Are you ready for the most delicious tasty spicy low-carb Mexican chicken burgers that can be ready in 15 minutes, start to finish? The perfect low carb, keto, grain free, healthy family meal.
Scroll below to watch the new cooking video.
"These are the best burgers ever," said my 10-year-old last night. These are yummy and quick enough to satisfy anyone's takeaway craving.
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How many carbs are there in a Mexican burger
There are very few carbs in a bunless (naked) burger. There is no bun, no french fries, and no sugary soda drinks.
Most of the carbs come from the onion and the garlic. Both are optional flavors so you may omit them to reduce the carbs even further. If you do not use them, you may wish to add more spices such as chili powder, cumin, or coriander.
When you decide to live wheat-free and no longer have burger buns, you can actually taste the meat and fillings inside a bunless burger. The subtle flavors and spices are no longer lost in the starchy bread.
Ingredients
- Minced/ground chicken - the perfect mild meat that works perfectly for a Mexican burger. Minced/ground turkey or beef will also work.
- Red onion - finely sliced or diced
- Garlic - fresh is best, but dried will lower the carb content
- Chilli - add more or less to your taste
- Paprika - this adds a wonderful smoky, chipotle like taste. Add more or less to your taste
- Cumin - add more or less to your taste
- Coriander/cilantro - add more or less to your taste
- Egg - this helps bind everythign together so the burger won't fall apart when flipping them. If you have an egg allergy, you may omit this but it may fall apart.
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Either using wet hands or a burger press, press firmly to form burger shapes. The recipe makes 6 medium-sized Mexican burgers.
How to cook in a frying pan
Heat the skillet or frying pan to medium-high heat. Add your preferred cooking oil and fry for 5 minutes and until browned on one side. Gently flip your burger using tongs or a spatula. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the burgers are cooked on both sides and it is cooked right into the center.
How to use an air fryer to cook burgers
Using an air fryer to cook burgers makes for a quick and easy family dinner. You don't have to stand by the frying pan flippin' burgers and you avoid oil from splattering all over your shirt.
An air fryer helps to cook the burgers from both sides, however, they will only brown on the top uppermost side. So you still need to flip your burgers halfway through to get a lovely browned traditional burger taste and look.
- Preheat to 190C/375F.
- Spray the wire basket with cooking oil.
- Gently place each burger into the oiled basket. Ensure there is plenty of space between them.
- Cook for 5 minutes, open the drawer and turn each piece.
- Cook for a further 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of burgers being cooked. Chicken must be completely cooked into the centre of each piece.
If you love using your air fryer, I have 101 keto air fryer recipes for you to choose from (chicken, pork, ground beef, salmon, vegetables, and even desserts). Discover how to use your air fryer plus FREE printable air fryer cooking cheat sheets.
How do you know when burgers are cooked?
You must always cook raw chicken meat thoroughly with no visible signs of blood, raw juice, or uncooked meat.
You can test the meat using the following methods:
- Use a meat thermometer
- Press the centre and it should be firm
- Press the burger flat against the frying pan to see if any juices that are released are clear
- Cut one burger in half to see any visible raw meat, and you cannot see any signs of pink raw meat
What to serve with bunless burgers
I served our bunless low-carb Mexican Chicken Burgers on a large slice of capsicum, then begin to layer a low-carb Mexican Chicken Burger, a slice of tomato, avocado salsa, ending finally with cream cheese. You can place another slice of capsicum on top, or serve as it is with a side salad.
Without the bread bun, it means these low-carb Mexican chicken burgers are light and healthy, not leaving you full and bloated afterwards.
Throw as much chilli in as you can handle. If your children don't like them spicy, make them mild then spice yours up with tabasco sauce. Make them fiery for those who like it hot.
I like to place some small dishes on the dining table with sliced capsicum, tomatoes, cream cheese, and avocado salsa so everyone can fully load their salads with extras. Drizzle the salad with chili-infused olive oil.
📖 Recipe
Mexican Chicken Burgers (Keto, 0.8g net carbs)
Please rate this recipe
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lb) mince/ ground chicken
- ¼ (½ ) red onion diced finely
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon dried coriander/cilantro
- 1 egg to bind the burger together
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to get all the flavours through.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil in a frying pan on a medium heat.
- Spoon the burger mixture into the hot oil and fry on each side until golden and cooked through to the centre.
- Serve with capsicum, tomato, avocado salsa, cream cheese, chilli flakes.
A quick little video showing you how to make avocado salsa. Can you spot why this is different from guacamole?
Valorie
May I ask what is capsicum?? Thank you! Can you buy ground chicken in the store or do you have to do your own?? 😊
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Apologies, if there are two recognised international names for various foods I usually give both for my worldwide audience. Cpasiucums = bell peppers 🙂 And yes, you can buy ground chicken in your local grocery store, it is such a versatile way to use chicken.
Kristine
I do like chicken burgers but this recipe did not meet our flavor expectations. I’ll make these again but add more seasonings than called for. I guess we are used to having Cajun seasonings on our food. The burger was tender and juicy. I forgot the egg but it didn’t need it as the patty binded well without it. Thanks for the recipe.
Marsha
I wish I could give these higher than 5 stars that were THAT good!!! I have never cooked w ground chicken before and thought they might be dry. I made both a chicken version (the exact recipe) and a beef version (subing 80/20 ground beef for the chicken) just to see what the difference would be. They are so much better w chicken but the beef were ok too. I mixed up the meat in the morning to let the flavors blend more. I will be adding these (in chicken) to my weekly menu for sure!!! Thanks Libby. Keep the awesomeness coming.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Wow, what a recipe review, thank you so much and I am overjoyed how much you enjoyed them.
Sandy
What kind of dried chili? Cihili powder or something
Different?
I also noticed 1 of the comments mentioned cream cheese..do we add that?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
This is the link to the chilli that can be used. Most recipes have links to Amazon in the recipe ingredients itself, or below with their images. The cream cheese is served on top of the burger to add taste, flavour and healthy fats,
Sandy
Thanks
Kristina
You link for the dried chili don’t work please give another recommendation?!
Libby Jenkinson, MPS
Any chili flakes or powdered chili will work. Choose the one that you prefer and add enough to satisfy your spicy craving. You can see all my pantry ingredients here in my Ditch The Carbs Amazon shop.
Anne Tisdale
Do you use dark meat ground chicken or ground chicken breast? These look delicious.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I can only find ground chicken breast here, I would prefer the dark meat ground chicken as it is slightly more nutritious on some aspects and more tasty (in my opinion).
Cathy
Do you use cooked chicken or raw? It looks like you already have it cooked.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I use raw ground/minced chicken and it is cooked once formed into a hamburger patty thoroughly in the frying pan.
Lisa
I can't wait to try these. I may serve them with a side salad.
djnikkik
This is a brilliant recipe, it is so incredibly fresh and light but also so satisfying. I must admit when I was making the burgers I didn't expect the flavours in the burger and the toppings to work so amazingly well together. I never would have thought to add the cream cheese, but it all tastes so good!
Anna
Absolutely the best chicken burgers ever. Thank you so much. I made the avocado salsa too. Delicious.
Wendy
Made this tonight...absolutely yummy and I wasn't hungry afterwards either.
Mathew
You could try using portobello mushrooms as bun replacements. I fry them in butter top and bottom for my mince burgers
MyKabulKitchen
Looks yummy lots of flavors in that burger...I may just do it with a bun...yikes! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Go on, try it just once without the burger bun. You will be amazed at how lighter you feel. Or use giant mushrooms or lettuce as the burger 'bun'. Thanks for stopping by.
Valerie
thanks Libby.. i love low carb living