As you may or may not know, my favorite croquettes are ham croquetas.
But you know what though, these croquetas de pollo actually came out pretty freaking delicious. And they are a great option for using up leftover chicken!
What are Croquetas de Pollo?
Croquetas de Pollo translates to chicken croquettes. Essentially, they’re logs of chicken that are breaded and fried to perfection. They make the best snack!
Let me show you how to make them.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cooked chicken. You can boil chicken breast and then shred using two forks. Alternatively, you can use leftover chicken breast, chicken thighs, or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Unsalted butter.
- White onion.
- All-purpose flour.
- Whole milk.
- Nutmeg, salt, pepper.
- Dry cooking wine
- Eggs.
- Breadcrumbs.
- Vegetable oil. For frying.
Recommended For This Recipe
How To Make Croquetas de Pollo
- Make a roux. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter and sauté with onion on medium-low heat until translucent. Slowly whisk in the milk, 1/3 cup of flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Constantly stir until a thick sauce forms – a roux.
- Mix in the chicken. Add the cooking wine and cooked chicken to the sauce. Mix it all together slowly. Let it simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Transfer to a bowl.
- Chill the filling. Let the filling rest at room temperature then refrigerate for 2 hours. The mixture has to harden in order to form into logs and coat evenly. If this step is skipped, it will be very hard to form logs, coat with breading and fry. This is an important step. Don’t skip it.
- Form the logs. Remove filling from refrigerator. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture and form a log 3″ long and about 1″ thick. Repeat until you have all the croquettes done.
- Bread the logs. In a bowl, whisk eggs and set aside. In another bowl, mix the remaining flour and bread crumbs. Dip each croquette in egg and then cover in bread crumbs. Let them rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before frying.
- Fry the croquetas. In a large skillet, add enough vegetable oil to cover the croquettes completely. Make sure the oil is at 375 degrees F. Fry each one until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove croquettes from oil and drain on paper towel lined plates.
Hope you make them and you LOVE them!
You may also like:
- Croquetas de Jamón (Cuban Ham Croquettes)
- Pollo Asado (Cuban-Style Grilled Chicken)
- Sopa de Pollo (Cuban Chicken Soup)
- Pizza Croquettes (Croquetas de Pizza)
Crispy Fried Croquetas de Pollo (Cuban Chicken Croquettes)
Croquetas de pollo(or chicken croquettes) are a classic Cuban appetizer. Crispy, crunchy, and bite-size, a shredded chicken filling is coated in breadcrumbs then fried in vegetable oil until perfectly golden. For best results, let the filling rest at room temperature then refrigerate it for 2 hours before frying.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white onion chopped finely
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon dry cooking wine
- 1 pound cooked shredded chicken (use leftovers or store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slowly whisk in the milk, 1/3 cup of flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Constantly stir until a thick sauce forms – a roux.
- Add the cooking wine and cooked chicken to the sauce. Mix it all together slowly. Let it simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Transfer to a bowl.
- Let the filling rest at room temperature then refrigerate for 2 hours. The mixture has to harden in order to form into logs and coat evenly. If this step is skipped, it will be very hard to form logs, coat with breading, and fry. This is an important step. Don’t skip it.
- Remove filling from refrigerator. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture and form a log 3″ long and about 1″ thick. Repeat until you have all the croquettes done.
- Dip each croquette in egg and then cover in bread crumbs. Let them rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before frying.
- In a large skillet, add enough vegetable oil to cover the croquettes completely. Make sure the oil is at 375 degrees F. Fry each one until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Remove croquettes from oil and drain on paper towel lined plates. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1 croquetteCalories: 168 kcalCarbohydrates: 2.7 gProtein: 9.7 gFat: 13 gSaturated Fat: 3.7 gCholesterol: 52 mgSodium: 127 mgPotassium: 9 mgFiber: 0.1 gSugar: 1.2 gCalcium: 20 mgIron: 0.5 mg
Did You Make This?I want to know! Leave a comment & recipe rating below or tag @asassyspoon on social media!
Guillermo A Viera says
I just made them again but this time I thought I would try it with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it came out beautiful. Thanks again
Christian says
I’m going to try this out! Please recommend a brand of breadcrumbs?!
Jamie Silva says
Any brand works!
Guillermo A Viera says
Progresso italian herbs works great but if you have the time saltine crackers in a food processor works really good and is often used by many Cubans.with or without the salt kind.
Guillermo A Viera says
I’m a 59 year old CUBAN, and I’ve had the best. I made this recipe but used a 3pound bag of Jenny o ground turkey I added garlic, cumin, oregano, wine, nutmeg, yellow bell pepper and onion to the ground turkey and made a triple size recipe. It came out incredible!! Thank you for this great easy and delicious recipe. I looked like the chef I used to be.
ROSEMARY CASTANO says
I TRIED THIS RECIPE FOR THE 1ST TIME THIS PAST WEEKEND. VERY EASY TO FOLLOW RECIPE. 1ST BATCH I FRIED BUT THEN 2ND BATCH I DID IN AIR FRYER BOTH WERE SUPER DELICIOUS. THANK YOU FOR AWESOME RECIPE!!!
Kim HORSTING says
I made this for a family who loves croquettes, and they loved them. This was my first time ever trying to make them. I found the steps very easy to follow and I thank you for making me look great. I will be making this again and again.
Jamie Silva says
So happy you loved them! :)