Buffalo Chicken Burger – Nicky’s Kitchen Sanctuary

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Crispy fried buttermilk chicken smothered in a spicy buffalo sauce and served on toasted brioche buns with cheese and pickles. Get your napkins ready!

A tall image of a Buffalo Chicken Burger is placed on top of a square of black and white newspaper parchment, which is on top of a dark wooden cutting board. In the left of the background, you can see a clear glass jar of homemade ranch, with a silver spoon sticking out of it. This is all set on a navy blue background.

I can’t stop thinking about these crispy chicken burgers! The marinaded chicken is so tender and juicy. It’s coated in my go-to homemade seasoned flour-blend (many times tried and tested with several years working in a fried chicken shop through school and college) and fried until perfectly golden and crisp.

Honestly, it’s hard not to stop and just eat it right there. If you did, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s that good.

However….for this recipe we take it a little further by thoroughly dunking that crispy chicken in spicy-buttery buffalo sauce, then tucking it up in a toasted brioche bun with lettuce, crumbly cheese, pickles and ranch dressing.

It’s a guaranteed winner with the family.

📋 Ingredients

Crispy Chicken Burger

A wide, overhead shot of the ingredients for a buffalo chicken burger. The ingredients are all placed on a wooden cutting board, which is on top of a white marble surface. On the left side of the image, there is a large blue text box with a list of the ingredients in white text. They are as follows: flour, thyme, chilli flakes, celery salt, paprika, white pepper, salt, pepper, buttermilk, baking powder and chicken breast.

Buffalo Sauce

A wide, overhead shot of the ingredients for Buffalo Sauce. The ingredients are placed on top of a wooden cutting board, which is on top of a white marble surface. The ingredients are all labelled in white text below each one. They are as follows: cider vinegar, butter, hot sauce, garlic powder, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and salt.

Hot Sauce – I like Franks Hot Sauce, but any similar type of hot pepper sauce will do. Don’t be tempted to swap it out for Sriracha or sweet chilli sauce though. The hot sauce is what gives this sauce its signature flavour.

📺 Watch how to make it:

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***

  1. We start by slicing the chicken breasts in half horizontally, to make 4 chicken steaks. The steaks are then marinaded in lightly seasoned buttermilk.
  2. Coat the chicken in my spiced flour blend and fry until golden, crispy and cooked through.
  3. Add the buffalo sauce ingredients to a small pan and heat, while stirring, until combined. Turn off the heat.
  4. Dunk the crispy chicken steaks in the buffalo sauce, then place on toasted brioche buns with lettuce, crumbly cheese, pickles and ranch (or mayo).

Pro Tip

Pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken burger RIGHT before serving so the coating remains lovely and crispy.

That tangy, spicy buffalo sauce puts a fantastic twist on the classic chicken burger!

A tall, overhead image of a Buffalo Chicken burger. The top bun of the burger has been placed to the top right of the burger, so the chicken burger is exposed. This is on top of a piece of black and white newspaper parchment, which is on top of a dark wooden cutting board. This is all set on a navy blue background.

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🍽️ What to serve it with

What a fantastic Friday night dinner!

A tall, closeup image of a Buffalo Chicken Burger is placed on top of a square of black and white newspaper parchment, which is on top of a dark wooden cutting board. In the left of the background, you can see a clear glass jar of homemade ranch, with a silver spoon sticking out of it. This is all set on a navy blue background.

🍲 More fantastic Crispy Chicken recipes

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  • Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally, so you have 4 thin chicken breast steaks.

  • Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the buttermilk, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Mix together, cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 1 hour (up to over night)

    2 large chicken breasts, 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper, ¼ tsp garlic salt

  • Preheat the oven to a low heat (to keep cooked chicken warm).

  • Heat a large pan of cooking oil (or preheat your deep fat fryer) until hot. The ideal temperature is 175C/350F (you can test by dropping a small cube of bread in there, if it rises immediately to the top and starts to bubble rapidly, it’s hot enough). You’ll need at least 1 litre (4 cups) of oil – but make sure your pan is no more than one third full.

    oil

  • Mix together the crispy coating ingredients in a large bowl.

    180 g (1 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp garlic salt, ½ tsp celery salt, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp chilli flakes

  • Take the chicken out of the fridge. Lift a piece from the buttermilk and allow the excess to drip off. Dredge the chicken in the crispy coating mixture – ensuring it’s fully covered. Place on a tray and repeat until all of the chicken is coated.

  • Once the oil is hot enough, add in 2 of the chicken burgers. Cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the middle. You can check this by cutting open a piece of chicken, if it’s no longer pink in the middle, it’s cooked.

  • Place the chicken on a wire rack, on a tray, in the oven to keep warm whilst you cook the rest of the chicken. The wire rack will help to ensure the chicken stays crisp.

  • Make the buffalo sauce by placing all of the ingredients into a small saucepan. Heat over a medium heat, stirring a few times, until the butter has melted and the sauce has combined. Turn off the heat and put to one side.

    120 ml (1/2 cup) hot pepper sauce, 80 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar, 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 pinch salt

  • Now it’s time to assemble. Place the bottom of the brioche buns on four plates. Top with the lettuce leaves. Dip the chicken burgers in the buffalo sauce (or spoon buffalo sauce over the chicken burgers, then turn them over and spoon more on) so they’re fully coated. Place the chicken burgers on top of the lettuce.

    4 brioche buns, 8 pieces crunchy lettuce

  • Top each chicken burger with a drizzle of ranch dressing or mayonnaise, 3-4 pickled gherkin slices and a tablespoon of the crumbled cheese.

    4 tbsp ranch dressing or mayonnaise, 4 tbsp crumbled feta or creamy Lancashire cheese, 16 pickled gherkin slices

  • Place the tops of the buns on top and serve.

Making the chicken ahead

If you wanted to cook the chicken ahead of time, you can do. It won’t be quite as crisp upon reheating, but it still be very tasty.
Cook the crispy  chicken, but don’t dunk it in the buffalo sauce.
Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
Reheat in the oven on a tray, in a single layer, uncovered, at 175C/350F for approx 10-12 minutes (or until piping hot throughout).
Drizzle in the buffalo sauce before serving.

Making the buffalo sauce ahead

Add all of the buffalo sauce ingredients to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate (no need to heat at this point).
When ready to use it, add the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and heat through, stirring occassionally, for a few minutes, until the butter melts and everything combines.
Turn off the heat and let it cool a little, then drizzle over the chicken burgers. 
Swaps

  • Swap out the chicken breasts for turkey breast
  • If you don’t want to coat and fry the chicken, cook shop-bought ready-made breaded chicken steaks. Once cooked, dip them in the buffalo sauce.
  • Want to bake the chicken instead of frying? Use my hot honey crispy chicken (swap the hot honey for the buffalo sauce).

Nutrition info is approximate for one chicken burger.

This info is approximate, as all of the flour may not be used up in coating the chicken (I’ve counted all of the flour as part of the nutritional info though). Also, I’ve included 1 tbsp of oil per serving to account for the oil that is absorbed during deep drying (this is an *approximate* amount, the chicken may absorb more or less).

Calories: 915kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 199mg | Sodium: 3122mg | Potassium: 728mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1566IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 256mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

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