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Everyone that tries these cheesy chicken fritters, loves them! They are easy to prepare and very flavorful. The cheese in the batter forms part of the outer crust and a creates an irresistible cheese pull as you bite into these yummy chicken fritters. Marinating the chicken makes it incredibly tender and juicy.
You’ll want to marinate 2 hours or overnight; so there’s a make-ahead option! I served them with a really simple garlic aioli dip but these fritters are still super yummy without the dip (see, I highlighted all of the really important points for my speed readers).
This recipe is really easy to double if you’re feeding a crowd. One of my readers, Nadia, shared these”Kotleti Nezhnost” or Tender Kotleti with us; a recipe her children and family love.
These really are super tender! Nadia used cornstarch (gluten free option) instead of flour but I tested it both ways and I didn’t notice a difference in taste or flavor so you can really use either one for your batter.
Oh and I added some fresh dill which which added great flavor. Somehow dill makes everything taste more Ukrainian. I’d love to claim it as a Ukrainian herb but I’d get hit with a firestorm in the comment section so I won’t go there. lol.
Watch How to Make Tender Chicken Fritters:
Ingredients for Tender Chicken Fritters:
1 1/2 lbs (3 large) chicken breasts
2 large eggs
5 Tbsp (about 1/3 cup) mayonnaise
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or cornstarch or potato starch for gluten free option)
4 oz (1 1/3 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
Extra light olive oil, or any high heat cooking oil to sautee
How to Make Chicken Fritters (Kotleti):
1. Using a sharp knife, dice chicken into 1/3″ to 1/2″ thick pieces and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine batter ingredients: 2 eggs, 5 Tbsp mayo, 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/3 cups mozzarella, 1 1/2 Tbsp dill, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir until well combined. Stir in diced chicken, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp oil and when oil is hot, add the chicken mixture a heaping tablespoon at a time (I used a flat ice cream scoop for uniform sizes).
Pat down the fritters with the back of your spoon to flatten them slightly. Saute uncovered 3 – 4 min on the first side then flip and saute uncovered 3 min on the second side or until golden brown and fully cooked through. Repeat with remaining fritters. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Serve these chicken fritters with garlic aioli dip if desired and enjoy!! They’d also be great as mini sandwiches (sliders).
Tender Chicken Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs 3 large chicken breasts
- 2 large eggs
- 5 Tbsp about 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, or cornstarch or potato starch
- 4 oz 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Extra light olive oil, or any high heat oil to sautee
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, dice chicken into 1/3" to 1/2" thick pieces and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine batter ingredients: 2 eggs, 5 Tbsp mayo, 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/3 cups mozzarella, 1 1/2 Tbsp dill, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir until well combined. Stir in diced chicken, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over med heat. Add 2 Tbsp oil and when hot, add the chicken mixture a heaping Tbsp at a time (I used a flat ice cream scoop). Pat down fritters with the back of your spoon to flatten slightly. Saute uncovered 3 - 4 min on the first side then flip and saute uncovered 3 min on the second side or until golden brown and fully cooked. Repeat with remaining fritters. Remove to a paper towel lined dish.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Nadia, thank you so much for sharing this new family favorite with us! 🙂
My family loves this recipe ! Can I use chicken thighs instead
Hi Addy! yes that would work with chicken thighs that are trimmed of excess fat.
My family loved the flavour and the cheesiness, but found the chunks of chicken to be distracting in terms of texture. I found that as well.
Would this work with ground chicken? That would eliminate the texture issue (which is clearly not a problem for many), but what do you think?
I love your recipes, and I want to try this with ground chicken. Some people in the comments have posted similar intentions, but I have yet to hear how they check out when done. Thus, Natasha, I’m asking you … do you think that ground chicken will work, or do I need to switch up some ingredients?
Keep rolling with the great recipes. I’d love to see more pressure cooker recipes!!
Hi Jane, if you chop it up into smaller pieces, it works really well. Large pieces would Las o make it hard to hold together. I think this would work well with ground chicken although the mixture would be more moist. I would use less mayo and flour and maybe just 1 egg. I have a (very old) recipe for chicken Kotleti that use ground chicken which you might enjoy.
My oven has an Air Fryer setting, could I do them in rgere instead of frying?
Temperature & Time by ant Chace?
Hi Chris! I haven’t tested these in the air fryer but here is what one of my readers said, “I just made these in my air fryer and they turned out great! Used a 1/4 cup scoop, and cooked at 365 for 5 minutes, then flipped and cooked for another 2-3 minutes. I did not add any oil.”
These are so easy and taste too good! The first time I made these they were instantly gone. The second time I doubled the recipe and made them large enough to fit on a bun. They also disappeared in a flash! Natasha you need to open a restaurant in Seattle so I can eat there every night!
Thank you for the compliment, Nancy!
Coming back for recipe as I can’t find my copy…finding out that I did it wrong previously and put all in a food processer…it was always tender so I gonna continue. Also subbing thyme for dill…delish!
I’m going to try this recipe using ground chicken
Didn’t have enough mozzarella so used Cotija. Yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!! 🥰
This recipe is the best..such a great idea with the cheese and so unexpected! The only part I changed was the spice. I put poultry seasoning instead of dill. Everything else was spot on. I made some larger fritters at the end to put on a sandwich bun. That you !!
These were really good ! Used ranch dressing for dipping. Family loved them.