These chicken vegetable croquettes are a delicious twist on the classic potato croquette—loaded with shredded chicken, mixed vegetables, and spices. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, they make the perfect snack, appetizer, or side dish with rice. They’re freezer-friendly, easy to customise, and tested to perfection!
OK, full disclosure, I use these croquettes as a way to sneak in vegetables into my diet that my family and I don’t like to eat. So yeah, this recipe came into being out of NECESSITY more than anything else!
I cooked up these croquettes right after my chicken and vegetable kebabs went viral on IG. And well, they are here to stay, my friend! Pss.. You can also load veggies in your nuggets, just btw (I do that in my chili parm nuggets too)
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Ingredients
Don’t get overwhelmed with the list. I promise you these are simply things you probably already have in your pantry.
- Vegetables – I use this recipe as an excuse to eat all the veggies that I generally don’t like on their own. So broccoli and cauliflower are always part of the mix. Feel free to use any hard vegetables of your choice. Customise as you want!
- Potatoes – All croquettes need a potato base. I’ve used regular white potatoes PLUS a sweet potato to up the nutrition.
- Shredded Chicken – For the shredded chicken in this recipe, you can use any leftover rotisserie chicken from last night. Or, you can boil some with the potatoes.
- Coating – Like all croquettes, this one also needs a crumb coat. You’ll need flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. I also add sesame seeds for extra crunch and nutrition.
- Cheese – Use any fresh high-protein cheese of your choice. I went with cottage cheese. You can use Feta, cream cheese, or mascarpone. Just adjust the salt level if using salted cheeses.
- Seasonings – Apart from salt and pepper, I use homemade dahi bara masala for this recipe, which you can buy from the store or use chilli flakes, roasted cumin seeds, and coriander seeds instead.
- Binder – I use breadcrumbs in the croquette base to give it binding.
- Other – For taste, I also add cilantro leaves, garlic, and onions
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Instructions
Let me show you a simple step-by-step pictorial for this recipe.
Step 1: Boil potatoes and chicken together or separately with garlic, salt, and pepper.
Step 2: Peel the potatoes and add them to a large bowl.
Step 3: Mash the potatoes.
Step 4: Use a food processor to chop all the listed vegetables and herbs. Keep it as fine or as chunky as you like.
Step 5: Add all the chopped vegetables to the mashed potatoes.
Step 6: Shred chicken in the food processor and add it to the mashed potatoes.
PROTIP: Use the food processor to shred the chicken instead of doing it manually to save time and effort.
Step 7: Add in your cheese. (feta, cottage, ricotta, or any of your choice)
Step 8: Add in all the seasonings.
Step 9: Combine everything with your hands to make a uniform croquette mix.
Step 10: Take a tablespoon of the mixture and shape it in one of your preferred ways.
Step 11: Coat the croquettes in flour, then eggs, and lastly, breadcrumbs.
Step 12: Fry at medium flame in oil until crispy and golden brown in color.
Please note: Purple Cabbage bleeds in the kebabs and turns them slightly pink. I didn’t have a problem with that, so I went ahead and used it. If you think your kids or family may have issues, best to avoid them altogether.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot with your favorite sauces on the side. I like to pair mine with garlic mayo or hot honey ranch (both recipes in my E-book)
Here are some more fun ways to use your croquettes and turn them into a meal:
- Eat with yellow rice and yogurt
- Serve with dal chawal (rice and lentils)
- Make wraps out of it with mayo and veggies
- Use for paratha rolls.
Variations and Substitutions
This recipe is generally on the spicy end ( my brown folks can ignore this comment). Here are some variations for you to try
- Nuts and seeds – I add sesame seeds with the bread crumbs to up the nutritional value, but feel free to add some chopped nuts or seeds of your choice into the croquette mix as well.
- Meats – Make this recipe with shredded beef, mutton, or lamb.
- Heat – I’d categorize this recipe as spicy for a non-brown person, so feel free to reduce the heat a bit if you like.
- Coating – Try using cornflakes instead of bread crumbs for an extra crunch.
- Spring rolls – You can use this croquette mix as a filling for puff pastry, spring rolls, or samosas.
- Potatoes – I’ve used a combination of white and sweet potatoes for this recipe. You can use just one variety as well.
- Binder – I use breadcrumbs to counter the added moisture in the croquettes. You can use cornstarch, oatmeal, or tapioca flour, too, as a substitute.
Storage
The croquette mix can last in the fridge for about a day or two. So you can make the mix a day before and roll it and coat it the next day in front of the TV or something.
Freeze the croquettes in an airtight box. To freeze in a ziplock bag, make sure you freeze the croquettes individually first. They can last for upto 2 months in the freezer.
Expert Tips
- I used whatever vegetables I had in the fridge. Please note
- Use parchment paper in the tray that you freeze your kebabs in to avoid them getting stuck to the pan
- This is a great recipe for “clean-your-fridge” day.
- Freeze the croquettes individually in an open tray. Once they harden, add them to ziplock bags to avoid them getting stuck to each other.
- Purple cabbage leaves tend to turn the croquettes pink (avoid it if you don’t want that)
Frequently Asked Questions
They can last upto 3 months in the freezer in an airtight container.
No need! Take them out of the freezer and shallow fry or airfry them directly.
Yes! You can use mushrooms instead of chicken or skip it entirely. Just add more vegetables in place of chicken, so the balance of spices is intact.
More Nutritious Deliciousness
Here are some more potato-chicken-veggie mash-ups that have the ability to be full meals!
Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Chicken Vegetable Croquettes
Ingredients
Croquette Mix
- 3 medium potato 300 gm
- 1 medium sweet potato 150 gm
- 300 gm chicken breast
- 1 whole garlic peeled and cloves seperated.
- 2 1/2 cup chopped vegetables of your choice (see notes)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 cup cottage cheese 200 gms
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs 1 slice
- 2 tablespoon dahi bara masala
- 1 tablespoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 small bunch of coriander
Coating
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds optional
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Boil chicken and potatoes in water along with a teaspoon of salt and 5 garlic cloves. See notes.
- Peel the boiled potatoes and add them to a large bowl. Mash them until smooth.
- Shred the chicken in the food processor and add it to the potato bowl.
- Use a food processor to chop all the listed vegetables and herbs. Keep it as fine or as chunky as you like. Add them to the potato bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the croquette mix. This is the best stage to do a taste test and adjust seasonings.
- Knead the croquette mix into a dough. Take a tablespoon of the dough and shape it with your hands into a cigar, a ball or a patty.
- Place all the shaped croquettes on a tray, ideally lined with parchment paper.
- Prepare 3 shallow plates, one with the flour, one with the eggs beaten and one with the breadcrumbs mixed with sesame seeds.
- Roll the croquettes first into the flour, then dip them in the beaten egg and finally roll them through the breadcrumbs and sesame seed mix, making sure they are completely covered. Place them on a plate or tray until ready to fry. You could also put them in the freezer directly at this point if you wish to fry them later.
- Add any neutral oil to a pot so that it’s at least a couple inches deep and heat it over medium high heat. Fry the croquettes in oil for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides.
- To airfry, put the croquettes in an air fryer sprayed with oil and bake for 375°F-400°F (190°C-200°C) for 10-15 minutes until golden brown, flipping them halfway through if needed.
- Serve with your favorite chutney or sauces.
Notes
- Use leftover shredded chicken if you have any instead of boiling more.
- You can use just one type of potato for this recipe as well.
- Use any vegetables you have at hand. For this recipe, I prefer carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli.
- Use cornstarch or oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs in the croquette mixture if you need a substitute.
- The croquettes last for upto 3 months in the freezer.
Questions? Thoughts? Leave them below