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    Home » Recipes » Sandwich

    Crispy Chicken Burger (KFC Zinger Burger)

    By: Jessica · Posted: Jul 7, 2024 · Updated: Feb 4, 2025 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Jump to Recipe 10 comments
    5 from 8 votes
    crispy chicken zinger burger

    Crispy Chicken Burger Recipe (or Zinger Burger): Chicken breasts soaked in a buttermilk marinade, spices, and hot sauce then breaded and fried before being sandwiched between two hamburger buns.

    Crispy Chicken Burger

     

    With our now, WORLD FAMOUS burger recipe, I knew we had to create more burger recipes for you, even if that meant, chicken burgers! So today, get ready because this may be your new favorite chicken sandwich, especially if you’re a fan of the Zinger burger from KFC!

    Why You’ll Love This Fried Chicken Burger Recipe

    If you love a good chicken sandwich but you don’t own a deep fryer (and you don’t feel like ordering takeout tonight), this fried chicken burger made in a skillet is going to blow your mind. (Or if a fried chicken sandwich isn’t your thing, this chicken club sandwich will win over your heart!) This homemade version will give you all the crunch and all the flavor you’ve been craving!

    I know the idea of frying chicken pieces might seem intimidating, but I promise it’s not as scary as all that. Follow along below and I’ll show you how easy it can be!

    Zinger Burger Copycat

    Did you ever have the Zinger burger from KFC? Oh my goodness. That crispy chicken patty, with a little heat… was BEYOND delicious. It has since been discontinued but with this crispy chicken sandwich, topped with the optional sauce recipe below, your zinger burger lovin-heart will once again be fulfilled. This reminds me SO much of it and I can’t wait to share it with you!

    Pair this crispy chicken sandwich with our Baked Fiesta Ranch Potato Wedges and The BEST Side Salad Recipe for a dinner time your family won’t soon forget!

    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Fried Chicken Burger Recipe
    • Zinger Burger Copycat
    • Ingredients for Crispy Chicken Burgers
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • How to Make This Crispy Chicken Sandwich
    • Crispy Chicken Burger Sauce
    • Storage
    • Expert Tips and FAQs
    • Related Recipes
    • More Burger Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Ingredients for Crispy Chicken Burgers

    Ingredients for crispy chicken burgers.
    • 4 small chicken breasts, thawed & raw (or 2 large breasts, cut in half)
    • 32 ounces vegetable oil

    Chicken Marinade Ingredients

    • 2 cups buttermilk
    • 2 tablespoons hot sauce of your choice (our favorite is Frank’s Red Hot)
    • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour

    Ingredients for Seasoned Flour Mixture to Bread Chicken

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
    • 2 tablespoons ground paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

    Toppings

    If desired of course. (Make sure to see the sauce recipe below too if that’s something you’d love to top this with!)

    • 4 large hamburger buns (brioche buns are our FAVE!)
    • 4 slices cheddar cheese
    • 2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
    • ½ head iceberg lettuce, washed
    • 8 pickle slices

    Substitutions

    If you are looking for a healthier version of a crispy chicken sandwich, try swapping out the hamburger bun for romaine lettuce! Lay 4-5 romaine lettuce leaves out, overlapping the edges slightly. Place your burger and toppings in the center of the lettuce and then fold the edges up around it.

    It’s messy, but it’s delicious and it cuts down the calories and carbs in this recipe.

    Variations

    If this isn’t your first chicken breast burger recipe and you’re looking for ways to change things up, try these variations…

    • Instead of cheddar cheese, try a jalapeño Havarti cheese for an extra kick.
    • Instead of hamburger buns, try using toasted brioche buns for a more decadent experience!
    • Bacon doesn’t come on these but wouldn’t it be delicious? Use a thick-sliced bacon like I use on this BLT recipe, and that’s going to add even more flavor this already tasty sandwich.

    How to Make This Crispy Chicken Sandwich

    Chicken breasts with spices in small bowls surrounding them.
    1. Wrap chicken breasts in plastic wrap/cling film and place them on a cutting board. Using a mallet or other kitchen tool (like a rolling pin), pound the chicken pieces until evenly thick (about ¾ inch).
    Marinade mixture ready to be used.
    Mix together- this will be your marinade.
    1. Combine your marinade ingredients (buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper) into a large bowl and whisk together. 

    Optional – You can add the chicken breasts to the marinade and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight, like we do with these mini chicken sandwiches! Then remove the chicken from the marinade (reserving marinade to use when coating chicken breasts) and allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature before moving on with the recipe.

    1. Add remaining cup of flour to the marinade and mix. Set aside. 
    Add flour to your buttermilk to create a batter.
    1. Add the ingredients for the seasoned flour mixture used to bread the chicken into a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this onto a large plate or into a shallow bowl.
    Mix together flour and spices to create the coating for your chicken.
    1. Add oil to a large skillet on medium heat and let it heat up. Grab one piece of chicken at a time and dip it into the marinade/flour mixture until it’s completely coated, then dredge chicken in the seasoned flour batter mixture (coat it, making sure all sides are covered). Use your hands to press firmly to ensure the batter mixture sticks.
    Use your hands to make sure the flour mixture sticks to the chicken.
    Coat the dipped chicken piece in the seasoned flour mixture for a second, final time.

    Repeat this process (dip in marinade, coat in batter mixture) twice for each chicken breast, gently shaking off any excess flour mixture when you are done. 

    1. Once all breasts are thoroughly coated, place them into hot oil making sure they are not touching each other (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your chicken and the size of your pan). Fry for 8 minutes, then flip and fry for an additional 7 minutes. The chicken patties should be golden brown when finished. 
    2. Remove the chicken from the oil and place on a wire rack that’s sitting over a baking tray or pan (you could also place some paper towel on the baking tray/pan to catch the excess oil that drips off). 

    Next, make the burger sauce…

    Let your chicken pieces sit on a wire rack to cool a bit and let the excess oil drip off.

    Crispy Chicken Burger Sauce

    This creamy mayonnaise-based sauce is delicious on chicken burgers (and with fries, and for dipping chicken fingers in…) and it’s SO easy to make!

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    • 1 tablespoon ketchup
    • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice
    • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
    Mix together your sauce ingredients.
    1. In a small bowl, add sauce ingredients – mayo, ketchup, hot sauce, paprika, and ground pepper, then whisk until combined. And voila, your crispy chicken burger sauce is ready to go!
    Your creamy mayonnaise mixture will go on the top bun of your burger.
    1. Open the hamburger buns and spread the creamy mayonnaise mixture onto the top bun. Place pickle slices, fried chicken breast, and a slice of cheese onto the bottom bun, then top with tomato slices and fresh lettuce. 
    Place a cheese slice on top of each chicken patty.

    Top with the bun and enjoy!

    Your chicken sandwiches are ready to eat!

    Storage

    Store the crispy chicken burger patties, sauce, and toppings separately in airtight, sealed containers. When you are ready to eat, warm the patties up and then assemble your chicken sandwiches as specified in the recipe.

    stacked zinger burgers with white background

    Expert Tips and FAQs

    What is the best type of bun to use for a crunchy chicken burger?

    Switching up the style of bun you use can add a bit of variety to your chicken burger.

    Do you like a really soft, sweet bun? Try a Hawaiian roll.

    Looking for something super soft and decadent? Brioche rolls are for you!

    If you’re interested in something more classic, try using a classic hamburger bun but instead of leaving them as is try toasted buns.

    Can I use chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts for this recipe?

    You sure can, but chicken tenders are smaller than a breast so your resulting chicken patty will be a bit smaller as well.

    Zinger burger on brioche bun with lettuce tomato cheese

    Related Recipes

    If you loved this crispy chicken burger recipe, you’ll also love these Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders and these Air Fryer Chicken Legs!

    More Burger Recipes

    But if you’re a burger lover, you definitely don’t want to miss my stove-top burgers, donut burgers, waffle burgers, and cheeseburger sliders. (Yeah, we’re kind of addicted to burgers around here!)

    Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

    Recipe

    Crispy Chicken Burger

    Crispy Chicken Burger Recipe

    Jessica Burgess
    This crispy chicken burger is made of chicken breasts soaked in buttermilk, spices, and hot sauce then breaded and fried and sandwiched between two hamburger buns with a delicious sauce.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 25 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 burgers
    Calories 802 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 4 small chicken breasts thawed and raw (or 2 large breasts, cut in half)
    • 32 ounces vegetable oil

    Chicken Marinade

    • 2 cups buttermilk
    • 2 tablespoons hot sauce brand of your choice (our favorite is Frank's Red Hot)
    • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour

    Flour Mixture for Breading Chicken

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
    • 2 tablespoons ground paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

    Toppings

    • 4 large hamburger buns
    • 4 slices cheddar cheese
    • 2 large tomatoes sliced
    • ½ head iceberg lettuce washed
    • 8 pickle slices

    Crispy Chicken Burger Sauce

    • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
    • 1 tablespoon ketchup
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce brand of your choice
    • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Wrap chicken breasts in plastic wrap/cling film and place them on a cutting board. Using a mallet or other kitchen tool (like a rolling pin), pound the chicken pieces until evenly thick (about ¾ inch).
    • Combine your marinade ingredients (buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper) into a large bowl and whisk together.
      Optional – You can add the chicken breasts to the marinade and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Then remove the chicken from the marinade (reserving marinade to use when coating chicken breasts) and allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature before moving on with the recipe.
    • Add remaining cup of flour to the marinade and mix. Set aside.
    • Add the ingredients for the batter to bread the chicken into a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this onto a large plate or into a shallow bowl.
    • Add oil to a large skillet on medium heat and let it heat up. Grab one piece of chicken at a time and dip it into the marinade/flour mixture until it's completely coated, then dredge chicken in the seasoned flour batter mixture (coat it, making sure all sides are covered). Use your hands to press firmly to ensure the batter mixture sticks.
      Repeat this process (dip in marinade, coat in batter mixture) twice for each chicken breast, gently shaking off any excess flour mixture when you are done.
    • Once all breasts are thoroughly coated, place them into hot oil making sure they are not touching each other (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your chicken and the size of your pan). Fry for 8 minutes, then flip and fry for an additional 7 minutes. The chicken patties should be golden brown when finished.
    • Remove the chicken from the oil and place on a wire rack that's sitting over a baking tray or pan (you could also place some paper towel on the baking tray/pan to catch the excess oil that drips off).
    • In a small bowl, add your sauce ingredients – mayo, ketchup, hot sauce, paprika, and ground pepper, then whisk until combined.
    • Open the hamburger buns and spread the creamy mayonnaise mixture onto the top bun. Place pickle slices, fried chicken breast, and a slice of cheese onto the bottom bun, then top with tomato slices and fresh lettuce.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1burger | Calories: 802kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 66g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1432mg | Potassium: 1461mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3464IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 261mg | Iron: 7mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords chicken sandwiches, copycat recipe, fried chicken sandwich
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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      5 from 8 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    1. William Keyser says

      November 06, 2023 at 2:35 pm

      Have you ever tried air frying these?

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        November 07, 2023 at 3:47 pm

        Hi William! I’m sorry, I haven’t but I’d love to hear if you do and how it turns out.

        Reply
    2. Brian says

      April 19, 2022 at 6:17 pm

      5 stars
      Was looking all this for a good sauce recipe. Almost gave up hope when I came across your website. It is, by far the best recipe out there. This is the one thing holding us back from having zingers more often.

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        April 20, 2022 at 2:52 pm

        Ahhh!! That’s so awesome to hear Brian, thank you! I’m thrilled that you didn’t give up and you came across this recipe to try!! Woo hoo! Thanks again!

        Reply
    3. Andrea Thueson says

      December 06, 2021 at 2:32 pm

      5 stars
      This crispy chicken sandwich was so goood! It tasted even better than take-out!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        December 06, 2021 at 4:25 pm

        Aw yay! We think this chicken sandwich tastes better than fast food too! Thank you!

        Reply
    4. Erin says

      December 06, 2021 at 12:13 pm

      5 stars
      My husband is a HUGE fan of this recipe. Anything crispy and spicy he can’t resist! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        December 06, 2021 at 12:19 pm

        Woo hoo! I have to agree with your husband there. Haha! So glad that he liked the zinger burger! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!

        Reply
    5. Audra Fox says

      December 06, 2021 at 11:52 am

      5 stars
      My kids loved these burgers so much! And they were super easy to make. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        December 06, 2021 at 12:19 pm

        Yay!! There’s nothing better than a crispy chicken burger in my opinion! Haha, thank you!

        Reply

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    Jessica Burgess of Fantabulosity, slicing an avocado.

    Hi, I'm Jessica! - Owner and Creator of the blog and brand, Fantabulosity.

    I’m here to teach you how to make quick and easy recipes, using simple ingredients, that your family will love.

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