Everyone loves these Chicken Patties, even the pickiest eaters! They are crisp on the outside with a juicy, cheesy center and it’s a genius way to use leftover Rotisserie Chicken.
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Chicken Patties Video Tutorial:
We love making these anytime we have leftover chicken and no one would ever guess you used leftovers. The chicken becomes super tender and tasty when combined with the batter and the panko crust seals in the moist center.
Years ago, we shared our favorite Cheesy Chicken Fritters recipe and it was an instant hit. So many of you let me know that it works just as well with cooked chicken so we tested it and loved it, then this Chicken Patties recipe was born. So, thank you for making this recipe happen!
Ingredients for Chicken Cakes:
Chicken cakes are super easy to make. All you need is a rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken meat, a simple batter, mozzarella cheese, and Panko bread crumbs (or use whatever bread crumbs you have on hand). The lemon zest and dill seem insignificant, but they completely transform these chicken patties.
Can I Substitute the Chicken?
- Canned Chicken – make sure to drain well and use (3) 12.5-oz cans of chicken.
- Raw Chicken – If you want to use raw diced chicken or even ground chicken, check out our chicken fritters recipe.
The Easiest Way to Shred Chicken:
There are three basic ways to shred the chicken: by hand, with 2 forks and our favorite is to use a stand mixer.
To shred chicken with a stand mixer: This method works best if your chicken is still warm. Break chicken breasts in half and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until chicken is shredded. Be careful not overmix since it takes seconds to shred. Try this method for Pulled Pork or Crockpot Pulled Chicken.
Can I Make Chicken Patties Ahead?
You can make these ahead up to any point in the process, even to bread them then refrigerate for a couple of days until ready to saute.
The USDA recommends refrigerating cooked chicken or leftovers up to 4 days so it depends on how long your leftover chicken has been in the refrigerator. I cook half of the batch on the first day and sautee a fresh batch a couple of days later.
How to Reheat Chicken Patties:
The air fryer is our favorite method since it makes the crust crisp again. The microwave is our least favorite method because the crust softens but the patties will taste great even microwaved. This is one of the few chicken recipes that we still enjoy reheated in the microwave.
- Air Fryer – you can re-crisp chicken patties in the air fryer at 350˚F for 4 minutes, flipping halfway
- Skillet – place on a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat and sautee until crisp and just warmed through
- Microwave – microwave 30 seconds at a time, or just until the center is warmed through.
How to Serve Chicken Patties:
Just like our salmon cakes, shrimp cakes, and classic crab cakes, we love serving these as appetizers or a light lunch. Here are some creative ways to serve a chicken patty:
- Chicken sliders – make a chicken sandwich or sliders on Hawaiian sweet rolls
- With a sauce – like the lemon aioli dip that we used for Crisp Zucchini Bites. You could use Avocado Ranch or plain ranch.
- Main Course – serve chicken patties as the main protein with mashed potatoes and a fresh salad.
More Leftover Chicken Recipes:
We love to repurpose leftovers and make easy meals out of them. We especially love recipes that make the chicken taste even better like these Chicken Patties. Here are more creative ways to use leftover chicken:
- Chicken Fried Rice – a family favorite easy dinner
- Avocado Chicken Salad – our most popular salad of all time
- Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwiches – a restaurant copycat with secret sauce
- Chicken Enchiladas – shred leftover chicken for easy enchiladas
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup – using pre-cooked chicken is just as good
- Chicken Noodle Soup – our easiest family-friendly soup
Chicken Patties (Easy Chicken Cakes) Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded chicken, from 2 large chicken breasts, (16 oz by weight)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1 Tbsp parsley)
- 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp lemon zest, plus lemon wedges to serve
- 1 1/3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 Tbsp olive oil to saute, divided
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together: 2 eggs, 1/3 cup mayo, 1/3 cup flour, 3 Tbsp dill, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp lemon zest.
- Add in shredded chicken and 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella then stir until chicken is well coated in batter.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture at least 30 minutes (this will help with forming patties). Use a trigger release ice cream scoop to divide into 12-15 cakes then form into 1/2-inch thick patties. Dip both sides in Panko crumbs.
- Place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and half of the chicken patties. Sauté for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown, adding more oil as needed. Repeat with remaining patties.
- As soon as patties are off the heat, sprinkle with salt and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the patties. Serve warm.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Can you leave the flour out and add an extra egg? When I may tan cakes I don’t use flour. Thanks
Hello Ann, I haven’t tested that version to advise if it will work.
Hi Crystal! An egg free Mayo should be fine but I have not tested a substitute for eggs. Please let us know if you experiment.
Made 1/3 batch using canned chicken. Used the airfryer instead of oil on the stove: 190F for 11 minutes, flipping and spraying both sides with an extra layer of oil halfway through. The texture was a little stringier than we expected, but it was yummy and a good recipe when you are short on things because you need to run to the grocery store.
Hi Morgan! Thank you for sharing your experiment with the recipe.
Made these tonight and my daughters and I LOVED them! Made 12 chicken cakes. I used parsley instead of dill. Tired canned chicken (bc I’ve never cooked with it before so, why not). These were EXCELLENT! I’m freezing the leftovers and plan to defeat then reheat them in the air fryer. Hope they’re ok like that.
Yay thanks a lot for sharing that with us. We’re so happy to hear that our Chicken Patties were a huge success!
Our family loves your recipes! Unfortunately we never get to take pictures because we start eating right away. We love your chicken tetrazzini, zucchini and potato crush and many more.
Can’t wait to try the leftover chicken recipes!
Love you,
Carol Breslin🥰🥰🥰
Hi Carol! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m glad your family is enjoying the recipes!
We have leftover rotisserie chicken to use! Is there any way to make these without cheese (dairy free)?
Hi Jennifer! I have not tested it. I reviewed the comments and I don’t see that any of my other readers tested a dairy-free version. You’d have to experiment with it.
I can’t wait to make these but I was curious, Can I use almond flour instead of reg. flour?
Hi Jacque! I have not tested it but one of my readers commented that it did work. Let us know how they turn out if you experiment.
Made these for dinner tonight and we thoroughly enjoyed them. To avoid heating up the kitchen, I air fried the patties at 370 for 10 minutes. They came out crispy and created much less mess than pan frying. I ‘ll definitely make these again.
Hi Kim! Thank you for sharing that with us. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thank you for saving my terribly dry chicken breast – oops 🙂 These are delicious!
Hi Julie! That’s great to hear. I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe.
Super easy and delicious. Served a side salad and a couple of patties covered with a lemon butter sauce. Yummo.
I used a quart of home-canned chicken.
Hi Charlene! That sounds great, thank you!
Hello, can I mix and freeze the ingredients before I put them in the panko crumbs?
I haven’t tested this by freezing it to advise but others have tried it and it worked according to them. If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
Wow. I was blown away. I made a batch of these chicken patties tonight and they were double delicious. I came out with 13 and I had all I could do to stop after 3. Very good. Thank you.
ps: I cannot wait for tomorrow to have some more.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Al!
Family is not a fan of mayo. Would Miracle Whip work as well with the dill and lemon?
Hi Catherine, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, we’d love to know how it turns out!
I also am not a fan of Mayo. I almost always use Miracle Whip. But they were very tasty.
These are absolutely delicious!!! Can these be frozen eithe before cooking or after cooking?
Hi Shawn! I haven’t tried freezing them but one of my readers reported good results freezing them in a Ziplock bag. “Took out 2 at a time, cooked in microwave on high for 2 minutes, then transferred to the toaster oven and toasted to crisp them back up for 5-10 minutes.” I hope that helps.
This is SO good! I’ve only tasted it but oh my! Easy, too. I premade the “filling” and chilled it for a few hours before. I may have used to much cheese…whoops 😉 is there such a thing? Waiting for my supper date to dive in. I also made asparagus, mushroom, and warm dill German potato salad with shallots.
That sounds amazing, Shane! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
I made the chicken patties we love them. Was wondering if after I cook them and cool them can I freeze them and for how long if I seal a meal them. We didn’t put the lemon or dill in them but we did add onion powder oh soo good. My niece wanted to make them so I taught her how to make them they loved them. Thank you
Hi Kathleen! I’m glad you love this recipe. I haven’t tried freezing them but one of my readers reported good results freezing them in a Ziplock bag. “Took out 2 at a time, cooked in microwave on high for 2 minutes, then transferred to the toaster oven and toasted to crisp them back up for 5-10 minutes.” I hope that helps! 🙂
These are absolutely delicious!! Flavorful, easy to make and ingredients you most likely have on hand.
Thank you for the feedback, Peggy! 🙂
Holy moly! These are amazing!! An absolutely awesome use of leftover rotisserie chicken. In fact worth buying a chicken just to make ’em!! Kids loved loved loved. This is definitely a repeat. P.S. served with your garlic aioli. Delish! Thanks Natasha!!
Hi Erica! I’m so glad you love the recipe. Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback.
Natasha we tried your chicken pattie recipe and we just loved it love your recipes
Hi Gill! That’s great. I’m glad you love it. Thank you for the feedback.
Trying them reheated is a skillet this evening. Gave a few to my niece and my great niece age three loved them. Serving tonight with an apple salad.
That’s great, Diane! 🙂