Crispy Chicken Fritters – A simple 5-ingredient recipe for crispy chicken croquettes made with all-white canned chicken. Easily shape into smaller portions for kid-friendly homemade chicken nuggets
🛒 Ingredients
- 2 (12.5-oz) cans white premium chunk chicken breast
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
- Additional bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil
👩🍳 Instructions
- Drain chicken very well. I place mine in a colander to drain for several minutes then press down on the chicken with a heavy bowl.
- Roughly chop chicken. I like the chicken to be uniform in size for consistent texture in the fritters (aim for about 1/4 inch pieces). Chopping the chicken also prevents any stray bits from poking out of the crispy coating.
- Mix. Add chicken, egg, Dijon mustard, salt and spices to a mixing bowl then stir with a fork until well combined. Stir in 1/4 cup bread crumbs.
- Shape. Pour additional bread crumbs into a shallow bowl or pie plate (about a cup or so). Portion chicken mixture into six fritters. Shape each fritter into a tight little hockey puck then coat with additional bread crumbs.
- Fry. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, pan-fry chicken fritters on each side until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy!
💡 Notes
- I use 1/2 teaspoon of salt but have noticed some brands of chicken and bread crumbs are saltier than others. If you’re sensitive to salt, start with a 1/4 teaspoon then add more to taste.
- Shape into smaller portions for homemade chicken “nuggets” or wider, flatter patties for crispy chicken sandwiches.
- I used Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in this recipe and was very, VERY pleased with the taste and texture.
- I don’t know if these can be made with leftover or rotisserie chicken. I mean, I suppose it can be done, I just don’t know how the texture and consistency would be, if they would be too dry or if they would hold their shape.
- Panko can be used instead of bread crumbs but I prefer the finer crumbs with these.
- Regular mustard can be used instead of Dijon. The mustard is there for a touch of acid to make the seasoning pop and to balance the richness from frying these.
- Though I haven’t done it myself, I imagine these would be great in an air fryer. Spray both sides of the fritters with cooking spray (to make them crispy) then bake at 400 until golden brown.
- No, these can’t be made in a crock pot.