Chicken Burgers with Spinach, Feta & Garden Tzatziki Sauce

"Where's the beef?" Let's put red meat aside for the moment and instead choose a summery Greek-style chicken sandwich served with a chunky Greek tzatziki, updated with lots of vegetables from the garden.

Real Food, Fresh & Fast. Budget-Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Weight Watchers Friendly. High Protein.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipes ~
~ Chicken Burgers ~
~ Garden Tzatziki Sauce ~

This recipe is so quick and easy
that I'm adding it to a special collection of easy summer recipes
published every summer since 2009.
Watch for new "summer easy" recipes all summer long!
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COMPLIMENTS!

• "... delicious chicken sandwiches ..." ~ Alice

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How to DIY a Restaurant Burger

My restaurant recipe request column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a kick to write. I’m loving the stories from local restaurant families, the imagination of local chefs, the new techniques and ingredients I’m learning.

Every so often, a restaurant’s recipe is a house secret, not to be shared. That happened a few weeks ago – and the sandwich sounded so good, I decided to invent my own recipe! It turned out as a Greek-style burger, with feta and fresh spinach so instead of mayonnaise and ketchup, I mixed up a batch of Tzatziki Sauce.

Lucky for you, this new house recipe is no house secret.

RESOURCE St. Louis restaurant recipes from my column called "Special Request"

What Is Tzatziki, Anyway?

Tzatziki is a traditional Greek sauce, it's often served with grilled meats. Traditional versions are a lot like my Nana's recipe for the old-fashioned, eastern-European salad made with cucumbers and sour cream, just more saucy.

And garden tzatziki, what's that? Well, I like to mix tzatziki up with extra vegetables (olives would be good!). It’s a concept recipe that begs for adaptation based on what’s in season and what’s on hand.

RESOURCES

• Pronunciation: [pronounced tza-ZEE-kee] & pronunciation help
• Nana's Cucumbers with Sour Cream

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QUICK SUPPER: CHICKEN BURGERS with
FRESH SPINACH, FETA and GARDEN TZATZIKI SAUCE

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves 5

• 6 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed if tough

• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons panko or dry bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound ground chicken

• Buns brushed with a little oil
• Garden Tzatziki Sauce, recipe here
• Sliced cucumbers, optional
• Sliced tomatoes, optional
• Lettuce leaves, optional

SPINACH Rinse the spinach leaves in a microwave-safe colander, then place in the mike and cook on high until tender, 30 seconds at a time, for a total of about 90 seconds. Let cool a bit, then roughly chop. (If you like, use a small food processor to chop the spinach, then use it again to make the Garden Tzatziki Sauce. No need to wash it out in between!)

BURGERS Combine the spinach, feta, panko, onion powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Gently stir in the chicken, combining without compressing the mixture. Form into five four-ounce burgers, about a half inch thick.

GRILL Heat a grill pan on medium high, spray with cooking spray. Drop in the burgers and let cook, without moving, for about 5 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. To make sure the chicken is cooked clear through, insert a probe thermometer into the center of one burger, the temperature should reach 165F/75C.

ASSEMBLE Cut-side down, grill the buns just until warm and beginning to crisp up a little. Place a burger onto the bottom bun, top with Garden Tzatziki Sauce, then sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce and finally, cap off the burger.

LEFTOVERS The burgers reheat well and are good cold too.

ALANNA’s TIPS Reduce the calories in burgers by using a fork to remove the bready centers from the buns. Does it add up? You bet, it drops the calories of a bun by 20%. If you like, “veg up” the burger even more with thin slices of cucumber, tomato and lettuce.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Burger (just the bun, no bun or Garden Tzatziki Sauce): 184 Calories; 10g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 91mg Cholesterol; 483mg Sodium; 4g Carb; 1g Fiber; 1g Sugar; 19g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 5 & Freestyle 2 & myWW green 5 & blue 2 & purple 2

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Burger (including bun and Garden Tzatziki Sauce): 324 Calories; 12g Tot Fat; 5g Sat Fat; 91mg Cholesterol; 698mg Sodium; 27g Carb; 2g Fiber; 5g Sugar; 26g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 7 & PointsPlus 8 & SmartPoints 9 & Freestyle 6 & myWW green 9 & blue 6 & purple 6

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GARDEN TZATZIKI SAUCE

In a small food processor, one at a time, chop 1/2 a green pepper, 1/4 an English cucumber and 1 Roma tomato. After each one is chopped, move the vegetables to a strainer to drain off excess liquid. After the vegetables have drained a bit, stir them together with 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt (sour cream and full-fat yogurt work too). Season with salt and pepper to taste and chopped fresh herbs, if you like. Makes 1-1/4 cups.

ALANNA's TIPS Want an even simpler recipe? Stir a fresh salsa from the produce section into Greek yogurt or sour cream.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Quarter Cup: 19 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 9mg Sodium; 2g Carb; 0g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 0 & PointsPlus 0 & SmartPoints 0 & Freestyle 0 & myWW green 0 & blue 0 & purple 0

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Summer Is for Burgers!

~ more burger recipes ~

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Seasonal Cooking & Eating in Early Summer

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Chickpea & Chicken Salad Grilled Balsamic Chicken Minnesota Sloppy Joes Lifetime Pancakes Chicken Burgers with Fresh Spinach, Feta and Garden Tzatziki Sauce Rhubarb Cake Finn Crisp with Marmalade & Cheese Coconut Cream Pie

This Week, Elsewhere

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Chicken Masala from Tony's On Main

A Veggie Venture
Cauliflower "Potato" Salad

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ spinach recipes ~
~ feta cheese recipes ~
~ chicken recipes ~
~ bell pepper recipes ~
~ cucumber recipes ~
~ tomato recipes ~
~ sour cream recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. sti If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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