toppings like sliced avocado or a generous scoop of guacamole.
Note: If you use regular ground chicken (not all breast), it’s fattier and you can reduce or omit the olive oil.
P.S. I ate them again last night with a huge pile of guacamole on top. Highly recommended.