If you love chicken burgers, you'll want to try these homemade breaded chicken patties loaded with delicious flavor and served as they are with dipping sauces or between soft hamburger buns with tomato slices, hot sauce, and other toppings to make a tasty chicken sandwich for an easy dinner.
The raw chicken mince is combined with chopped and cooked onions and carrots, grated zucchini, rice, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. It's then pan-fried until golden brown in a large skillet.
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Ingredients
Whenever I'm short on time or ideas for dinner (and this happens a lot, trust me!) I like to make patties or fritters for dinner.
From our juicy and tender salmon burgers to crispy potato pancakes, these are the secret to making any dinner effortless yet incredibly flavorful.
- Chicken mince - Use high-quality white meat chicken for the best flavor and texture. You could also mince boneless chicken breast for this chicken patty recipe.
- Onion - Brown onion, diced. Unless you enjoy big chunks of onion in your patties, it’s best to dice the onion into fine pieces. Onion powder could be used instead if you don't enjoy chopped onion in patties.
- Carrot - Once grated, press the carrot between two clean kitchen cloths to remove excess liquid.
- Zucchini - There are various kinds of zucchini that you can choose from depending on where you’re located in the world or what’s available. Feel free to use squashes that you are familiar with. Once grated, press the zucchini between two clean kitchen cloths to remove excess liquid.
- Breadcrumbs - Feel free to make your own breadcrumbs or use packaged breadcrumbs such as Panko breadcrumbs. Since I’ve added my own seasoning to this recipe, I didn’t feel it necessary to purchase seasoned breadcrumbs but you could as a way to adapt the recipe.
- Rice - Use cooked rice for this ingredient. Short-grain rice is a better option for these chicken patties.
- Salt - This is used to draw excess moisture out of the grated zucchini.
- Seasoning - I’ve used ground sweet paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to season these patties. Feel free to adapt the seasoning to suit your preference.
- Oil - Use cooking oil like olive oil, vegetable oil, Canola oil, or Soybean oil. The oil must have a high smoke point.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
Wash and peel zucchini. Medium grate it into a bowl and sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let it sit like this for 30 minutes. Then transfer and wrap it into a thin kitchen towel placed over a strainer and a bowl in the bottom. Twist the towel to wring out the moisture as much as you can. Set aside.
Meanwhile, saute the carrots and onions in a medium skillet over medium heat until the onions are softened. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix ground chicken, cooked rice, zucchini, carrot and onion mixture, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
Shape the mixture into medium-sized patties using your hands (make your hands wet before shaping the balls). Prepare a smaller plate/bowl for your breadcrumbs and dip each chicken patty into it right before transferring them to the pan (use a spoon as the fritters are very soft and tender).
In a medium skillet, heat olive oil (medium-high heat) and cook homemade chicken patties for 3-4 minutes on both sides. Then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess moisture.
Serve with dippings, sauces, and your favorite garnishes.
Tips
- Place the patties on a side dish with a paper towel for a minute or two so that any excess oil is soaked up to prevent soggy chicken patties.
- Use oil with a neutral flavor and a high smoke point when pan-frying these patties.
- Serve these breaded chicken patties with ranch sauce or another delicious sauce. I provide some ideas below!
- Add heat to these chicken patties using smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika, and add some cayenne pepper or red chili flakes to the chicken mixture.
- Leftover chicken patties will lose some moisture once cooked, stored in an airtight container, and then reheated on medium-low heat or in an air fryer basket.
- These patties are fragile but once coated with breadcrumbs, they will be easier to transfer to the skillet.
- I haven’t added eggs as a binding agent because the chicken mince and grated zucchini keep the patties intact.
- You can achieve a golden crispy crust by air frying these patties. It's a great way to reduce the hot oil used, and air fryer chicken patties taste as good as the pan fry method.
- The use of a meat thermometer is a good idea to test whether the internal temperature of the patties has reached 165F.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
Store. Once the patties are cooked, let them cool completely and store in a food airtight container for 3-4 days.
Reheat in the oven (best results), air fryer at 400 F for 5 minutes, microwave, or in a nonstick skillet with very little oil.
If patties are getting too brown in the oven, cover them with aluminum foil or reduce the heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don't handle the patties too much; otherwise, the meat can become dense, which is easier to fall apart once cooked. You could also chill the coated patties before frying them to keep them firm for cooking.
Ingredients that act as binding agents will also help to prevent the patties from falling apart. While egg and wheat flour are typically used, I’ve found chicken mince and grated zucchini sufficient for binding.
Consider using crushed crackers, crushed cornflakes (or unsweetened cereals), pretzel crumbs, or even regular rolled oats.
To prevent your patties from bulging in the center, make a small indent with your thumb in the center of each patty.
I hope you enjoy making these breaded chicken patties. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
Easy Patties Recipes
Our family loves easy dinner recipes, especially fritters and patties. Try my juicy and tender Salmon Patties, classic all time favorite Russian Potato Pancakes, kids favorite Zucchini Corn Fritters or Green Patties for a wholesome vegetarian meal. And don't forget the dips:
- Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Dip
- 10-Minute Roasted Pepper Hummus
- Avocado Crema With Jalapenos
- Cold Spinach Dip
These are my suggestions based on the post I have on this blog, but we also like to serve savory patties with Ranch dressing, blue cheese sauce or simple yogurt dried herb dressing.
Did you make this recipe? Please be sure to leave a rating and a comment below. Thank you!
Breaded Chicken Patties With Zucchini and Carrot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound Chicken mince or sub with turkey
- ¼ cup diced brown onion
- ½ cup medium grated carrot
- 2 cups large grated zucchini
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs or panko
- 1 cup cooked rice short grain better
- 1 teaspoon salt for zucchini
- 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- Salt to taste for patties
Instructions
- Wash and peel zucchini. Finely grate it into a bowl and sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let it sit like this for 30 minutes. Then transfer and wrap it into a thin kitchen towel placed over a strainer and a bowl in the bottom. Twist the towel to wring out the moisture as much as you can. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, saute the carrots and onions in a medium skillet over medium heat until onions are softened. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix ground chicken, cooked rice, zucchini, carrot and onion mixture, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Shape the mixture into medium-sized patties using your hands (make your hands wet before shaping the balls). Prepare a smaller plate/bowl for your breadcrumbs and dip each chicken patty into it right before transferring them to the pan (use a spoon as the fritters are very soft and tender). In a medium skillet, heat olive oil (medium-high heat) and cook homemade chicken patties for 3-4 minutes on both sides. Then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess moisture.
- Serve with dippings, sauces, and your favorite garnishes.
Notes
- Place the patties on a side dish with a paper towel for a minute or two so that any excess oil is soaked up to prevent soggy chicken patties.
- Leftover chicken patties will lose some moisture once cooked, stored in an airtight container, and then reheated on medium-low heat or in an air fryer basket.
- You can achieve a golden crispy crust by air frying these patties. It's a great way to reduce the hot oil used, and air fryer chicken patties taste as good as the pan fry method.
- These patties are fragile but once coated with breadcrumbs, they will be easier to transfer to the skillet.
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