Jerk Chicken Burgers with Grilled Pineapple Rings

Jerk-marinated chicken and grilled pineapple for a fun twist on burgers!

I love a familiar food with a little bit of a twist, and these burgers feel tropical and light and summery while still delivering that satisfying signature flavor-bomb-on-a-bun punch of a regular burger.

I also love these because you can do so much prep ahead (marinating chicken and slicing toppings), and then all that needs to happen is grilling. My favorite kind of meal for low-key summer nights!

The Chicken

Are you ready for an extremely easy marinade? It's just olive oil, lime juice+zest, and jerk seasoning. It takes maybe 5 minutes to throw together and is SO flavorful!

You can use whatever jerk seasoning you like. I use McCormick because it's easy to find (even on amazon!).

It'll feel like you're using a lot of seasoning (because you are). But don't worry! Once it's grilled and on a sandwich it'll be just right.

You can do a quick 1-hour marinade, or do it overnight, depending on what works better for you!

You'll use 4 chicken breasts here and cut each into 3 pieces width-wise. Then, place each piece between two sheets of parchment paper and pound until it's about 1/2-inch thick. You want them to be roughly the size of your bun, or a little smaller. But remember - they'll shrink as they cook.

Cutting each breast into 3 pieces will give you a total of 12 jerk chicken patties. Which is more than the 8 buns that come in a pack. I like having extra chicken so people have the option of doubling down with two pieces on their burger without throwing off the bun : chicken ratio, and so people can go bunless if they want!

Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer! I'd aim for 12 thighs, or around 3 pounds, and you won't have to cut or pound them.

The Grilled Pineapple

The pineapple on here is TO DIE FOR. You don't even need to add a condiment to these burgers because the pineapple is so caramelized and juicy and DELICIOUS.

(I do mayo anyway, because that's how I live.) And pineapple + jerk chicken are soul mates. Even more so when they're both grilled.

You don't need to do anything to the pineapple before grilling - just slice it and grill it until it's softened and caramelized and getting nice grill lines. It's so easy with so much flavor pay off!

I recommend getting a cored pineapple and just slicing it into 8 rings. It's the easiest way to do it, and sometimes coring it yourself makes the pineapple more prone to falling apart on the grill.

Since you're already grilling the chicken and pineapple, you might as well grill the buns too. Adding a little bit of char will help them stand up to the juicy pineapple!

Then, just serve with whatever toppings you like (lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado are all delicious here!), and maybe some chips on the side if you feel like it. Really, the burger itself can be its own meal.

Such a good summer sandwich!