Here’s a broccoli recipe that’s a little different to the usual – Broccoli Chicken Fritters! The combination of juicy chicken pieces and tender broccoli inside crispy golden fritters is seriously delicious.
Flavoured with garlic and parmesan, these fritters are a tasty meal or snack, or mini burgers. There’s a whole giant head of broccoli hidden in these!!
Broccoli Chicken Fritters
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and will probably keep saying it until the end of time) – you can fritter anything! (Just look at my Pakora recipe for further proof!) And today, we’re frittering broccoli and chicken.
Have you ever made fritters with chopped chicken before? I think most people think of using ground/mince meat for things in patty and fritter form, like these Chicken Patties.
Using chopped chicken works a treat – I love how it makes the fritters nice and meaty. Thicker than usual fritters, like my favourite zucchini fritters.
BONUS: Clean hands. ??
EXTRA BONUS: Hidden greens to the max. There’s an entire head of broccoli in this recipe!
I love how these Broccoli Chicken Fritters are made with just enough batter to hold them together so they’re quite meaty, rather than pancake-like. Not that I don’t love pancakes, but these are intended to be a savoury meal, high in protein and veg!
What you need
Not very much! If you don’t have parmesan, feel free to use a shredded cheese. You don’t get quite the same crispy crust all over, but you’ll get nice crispy edges and more juicy cheesiness inside.
How to make chicken fritters
Less mess and faster to make than Chicken Broccoli Patties made with ground chicken (mince), just steam or boil broccoli, chop it, then mix up the fritter batter in a bowl.
The nice thing with this recipe is that we don’t need to form patties with our hands – just scoop, dollop and pat.
If you’ve got an ice cream scoop, you’ll feel extra smug – it’s so handy to handle the batter for all things fritter / pancakes / pikelets / muffins!
If you serve these hot off the stove, you don’t really even need a sauce because they are quite juicy inside, which sounds like a weird way to describe fritters I know.
But I’m not one to pass up an opportunity for something to dunk/dip/dollop so in this case, I’ve opted for what I simply call a Pink Sauce which is nothing more than sour cream or yogurt + ketchup (the pink and the flavour).
If you feel like something a little fancier, try it with Avocado Dipping Sauce, or the Honey Mustard or Ranch Sauce in these Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders (they’re in Note 2).
Make these Broccoli Chicken Fritters as a meal, pass them around as a snack. Or stuff them in little rolls and make sliders with some lettuce and tomato with a nice smear of ketchup or mayonnaise to make mini Broccoli Chicken Burgers. – Nagi x
PS In case you too are overloaded with broccoli, have a peek at all my Broccoli recipes!
Watch how to make it
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Broccoli Chicken Fritters
Ingredients
Fritters:
- 1 large head broccoli , cut into florets
- 500g / 1lb chicken breast or thigh , cut into 0.8cm / 1/3" pieces
- 1/2 cup (75g) flour (any type)
- 1/2 cup (50g) parmesan cheese , grated or shredded
- 2 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Pepper
Cooking:
- 3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
Pink Sauce - mix:
- 2/3 cup (165g) sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- Squeeze of lemon , plus more for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 100C/210F.
- Steam broccoli until tender, then roughly chop. (Note 1)
- Add broccoli and remaining Fritter ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Add enough oil in skillet to cover base. Heat to medium high.
- Dollop 1/4 cup mixture into skillet, then pat down. (Note 2)
- Cook 2.5 minutes until deep golden, then flip and cook for 2 minutes.
- Transfer to rack, keep warm in oven.
- Serve with Pink Sauce!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More fritters and fritter-like things
-
Crispy Zucchini Fritters and Greek Zucchini Tots (Mini Fritters)
-
Cheesy Chicken Patties with Broccoli – baked!
-
Good ole’ Aussie Rissoles (with hidden veg)
-
Salmon Patties – fresh or canned salmon
-
McDonald’s copycat Sausage Patties
And more chicken broccoli recipes
Life of Dozer
More pics from the mini break to Rick Stein’s Bannisters in Port Stephens last week, a couple of hours north of Sydney. The moment I found out it was a dog friendly hotel, I booked immediately for a short stay. Dozer + Rick Stein restaurant at a lovely waterside hotel? My idea of a perfect holiday. I will be going back very soon!
Can you use almond flour to make it more low carb? If so how much would I use?
I make and freeze these for my lunches at work, they’re REALLY tasty! They go well with some flavoured rice or couscous, or just with salad.
These are so tasty, definitely will make again.
Best part is my fussy teens both liked them, my constant challenge is finding tasty nutritious food that they both like – this one hit the spot!
I wonder if anyone has tried halloumi instead of parmesan! I think it would work really well.
Yamola!! Thanks Nagi!!
We had these tonight and they were great. I searched your recipes as I had left over roast chicken and I think it worked just as well as using fresh chicken.
OMG – SOOOO delicious and easy to make! The lemon really gives a a kick – the pink sauce is a winner too!! Definitely on the repeat list – thank you Nagi and Dozer xx
Thank you for this recipe Nagi.
I just made those fritters and they were not only very qick and easy to make but also so very delicious. I’ll make them again very very soon!
I just the first fritter and tasted it — WOW!!! So juicy and crispy and satisfying! Now i need to submit this comment so I can eat more xD
I am so glad that you liked it Wenny! N x
I loved this recipe so much. The only thing I did differently was that I added corn sliced off the cob because I didn’t have enough broccoli. Oh, and probably used more Parmesan because I love love love cheese 🧀. Also, I made the mistake of making only half the recipe, then straight after it was devoured, had to make more 😐😁
I don’t have fresh broccoli would frozen work after cooking it
Yes Lisa that would be fine! N x
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE cheese!! N x
Usually I’m not a fan of fritters but after trying this recipe I’ve changed my mind. These fritters were delicious with a salad for a main meal. Thanks Nagi
Hi Nagi Cann your chicken Broccoli & be cooked in a Air Fryer please. If so what temp & how long.
Really delicious! I forgoed the pre-boiling and instead just wizzed up the broccoli finely, but they turned out wonderful and were so tender and tasty. Will definitely make again and kiddy friendly too!
Very good !!
These are delicious and very satisfying, but on my first attempt I found them a bit of a faff to make. I would happily make them again but next time rather than mucking around chopping up raw chicken I think I would just use chicken mince to save a step. They were great in brioche slider buns with some Kewpie mayonnaise. Made a double batch so I have lots to reheat for an easy meal this weekend.
Hi Nagi, my kids love these. Could I freeze them? Was thinking for them to take to school? Thankyou
Hi this is a nice and simple recipe. The nutrition information is based on the 16 servings or for each fritter?
I cooked this for my fam. They loved it! Thanks for this recipe.
Loved it! I made a few subs to make it vegetarian and low carb – I lightly pan fried some diced Halloumi instead of the chicken and used coconut flour. I did find the coconut flour made it a little crumbly, so I added an extra egg and they held together well.
Thanks Nagi x
Loved these!
I made them without the parmesan because I can’t have dairy.
For those wondering, using double the flour and 5 eggs works just as well to bind.
Refrigerating the mix overnight really helps to keep the shape of the patties!
I added spinach instead of broccoli… just as delicious and my kids love it.
Can frozen broccoli florets be used, and if so, how many ounces should I use for this recipe.
You can Joanne, just thaw and use as per the recipe 🙂 N x