Chicken Fritters have small pieces of chicken encased in a crispy and delicious batter, loved by both children and adults. They are wonderful to prep in advance and can even be frozen.
These chicken fritters have been a family favorite ever since I was a little girl. We would often make them for parties and they were always popular with our guests. It's no wonder that this is one of the first recipes that I shared on this blog. The tender chicken fritters are full of juicy meat and they're encased in a delicate batter that gets golden brown as they cook.
They remind me of Chicken Cutlets, since they are made with some of the same ingredients and have a very similar taste. Instead of pounding out the chicken breast into cutlets and then dredging it in flour and eggs, you cut up the chicken into small pieces and make a batter with eggs.
One of the things that I appreciate about this recipe is that it's a great for meal prep. You cut up the chicken, make the batter and leave it refrigerated until you are ready to make it a few hours later or oven the next day. The chicken batter can also be frozen, for a quick dinner option somewhere down the road. The cooked chicken fritters heat up really well too.
These golden beauties can be served as an elegant dinner but can also be enjoyed in between two pieces of bread for a sandwich. Your kids love it with a bowl of pasta or Macaroni and Cheese and it's great to add to lunchboxes.
Ingredients:
- chicken
- boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs
- eggs
- cornstarch
- mayonnaise
- if you'd rather not use mayo, you can substitute plain Greek yogurt, but it the chicken fritters will have a slightly different flavor and texture
- salt, ground black pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- poultry seasoning, or any other dry herb/spice mixture
- One of my favorite dry herb mixes to use is Trader Joe's Onion Salt or Simply Organic All Purpose seasoning blend.
- oil, for pan frying, I like avocado oil best, but you can use other vegetable oils or a mild olive oil
How to make Chicken Fritters
- Chop the chicken into tiny pieces, ⅛-1/4 inch.
- You can use a food processor to make this process faster. Don't overprocess the meat, so it still has some texture.
- Make the chicken batter.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder. Mix in a large mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients - eggs, cornstarch and mayonnaise. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Pan fry the chicken fritters.
- Heat the oil in a skillet on med-high high until shimmering. Using a big spoon, scoop and shape the meat mixture into oval shapes. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook until golden brown, about 3 min per side.
- Serve hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Prep Ahead
This is one of my favorite recipes to meal prep in advance. You can make the chicken batter and store in the refrigerator up to 2 days in advance, then pan fry when ready.
The batter freezes perfectly too. Store the batter in the freezer for 3-6 months, in an airtight container or freezer ziplock bag.
Thaw, then cook, as usual.
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can. It works great for this recipe. Although it will have a different texture and be more like a meatball or kotleti, it will be delicious.
Use a food processor. This works great. I recommend cutting the chicken into several pieces first, that way you will get much more uniform pieces when you put it through the food processor. Don't overfill the food processor either, or your machine may stall. Do it in batches and it will work really well.
Yes, they actually play a really important role in this recipe, so I don't recommend omitting them. They help to bind the fritters and keep them together. They also help to create the batter that will make the fritters crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
However, if you're really opposed, you can omit the cornstarch and use plain Greek yogurt instead of the mayonnaise. The texture and flavor will be different and the chicken fritters may fall apart more.
Yes, you can freeze the cooked chicken fritters and the raw chicken batter.
Make an EPIC chicken sandwich using Chicken Fritters!
Place the Chicken Fritters on a brioche bun with some mayo, slices of tomato and avocado. It's so delicious. You can add a slice of cheese as well.
What to serve with Chicken Fritters
This recipe is great with simple side dishes like mashed potatoes, pasta or rice. Here are a few other options:
- Tomato Avocado Salad
- Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
- Salt Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes
- Crunchy Cabbage Cucumber Salad
Chicken Fritters
Chicken Fritters have small pieces of chicken encased in a crispy and delicious batter, loved by both children and adults. They are wonderful to prep in advance and can even be frozen.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 30 patties
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken, chopped into ¼ in pieces (you can use any part of the chicken)
- 4 large eggs
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼-½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, or any other herb/spice mixture, I like Trader Joe's Onion Salt and Simply Organic All Purpose seasoning, optional
- oil, for cooking the fritters (avocado oil, light olive oil, grapeseed, etc.)
Instructions
- Chop the chicken into tiny pieces, ⅛-1/4 inch.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder. Mix in a large mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Heat about a Tablespoon of oil in a skillet on med-high high until shimmering. Using a big spoon, scoop and shape the meat mixture into oval shapes. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Serve hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Seems oily? Is that from the mayo? Taste good but so oily. Don't eat more than one.
The best thing from the chicken breast. Great recipe. So delicious
Dear olga. We don’t really eat mayonnaise. Will it be a big change if I don’t put mayo or can I put Greek yogurt instead? Thank you
Can you use ground chicken for this recipe?
I think chicken pieces work much better for this particular recipe, but you can use ground chicken as well.
Very delicious recipe! My one year old loved these because they would fall apart into perfect bite sizes for her 🙂
That's awesome, Tanya:).
Hi Olga. LOVE you and your site!! Do you have any tips on cutting the chicken off the bone and into small pieces for this recipe? It seems like it's going to be tedious and time-consuming, but that's perhaps because I've never cut up raw chicken into tiny pieces like this before. I'd love any tips you have to share!
Hi Sara,
Yes, it can be a bit time consuming. I don't think there are any tips to make it faster, although a sharp knife definitely helps:). It actually doesn't take that long, once you get started. You can just buy boneless chicken to make it faster. You can use a food processor or even use ground chicken, although the texture will be a bit different.
I like to use kitchen scissors. I find they really speed things up.
Hi olga first off congrats on your new addition to the family is know that you're probably going to be reading this sometime after but I just wanted to say thank you tons for this yummy delish recipe wow cornstarch and mayo work wonders in these particular recipes made this on Friday morning had some for the Friday sabbath evening meal and I must say they were so very good yummmm and tasty thanx again darlin for all your great recipes hope to see more in the near future cheers
Hi Olga! can i freeze already cooked chicken patties?
For the best quality, I would recommend freezing the chicken batter, not the already cooked patties, Galina.
Hi Olga, I heard amazing reviews about these chicken patties so I really want to give them a try, what side would you say works really well with these?
These chicken patties will go with just about anything - potatoes, pasta, rice. I love serving them with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes.