Baked Chicken Croquettes

These Baked Chicken Croquettes are perfect as a meal, an appetizer or finger food at a party. Enjoy these on their own or with our creamy mushroom sauce!

Roast chicken with potatoes is a staple in my home. There’s nothing more comforting than a well seasoned oven roasted chicken with crispy golden potatoes seasoned with its drippings. These Baked Chicken Croquettes build on that delicious flavour, and turn it into a hand held dish which is perfect as an appetizer, or alongside a salad as a main course.

Croquettes are essentially balls of meat mixed with a binder, then breaded and either baked or fried. They are often a vehicle for using up leftover roast meat, but I decided to cook fresh for this recipe. Making the chicken fresh certainly adds to the cook time for this dinner, but using the tips I laid out below it can still easily be made on a weeknight.

These Baked Chicken Croquettes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside . The garlicky roast chicken and potatoes are a perfect contrast to the crispy golden breaded outside of these delicious morsels. They are delicious served on their own, but are even better when eaten with the creamy mushroom sauce. The woodsy mushrooms are complimented by the bright thyme, cream, and chicken drippings.

These Baked Chicken Croquettes are perfect as a meal or served as an appetizer or finger food at a party. I promise that once you try this recipe it will change the way you think about roast chicken and potatoes! Best of all, if you prepare your chicken in advance, this delicious dish can be on your table in 45 minutes!

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 15 minutes
• Cooking Time – 1 hour 55 minutes (25 minutes if chicken and potatoes roasted in advance)
• Total Time – 2 hours 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED CHICKEN CROQUETTES

All the ingredients for this dish are easy to source from any local grocer.

Roast Chicken and Potatoes

• 3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Kosher Salt, divided
• 1 Whole Chicken, butterflied
• 6 cloves Garlic
• Black Pepper, to taste

Mushroom Cream Sauce

• 4 Crimini Mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 White Onion, diced
• 1 sprig Fresh Thyme
• 1 tbsp Schmaltz
• 1 cup Cream, 10%
• 1/2 cup Chicken Drippings
• 1 tbsp Flour
• Black Pepper, to taste

Chicken Croquette

• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Breadcrumbs
• Pinch Kosher Salt
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, drizzled

WHAT IS SCHMALTZ?

Schmaltz is rendered chicken, goose, or duck fat, and is very common in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It’s made from slowly sautéing the skin and fat together, then collecting the liquid fat as it cooks. If you have the time, you can certainly make your own schmaltz, but I tend to buy mine from my local butcher. You can often purchase goose or duck fat from high end grocery stores as well.

WHY DO YOU USE YUKON GOLD POTATOES?

Yukon Gold potatoes are great for roasting because they stay creamy on the inside and crisp on the outside.

HOW DO YOU BUTTERFLY A CHICKEN?

You can request that your butcher butterfly the chicken for you, or you can do it yourself in several simple steps: 1. Remove the backbone by cutting down either side of the spine, 2: Spread the chicken out, 3: Press down on the backbone and crack it until the chicken lays flat, 4. If you wish, you can then tuck the wings under the breast.

WHAT IS A BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN?

Butterflying is also known as spatch cocking. It is a good way to ensure a quicker cook when roasting a whole chicken. It results in a flattened piece of meat that is all of similar thickness, thus ensuring an even cook.

HELP, I FORGOT TO RESERVE THE CHICKEN DRIPPINGS!

The chicken drippings are integral to the flavour in your sauce. If you’ve somehow forgotten to reserve them, you’ll want to add some more garlic and salt to your sauce, as well as half a cup of chicken broth.

DO I HAVE TO PEEL MY POTATOES?

I would strongly recommend peeling your potatoes to ensure a smooth consistency inside your croquette: the last thing you want is a chunk of peel in your bite.

HOW SHOULD I SERVE MY CROQUETTES?

I like to eat them on their own, or serve them with the creamy mushroom sauce as either an appetizer or a main. If you’d like to serve them as part of a larger meal they would work beautifully with a simple salad or some roasted root veggies. I would suggest that any side be fresh and bright to offset the breaded croquettes. I also think they would be wonderful served as finger food at a party with or without the cream sauce on the side.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF POTATOES IN MY CROQUETTES?

Absolutely. Any roasting potato will work well in this recipe.

CAN I USE DRIED MUSHROOMS INSTEAD OF DRIED IN THE SAUCE?

If you’d like, you can use dried mushrooms in this sauce. Keep in mind that dried mushrooms will have a stronger flavour than fresh.

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF MEAT IN THE CROQUETTE?

This recipe relies on poultry as the main ingredient. If you’d like, you could roast turkey instead.

CAN I USE BOILED POTATOES INSTEAD OF ROASTED?

I wouldn’t recommend using boiled potatoes as you’d be losing a lot of the flavour that comes from roasting the potatoes under the chicken.

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF MUSHROOMS TO MAKE THE SAUCE?

Absolutely. Feel free to use any kind of mushrooms you prefer in your cream sauce.

CAN I SUBSTITUTE A DIFFERENT HERB FOR THYME?

I personally think thyme is the perfect match for mushrooms in the cream sauce, but rosemary would also be delicious in this meal as well.

CAN I USE SEASONED BREADCRUMBS?

I always buy plain breadcrumbs because I want to be able to season food to my own liking. I also find the notion of shelf stable cheese (which is normally in seasoned breadcrumbs) unappealing. I would strongly recommend using unseasoned breadcrumbs.

CAN I USE PANKO BREADCRUMBS?

You can use panko breadcrumbs instead of regular if you’d like, but it will change the texture of this dish. Panko will make for a much crispier, flakier texture on the outside of these croquettes.

EQUIPMENT FOR BAKED CHICKEN CROQUETTES

Cooking With Carbs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, but all of the equipment listed on this site is recommended without incentive and are products I strongly believe in.

Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make Chicken Croquettes:

• Chef’s Knife

• Cutting Board

• Roasting Pan

• 1/3 Measuring Cup

• Heavy Bottomed Pan – My most used pan by far is my Le Creuset Braising Pan. It is made of heavy cast iron and coated in ceramic as all Le Creuset cast iron pans are. It’s large and deep which makes it perfect for everything from frying to making sauces. I can’t recommend it enough.

COOKING DIRECTIONS

If you follow a few simple rules your Baked Chicken Croquettes will turn out perfectly the first time!

1. Roast the chicken and potatoes until golden.
2. Sautee the fresh mushrooms until you draw out all their extra liquid.
3. Reserve your chicken drippings and use schmaltz for extra flavour.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

You can make the roast chicken and potatoes up to three days in advance for this recipe.

I would strongly recommend eating these croquettes fresh if at all possible.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy these delicious Baked Chicken Croquettes!

OTHER SIMILAR DISHES

Mushroom Arancini

Saffron Arancini with Sausage

Bolognese and Mozzarella Arancini

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cooking.with.carbs.

Pin the image below if you would like to make this recipe later!

Did you try these Baked Chicken Croquettes? let us know in the comments below!