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!
Made the chicken broccoli fritters last night, they were a big hit. I made two dipping sauces one with Kewpie Mayo & mustard the other with Kewpie Mayo & Sweet Chilli Sauce, both very nice. Thank you for your easy no fail recipes. Hugs to the golden boy. 🐶
I made this the other night and added a little bit of panko bread crumbs to it for the extra crunch. I did find I needed to add extra egg to the fritter batter though. I am planning to make them again trying the hash browns from the refrigerated section and adding some either some minced red onion or sliced green onions.
Yum! Sounds great Mia!
Life of Dozer vs Good, good life! Just how it should be as they are part of Family. Love Rick S. Cooking style. Would love to have your fritters with home made chicken broth. Thanks. Enjoy your holiday.
He definitely has the good life Vera 😂 I hope you give the fritters a go – I’d love to know what you think!
I have dairy allergic child – if I take the parmesan out do I need to have something else to replace it?
Hi Ange! Just a pinch of extra salt plus perhaps a pinch of dried herbs (thyme, oregano or rosemary) or about 1/4 cup of finely chopped green onions/shallots. That will add a bit of extra flavour to compensate for leaving out the parmesan 🙂 Still tasty even without these extras though! N x
Yum! Yum! Yum! Fritter magic! No matter what I cook from your page, everything turns out exactly as it supposed to. So delicious. Thanks Nagi. You have a few grateful fans in this household 🙂
Oh wow! So glad you enjoyed this Rowie, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on this recipe! N xx
Those fritter look finger licking good. I’m putting this one on my “Must Make” board.
Dozer is one rambling dude.
He is one spoilt brat! 😂
Nagi
These are so freaking Delish
My 5 year old is lapping them up with your pink sauce all around her moosh 🤣
Thank you!
Big hugs to handsome face Dozer 🥰❣️
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! Approval from a 5 yo is the ultimate validation! N xx
Hi Nagi, I am an avid follower and maker of your recipes.
Unfortunately after a course of anit-biotics I have become egg intolerant and cannot eat them in any shape or form. What can be used as a substitute to bind these lovely chicken brocolli fritters? Thanks
I have heard of a product called Aquafaba that behaves exactly like egg whites. It is made of water and chickpeas and used by those who are egg intolerant and vegans. They made Pavlovas with it on the Great British Baking Show!
Oh no Lulu, I’m sorry to hear that. The only sub I know of is flax seeds – grind to a powder and use 1 tbsp plus 3 tbsp water for each egg (so double it). whisk together and wait until it becomes gelatinous then use per recipe. N x
There are a number of egg replacers out there on the market. I normally use Ener-G egg replacement when I am cooking vegan. Aquafaba is simply the liquid you find in a can of chickpeas. I have had mixed results with it in recipes.
Priceless photo of you and Dozer in Port Stephens. Love the Aussie beach vibe in décor seen. Have to find that rattan for self 🙂 ! Live on broccoli, always have chi ken thighs in the freezer – tho’ not a fritter ‘maker’ love the look and shall have soonest . . . and THANK YOU for calling yours the ‘pink sauce’ . . . . loathe the alternate name etc . . .
The decor is great isn’t it!! The whole atmosphere of Bannisters is so great 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi &Dozer,
Wow love this as I adore Rick Stein, so happy you took Dozer and can’t wait to make these yummy goodness. 👌🐶
I am such a Rick Stein fan girl!!
Hi Nagi & Dozer – isn’t Port Stephens magnificent….that crystal water!!! Friends of ours only visited Bannisters last week. So pleased you and Dozer had this wonderful holiday together. And lovely to hear you both visited my home town of Newcastle too – our beaches are also pretty awesome. Hope Dozer and his girlfriend got to Horseshoe Beach. Best wishes to you both!
(PS: These fritters look amazing!)
I LOVE Newcastle! If I were ever leave Sydney for a reason, Newcastle would be my first choice 🙂 The dog beaches are so great! Horseshoe is my favourite as well as Redhead beach. I really love the Newcastle vibe too – and wow, the bistros, wine bar and restaurant scene is amazing! Plus the markets are the best – better than in Sydney. So much great local produce 🙂 N x
Broccoli everything N! It’s funny coz I use to hate broccoli when I was younger! Now I love it and my dog loves it too! He’ll do all kinds of tricks for it! 😂
Dozer looks very content…happy in the 1st pic with you!!! J x
ME TOO J! I was never a fan growing up – but then again, there was a LOT of plain steamed broccoli in our household! 😂
I too am wondering about the chicken. Is it raw or cooked?
The frying time doesn’t seem long enough to cook raw chicken…
Hi Chris! It is definitely raw going in. Once chopped into small pieces, it cooks super fast even in fritters. You will be amazed! Go by the colour of the crust – once it’s deep golden, the chicken will be cooked through 🙂 N x
Dear Nagi
I am concerned about Dozer. In the last picture his right leg appears to be misaligned. Hip dysplasia? I would show this picture to his Veterinarian. Best wishes from Texas, and give Dozer a big ol’ kiss from me.
Hi Susan! You are so sweet to be looking out for Dozer! That is the knee he had operated on last year so he does stand on it in a weird way sometimes. But I’ve been assured by the vet and his holistic therapy magic doctor that he’s in absolutely terrific form! Big sloppy kisses sent virtually back from Dozer (ooh and a hug too, I washed him, he’s so soft and fluffy today!) N x
Love your recipes. Gonna try this one tonight.
But, whats a copy golden crust? ✨💚
Oh Lisa. EVERYONE knows what a “copy golden crust” is!! 😂😂😂 (Thanks for that!) N x
These were so yummy! I baked them like in the mince recipe and put more garlic for me. I had them two nights in a row! (meaning leftovers were just as tasty,) So good.
Hello Nagi, I was wondering is it better to cook the chicken first? Also i love your recipes! Keep up the great work! Oh and we here in Wilmington, Delaware love you and Dozer pics!!
Wilmington! We drove through there on a road trip from NYC to Washington 🙂 Glad you are enjoying the recipes Julia…AND Dozer of course! I love being totally indulgent sharing silly stories about him 😂 N x
Will this work with frozen broccoli? I have an abundance in the freezer.
100% yes 🙂 N x
Not a big fan of broccoli, but have to admit these look too good for my not to try.
Switch with cauliflower! Or asparagus or green beans 🙂 N x
Hi, have you tried this recipe with cauliflower or asparagus instead? Which do you think would work better? I don’t want to wait until I can go out and buy broccoli to try this recipe!!!
Not only are your recipes easy to make with easy to follow directions but they never fail to excite the taste buds. Also love your pictures of Dozer with short humorous descriptions. A Really Big Thank You!!!
Thanks for your lovely message Jonathan! So glad you are enjoying both the recipes AND Dozer!! N xx
Not really a comment, Nagi — I’ll be making these by the hour and by the pile on the weekend!
Just wanted to say hi and thank you for being here . . . and thanks for making a reason to take Dozier on holiday with you! Love from Washington!
Hi back from Down Under! I enjoyed my time in Washington 🙂 I underestimated how FAR everything is between major sights! Best memory – Bens Chili Bowl. SO GOOD! N x