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 1x
- 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.
Hi Olga!
How would i freeze these ? Cook them and freeze it or just freeze the batter ?
Thank you 🙂
Freeze the batter, Julie. Then thaw and continue with the recipe, cooking the chicken patties. They will taste just as fresh.
Is there anything I can use instead of eggs? I'm just all out and absolutely love these patties
No, this recipe will not work without eggs, Maria.
I absolutely LOVED these! Thank you so much Olga. For me the fastest way to cut the chicken into pieces was by cutting it with Kitchen Aid scissors. Worked awesome!!! Loved having little pieces instead of regular ground meat.
I like to have the pieces of meat as well. It's a little different than kotleti, for example.
You mention freezing the batter - would you freeze it with the chicken as well? Also, how long could the mixture stay in the fridge? Thanks...making this right now. 🙂
Hi Theresa!
Yes, I freeze the whole batter, with the chicken.
I don't usually keep meat in the refrigerator for more than one day. In the freezer, it can last for a few months.
Thank you Olga, for your response. Made these for dinner tonight (I halfed the recipe), and leftovers are not an option! I try to teach my son to not say 'ew' to food, so we often say whether or not we will 'eat at this restaurant again'...well, he said he would eat at this restaurant again. Another success with one of your recipes. Thank you!
That is so creative, Theresa. I love that approach with children and food. I'll be borrowing it when I have older children as well.
I'm so happy that you all enjoyed the Chicken Patties.
These were so good! My husband & daughter really liked them! I love that they turned out exactly like in your pictures 🙂 I halved the recipe & still have enough for leftovers. Will be saving this one. Thanks, Olga!
I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed them, Julia. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Olga, I just made these & they were super delicious!!! My whole family loved them!!! Thank you for this great & super easy recipe 🙂
I'm so glad you liked them, Julie. Thanks for letting me know.
I made these the other day and they were so good. There are also simple and easy and don't take long. Thanks for the recipe!
Yep. That's why I like them. They are so simple to make:).
Thank-you for sharing. I have been trying to come up with a way to make chicken patties that are a healthier than the mystery meat patties at the store. but are also not dry. These look like they fit the bill. thanks, again. will be trying these SOON!
Yep! I totally agree, Theresa. Easy, simple meals can be homemade and delicious too. I stay away from convenience food altogether. I strongly believe that homemade is best. It taste SO much better too.
Dear Olga, blessings for you, i tried this recipe today & amazed results.......as a mom of picky eater boys always looking for easy& taste full recipes,i used TACO SEASONING MIX instead of onion&garlic powder. THANKS ONCE AGAIN
That's awesome, spice! I don't have any children, but I'm sure I would be thrilled to find something they enjoyed. I'm so glad you all liked the Chicken Tenders.
Olga, reading your reply that you do not have any children made my heart smile that you now have children for whom you can cook tasty meals. God is good. Thank you for this recipe. i am not much of a meat/poultry eater even though I am ukrainian and grew up on this food but I really enjoyed this recipe. I love that it can be frozen and also grinded the chicken since I have a meat grinder and it saved me time. My 4 year old loves it too. Hubby was in heaven since I rarely cook meat/poultry dishes.Thanks again!
Olga I was wondering if it would be ok to use onion instead of onion powder??
Ally,
I wouldn't recommend using onion in this recipe. Since the chicken cook VERY quickly it won't be enough time for the onion to cook through, unless you over cook the chicken, and that won't taste good. If you want to use a grated onion, it could work, but in my opinion, it the raw onion will taste very harsh and overpower the tender chicken, especially since the meat mixture needs to marinate.
Thank you for the recipe! I loved the tiny pieces of chicken. I never would have thought of using corn starch. These were delicious!
These turned out to be SO good! Thank you for such an easy and tasty recipe!
Olga, is there anything else you can use instead of the cornstarch? im not a big fan of cornstarch and i dont use it.
Hi Nadia, you can use flour, but the texture will be different. Is there a reason that you can't use cornstarch?
Olga, I have never used cornstarch in recipes. i have always used flour. but i will try this with cornstarch today and next time i will try it with flour.
When using cornstarch in recipes like this, for thickening purposes, it will be a much cleaner taste and much silkier and smoother texture. Flour works too, but I like cornstarch better.
Yum! Definitely will be try this tomorrow!!! 🙂
i love these. recently started grinding the meat instead of cutting into tiny pieces. Tastes just a good and saves time 🙂
What a great idea! I kind of like having chunks of meat in these patties, but I'm sure using ground meat not only saves time, but also produces really tender, juicy patties.