Cheddar and Spinach Pesto Chicken Burgers
Cheddar and Spinach Pesto Chicken Burgers are a unique burger for summer grilling and a fun twist on the traditional barbeque fare.
I cannot tell you how excited I am for the warmer weather finally arriving here in upstate NY. It is pretty much an understatement to say we had an extremely long, harsh winter. On the bright side, I guess it makes you appreciate the warmth and sunshine even more! I am overly excited about grilling season. This time of year is my favorite to fire up the grill and come up with tasty summer dishes. Everything tastes better on the grill, doesn’t it?
These Cheddar and Spinach Pesto Chicken Burgers are the latest deliciousness to come off of my grill and my new favorite “healthier” burger. Even my beef-loving self had to admit that I would prefer these chicken burgers to traditional cheeseburgers any day of the week. They were easy to make, fancy looking, a great alternative to the typical beef burgers, and went perfectly with a chilled bottle of this delicious Rueda Verdejo wine. I had a feeling that this wine would be the ideal pairing for these burgers. I was right! I love it when that happens. Both varieties of wine were so perfectly smooth and are a definite new favorite of mine.
I was so excited when the Ribera y Rueda wine showed up at my door. How many people can say they had wine delivered right to their doorstep? It was a happy mail day, indeed. For 2,000+ years, winemakers from Ribera and Rueda – located in northwest Spain and only about an hour away from Madrid – have harvested what’s new and what’s next in every vineyard and vintage they produce.
What the pesto should look like after processed.
The Rueda Verdejo (white grape varietal) that I served with these Cheddar and Spinach Pesto Chicken Burgers is bright, crisp and creative. The Rueda wine region climate is simply perfect for the Verdejo grapes that flourish there; hot days and cool nights. They are recognized as the #1 white wine market leader in Spain – pretty cool!
The Ribera del Duero Tempranillos (red grape varietal) are bold, rugged and ripe with a natural fruitiness and deep flavor. In the Ribera del Duero wine region are hot summers, frigid winters and a rocky, rigid terrain, which makes for a pure paradise for the Tempranillo grapes grown there. They are ranked the #2 red wine in Spain overall and named the 2012 Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast! Again, super cool.
I look forward to plenty more warm spring and summer days sitting outside enjoying a nice BBQ (specifically these Cheddar and Spinach Pesto Chicken Burgers) and a glass of this wine. You can learn more about Ribera y Rueda, wine pairings, a wine-themed playlist, and product locator here. Enjoy and happy grilling season!
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Pesto:
- 5 oz. fresh baby spinach
- ½ small white or yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 green onions, roughly chopped
- Place Pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it is a nice pesto consistency, not a paste (pictured above). This only takes a few pulses.
- Mix the ground chicken with the Panko, cheese, chili powder, lemon juice, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar until well incorporated. Mix the pesto into this mixture (I use my clean hands to do this). Form into patties. This will make 4 or 5 depending on size.
- Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours (if possible) before grilling to give the flavors a chance to really come together. Grill burgers over medium-high heat, flipping once until desired doneness is reached. You can also cook these on medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet if it's not grilling weather or if you don't own a grill (a few minutes on each side). Serve on hamburger buns with garnishes of your choice. I used cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and lettuce.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Recipe source: inspired by superpickle.blogspot.jp
Yum that´s all I´m saying 🙂 These look delicious!
These burgers look awesome – and a great way to veer off my husband’s standard beef version!
Yay for warm weather and grilling season! These burgers sound absolutely delicious!
I so rarely do chicken burgers. Really need to — you’re right, they may be even better than beef burgers! At least sometimes. 😉 Good stuff — thanks.
Oh that pesto!! I could probably put that in and on just about everything. Nice!
I love me some chicken burgers -especially when they have some pesto and cheesey goodness in them!
I am soooo with you, bring on the warm weather! These burgers look delicious, I adore pesto! And I can’t wait to try those wines! CHEERS!
I can totally relate – it’s been so warm here in the Boston area and I’m so psyched to be grilling outside again! Love the pesto in these burgers – and I love that wine!!
Now that is a genius idea to add a bit of pesto to an already delicious burger. Added bonus – the brilliant wine pairing to go with. Kudos Ashley!
We made these for dinner tonight. They were super delicious and easy! Ours turned out a little more green but the taste was outta this world.
Yay! SO glad you liked them! More green just means you probably had more spinach than I did (it’s hard to measure baby spinach, honestly) but that’s not a bad thing! 🙂
Whoa, these burgers sound insanely delicious! I love the pesto and chicken combo, and they do sound like they’d be great with the wine.
Yes, everything does taste better on the grill and in the summer haha. I can’t believe that I’ve never made chicken burgers! Making these asap!
These burgers look delicious, Ashley! And I had forgotten (or didn’t realize to begin with?) that we are upstate New York neighbors! How awesome has this weather been lately…perfect for grilling chicken pesto burgers and opening a bottle of tasty wine. Haha! 🙂
MMM, these look amazing, Now I really want a chicken pesto burger!
Yay for grilling season! Love the chicken and pesto combo! They sound fantastic!
Whaaaat this looks amazing! Spinach pesto — good one! I have never thought about making this before. I feel totally inspired!! I’m not huge into BBQs but this burger has me seriously excited!