Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers

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These Buffalo Chicken Burgers have all the zesty flavor of your favorite hot wings! Paired with crispy red onions and creamy blue cheese, each bite has the perfect balance of flavors and textures. Make this spicy chicken burger recipe for game day food or a weeknight dinner.

titled: Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burger


 

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Sandwiched between a soft pretzel roll with creamy blue cheese crumbles is a moist and flavorful chicken sausage patty with enough kick to make your taste buds stand at attention!

This buffalo chicken burger recipe is seriously simple to make, and because the patties are made with ground chicken, this meal is relatively inexpensive too.

Everything goes from grill to plate in just 15 minutes!

If you prefer ground beef, my Jalapeno Jack Burger is another fantastic spicy burger recipe to try. It has tons of seasoning and a delicious barbecue ranch sauce on top.

Or, capture the same buffalo chicken flavors in a pasta salad or cheesy dip! Either is a great option when you need to feed a crowd.

ingredients for buffalo chicken burgers recipe

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • Spicy Chicken Sausage – This has more fat than regular ground chicken, which helps keep the burgers juicy and moist. Sausage also comes seasoned for extra flavor!

    I’ll usually just buy whole sausages and remove the casings, but see if your butcher counter has it in bulk to save a step.
  • Buffalo Sauce – Frank’s is my top choice, but you can use any brand you’d like for this buffalo chicken burger recipe!
  • Honey & Butter – Add these to the sauce to tone down the heat and create a smoother consistency for basting. The butter also helps the sauce stick to the patties instead of sliding right off.
  • Blue Cheese – If you’re not a fan, Pepper Jack, cheddar, or Swiss cheese are great alternatives.
  • Pretzel Buns – The firm, chewy texture and slightly sweet flavor perfectly balance the boldness of the sauce and cheese.

    Feel free to grab some from the store if you don’t want to make them from scratch, or swap in a different bun entirely.
whisking buffalo sauce for chicken burgers in a small pan

Tips and Tricks to Make the Best Spicy Chicken Burger

  • Use chilled meat.

It’s best to use meat straight out of the refrigerator, as cold ground chicken is easier to form into patties.

  • Don’t overwork the meat mixture.

If you work the ground chicken too much or compact it too tightly, you’ll end up with a spicy chicken hamburger that is tough and dry.

  • Make patties larger than the buns.

Gently form the chicken sausage into patties that are slightly larger than the bun size.
The meat will shrink as it cooks, resulting in buffalo chicken burgers that are just the right size.

Next, make a slight indentation in the center of the patties once they are formed. Do this by pressing lightly with your thumb or finger.

The center will rise as it cooks, so doing so prevents the patties from being domed or too round!

  • Don’t press down on the burgers while cooking.

It may be tempting to press down on the chicken burgers with your spatula, but it doesn’t actually help them cook faster.

This just causes the juices to escape from the meat, another common reason for dry buffalo chicken burgers.

chicken burger patties on a grill

Prep Ahead

  • Make pretzel buns (if using homemade)
  • Remove sausage from casing
  • Slice red onion
  • Form patties

Tools You Will Need for This Recipe

  • Outdoor or Countertop Grill
  • Small Saucepan – To make the honey buffalo sauce you’ll brush over the patties.
  • Whisk – These have held up for over 10 years and are still as good as the day I bought them.
  • Basting Brush – I like this one over the silicone ones.
  • Heat-Safe Spatula – Flip each patty with ease and transfer them safely from the grill to your plate.
brushing grilled chicken burgers with buffalo sauce

Serving Suggestions

Pile buffalo chicken patties onto warm pretzel buns with sliced red onion, blue cheese crumbles, and plenty of sauce. I also add some celery sticks to my plate to help cool down the spice.

Serve these burgers up with potato chips or your favorite fries. A scoop of potato salad would also be a welcome addition to each plate.

I love this summer vegetable salad for backyard barbecues, and it’s so easy to toss baked potatoes and corn on the cob in the smoker too.

Buffalo Chicken Burger Recipe FAQ

Can I make the patties ahead of time?

Absolutely! Once formed, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before grilling. Keep tightly wrapped in plastic so they don’t dry out.

Do you have to flip chicken burgers?

Yes, you want the patties to char on both sides, and flipping also helps them cook evenly.

Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, so it’s best to test your buffalo chicken burgers with a meat thermometer to be safe!

Why do my chicken burgers fall apart?

Chicken patties often crumble if the meat is overworked or too warm. Gently form the cold ground chicken into patties and chill again before grilling for the best results.

adding topping to buffalo chicken burgers

Storing and Reheating Buffalo Chicken Patties

Once the patties are cool, place them in a sealed container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

You may want to wrap each individually in plastic or foil so they retain more moisture, and thaw frozen patties in the fridge before reheating.

It’s best to reheat spicy chicken hamburger patties in the oven or toaster oven. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and cook for about 3 minutes at 400°F.

Or, place them in a skillet on the stove with a splash of water. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat until warmed through.

In a pinch, warm buffalo chicken patties in the microwave, but do so in bursts on lower power so they don’t dry out.

buffalo chicken burger with bite taken

Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.

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close up: spicy chicken burger plated with celery sticks and extra sauce, bottle of Blue Moon beer in the background

Other Easy Burger Recipes

closeup of a spicy buffalo chicken burger in a bun with crumbled cheese and onion

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Donna Elick
These Buffalo Chicken Burgers have the zesty flavor of hot wings! Make this simple recipe for game day food or an easy weeknight dinner.
5 stars from 1 review
Tried this recipe?Please comment and review!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine American
Method Grill
Servings 4

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 pound spicy chicken sausage, casings removed
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • red onion slices
  • 4 pretzel buns, or your favorite bun

Instructions
 

  • Preheat grill to medium-high.
  • In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine the butter and honey. Once the butter mixture is melted add the buffalo sauce. Whisk to combine, once mixture is almost boiling (starting to bubble) reduce to simmer until thickened.
  • Portion and form chicken sausage into patties slightly larger than your bun (4 ounces each to serve 4, or 8 ounces to serve 2).
    Make a slight indentation in the center of the burger to prevent it from doming up in the center. The indentation will rise as your burger cooks.
  • Grill until golden brown and slightly charred (about 3-5 minutes), turning once (cook for 3 minutes on the other side for medium). Once patty is flipped, liberally brush the hot sauce onto the burger.
    After you remove the burger from the heat, brush the other side. Try not to press down on your burger with a spatula. It will cause the juices to escape and will create a dry burger!
  • To assemble burger, place 2 rings of red onion on the bottom bun. Place the chicken sausage on top. Make sure chicken sausage patty is well coated in hot sauce. Add blue cheese to top of burger.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 437cal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 2295mg | Sugar: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers - PIN

Originally published July 2012, updated and republished March 2025

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23 Comments

  1. Oh man this is a burger! I love pretzel buns making this a perfect ride for the chicken..
    Tasty!!

  2. This sounds delicious, Donna! Loving that you made the burger out of spicy chicken sausage, seriously yum.

  3. you are the burger queen and chicken queen and turkey queen! Heck- you are the queen. I bow down!

  4. And I thought the buns were genius! My Hubby will love this burger! Thanks for sharing!

  5. Your husband sounds a lot like mine. My husband love spicy foods too. I know he would enjoy your burger. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Great pictures too.

    1. Thanks Brandi! Nice to meet you. Let me know when you try it and what you come up with. I was just checking out your page. Ricotta pancakes! I like the way you think. They are one of my fav's and yours look amazing!

    1. How exciting. Thanks for pinning us. Let me know what you come up with. I love to hear adaptations!

  6. Chad is one lucky dude! I pinned and tweeted this. Now I just have to make it, **** that is a gorgeous sandwich. You rock!

    1. Thanks Chris! I make sure and remind him of how lucky he is each day. hehehe j/k

      I appreciate the compliments, between you and Jessica I may end up Ms Queen of Burgers. ; )

  7. YUM! This looks delicious and now all I have to do is go to my linky party to find it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday. Just realized I wasn't following you on GFC so remedied that.

    marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com

  8. Hi Donna! I made these for Canada Day (July 1st). OMGoodness, they were fantastic to say the least but boy were they hot. We had no idea that they were going to be this hot and spicy, you should put up a warning. I couldn't get the pretzel buns but made due with whole wheat, but I think the pretzel buns would have put this over the top. I'll be making them again but this time I'll be toning down the heat. I've placed them on my "Pinned It, Did It, Loved It!" board with a 5 star rating. Here's the link you can check it out…

    http://www.pinterest.com/aprilglen/pinned-it-did-it-loved-it/

  9. Your chicken burgers look great! I’ve wanted to make chicken burgers for a while, but I keep forgetting to put it on my to do list

  10. HI Donna.
    Am I missing something???
    Where is the "binder" to hold chicken patty together?
    Please advise. Steve