I’ve discovered a new favourite way to use up leftover chicken. The usual ways of spending up leftover chicken would be sneaking them into fried rice, pasta, or a noodle/pasta soup. But this new one might just be my favourite as it’s mighty delicious. With a little air fryer magic, I’ve made these leftover chicken air fryer croquettes which have been a delight to savour. It’s got a lovely creamy interior and a gorgeous crispy breaded coating – it’s exactly what I’ll call a leftover food glow up!
The story behind this recipe is that the other half went a bit trigger happy on a late-night UberEats order and ended up with these leftover grilled chicken that he had no intention of eating the next day. I hate wasting food so my mind immediately started racing around to come up with a good recipe idea to spend the leftover chicken into my cooking. These air fryer croquettes are the end result of it and both he and I were surprised by how good it turned out. We gobbled the whole plate up within minutes.
You can pretty much use any leftover chicken. Whether it’s from grilled chicken or a weekend chicken roast, the recipe concept would work beautifully.
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How to make Leftover Chicken Air Fryer Croquettes
Ingredients
- Leftover Chicken – shredded up
- Butter, Plain Flour, Milk – to make the white sauce
- Grated Cheese – I used Vegetarian Italian Hard Cheese (i.e. halal substitute for Parmesan). You can also use other cheeses such as Cheddar, Mozzarella, etc.
- Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika, Chilli Powder, Garlic Powder, Chicken Bouillon cube – seasoning and spices
- Onions, Fresh Coriander Leaves – as part of the filling
- Egg – binding agent
- Panko and/or Golden Breadcrumbs – I used a blend of both. Further notes below.
Essentially, a thick sauce was made to gel the ingredients together and give moisture. I’ve combined the shredded leftover chicken with chopped onions and fresh coriander leaves, and mixed them with a spiced white sauce. Feel free to add some freshly chopped chillies in there as well if you fancy a kick of heat. Then it’s simply a matter of rolling them up into balls and the classic egg-dipping then breadcrumb-rolling to make the croquettes.
In terms of the choice of breadcrumb, I used a blend of both panko and golden breadcrumbs. While you can use either one to your own preference, I have my reasons for using both. First of all, panko breadcrumbs offer a lighter and delicate texture that gives an irresistible crisp for the coating. As for the golden breadcrumbs, I find it gelling better to the croquettes and help to keep their shape better.
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out too:
Leftover Chicken Air Fryer Croquettes Recipe
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 cup Leftover Chicken shredded
- 1 Egg beaten
- ½ cup Golden Breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Chilli Powder
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 heaped tbsp Plain Flour
- 1 cup Milk
- ⅓ cup Grated Cheese
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ cube Chicken Bouillon
- ½ Onion diced
- 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves chopped
Instructions
- Melted butter in a pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and mix into a roux.
- Whisk in milk and keep stirring for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken.
- Stir in grated cheese and season with salt, black pepper, paprika, chilli powder, garlic powder, and the crumbled bouillon cube.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and add in the shredded chicken, chopped onions and coriander. Toss to combine. Set aside to allow to cool down.
- Mix together both Panko and golden breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Place beaten egg in a separate bowl.
- Scoop a tablespoon of the chicken mixture and shape it into a ball. Dip into beaten egg and then coat with breadcrumbs. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture.
- Preheat air fryer to 200°C. Brush the air fryer basket with a layer of oil.
- Place the chicken croquettes into the basket. Brush them with oil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Roll the croquettes to the other side, brush with more oil, and cook for another 5 minutes until golden in colour.
- Allow to cool down for a few minutes before serving.
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These were delicious! I was looking for a recipe to use up left over roast chicken for a picky daughtet who doesn’t eat it the next day.
These were a hit and she even took the leftovers to work for lunch! We had them with savoury rice, spicy mayo dip and a few veggies. Thank you for posting the recipe.
Hey Andy, I’m so so pleased to hear that both you and your daughter enjoyed the recipe! ♥️
I really want to make this but part of the recipe is missing. What do you do with the egg and bread crumbs?
Hi Cherie, really sorry it’s being missed out! I have now updated the recipe card – simply scoop the chicken mixture, shape it into a ball then dip it into the egg and coat it with breadcrumbs. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Read #6
This sounds wonderful. What type of dipping sauce do you use?
Hi Keleigh! I personally like to have ketchup whereas hubby prefers a garlic chilli sauce. It’s very versatile so you can serve it with anything you fancy! 🙂
These are delicious!!! They will become a regular way for us to use up leftover chicken.
Hi Pat, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂