Real talk time. Veggies and I aren’t always friends. Like I eat ALL the things but my vegetables. Or I get in a snacking mood and don’t find that veggies end up as snacks. I’m working on that last bit but it’s reality. So to working with my love of small/bite sized food, I love to make mini versions of things and sneak in the veggies. Today’s recipe is a recent one that is incredibly flexible: mini chicken, kale & mushroom burgers. I’m going to tell you how to make them, how to use them to use up the veg in your fridge and of course, a few Savvy hacks along the way!
First things first, you can do a lot with a little in your kitchen. And recipes are very flexible if you don’t have an exact ingredient on hand. You can swap kale for spinach or another green. You could use canned diced mushrooms instead of fresh if you hate chopping. Or you could even add in garlic if you’re obsessed. You do you!
For this recipe, I’m giving you a rough estimate of ingredients. And I do mean rough. But if you’re looking to use up veggies to make this meal, I would suggest sautéing your veggies first and then adding 1/2 -1 cup of those to your ground chicken, egg, salt and pepper mix. The extra ones you can toss on omelettes. Or if you decide to use your mini chicken, kale and mushroom burgers as a replacement for meatballs, you could add the extra veggies into your tomato sauce. And if you’re me, you might decide that mini burgers and wine are a great dinner!
I love sneaking veggies into my meals. They are packed with fiber so it keeps you fuller for longer. But it also makes eating healthy a lot less boring. Yes, I can eat a salad. But I can also add greens in my mini chicken, kale and mushroom burgers and pair it with some sweet potato fries. Or if you want to use these as meatballs and keep it keto/paleo friendly, I love palmini’s linguine noodles.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you love these mini burgers as much as I do! And if you make them on instagram, be sure to tag me. Seriously, my love language is words of affirmations so it makes my day when you tag me in things! Until next time. Xoxo, Savvy
Mini Chicken, Kale + Mushroom Burgers
The perfect appetizer, meatball substitute or bit sized meat that sneaks in veggies and tastes delicious!
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz mushrooms, diced
- 1/2 small onion, diced *see note
- 1 cup kale, shredded
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 lb ground chicken
Instructions
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Heat a large skillet** over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil.*
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Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until translucent.
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Add diced mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook for another 3 minutes.
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Once your mushrooms have cooked down, add in the kale to wilt. This will take another 3-5 minutes. Be sure to stir every 30 seconds or so to prevent your mushroom/onion mix from sticking to the pan.
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After your kale has cooked down, remove the mixture from the stove and set aside in a bowl. Wipe our your pan to use again for the mini burgers.
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In a small bowl, mix together your ground chicken, egg, salt & pepper. Then add in kale, mushroom & onion mixture. You want about half the amount of mix that you do ground chicken. So if you decided to use up a lot of veggies or will be adding the veg to your sauce, start with 3/4 a cup.
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Mix the veggies and ground chicken mix all together. Then using a cookie scoop, 1/4 cup or tablespoon (each mini burger is 2-3 tbsp of mixture), form your mini burgers.
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Turn the stove back on and heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat in your large pan.
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Add your mini burgers to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. You will most likely need to batch cook them.
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Once they've cooked, remove from heat. If you have time, you'll get the best quality by cooking them to around 157F*** and letting them sit for about 10 minutes. This helps maintain the juices and the residual heat will do the rest. However, if you don't have time to wait, you want the internal temp of the burger at 165F.
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Enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
*I love to cook and save time. So if you need to finish off a full onion or use up an entire container of mushrooms, feel free! Ideally you'll need 3/4 - 1 cup of the veggie mixture for your mini burger.
**I cook everything in my favorite non-toxic pan from Our Place. Code: Savvy10 gets you $10 off your order
***If you don't own a thermometer, this one is basic, affordable and gets used regularly for stove top cooking.
