Let me give you a little bit of advice, my friends. Head to your kitchen right now and whip up a batch of these Chicken Fritters. You will be so darn happy that you did! These tasty nuggets are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with cheesy goodness.
Make a big batch to serve to friends with some feta dressing or chipotle ranch dressing for dipping. Or keep them all for yourself for quick lunches or high protein snacks. They’re great over salad too!
Susan says:
“These are literally the BEST. I’ve made them so many times as a meal. Side of steamed garlic broccoli, & serve with ranch, bleu cheese, au jus, all of the above, whatever. Whole family loves them. So much flavor.”
These keto chicken fritters have been insanely popular from the moment I hit publish. And it’s not hard to see why. They’re made with simple, wholesome ingredients. And the cheddar melts into the fritters as they cook, creating a crispy golden crust and a tender, cheesy interior.
It’s easily one of my most popular keto appetizer recipes. One bite and you’ll be hooked. And if you watch the video and see me doing the happy dance, you might just want to groove along with me!
Why readers love this recipe
- Fabulous flavor: These chicken fritters are made with sharp cheddar, garlic, and red pepper flakes, for bold savory flavor.
- Wonderful texture: Crispy on the outside, tender and cheesy on the inside!
- Easy recipe: Using ground chicken makes these fritters come together quickly and easily.
- Healthy ingredients: No special ingredients in this recipe. Just some chicken, cheese, almond flour, and some seasonings.
- Gluten-free: Great for people who can’t tolerate wheat or gluten.
- Customizable: Feel free to use ground turkey or a different cheese like pepper jack. I have one reader who made a Tex Mex version!
- Make ahead: You can easily prep these ahead for easy appetizers or family-friendly dinners.
- Great macros: With 19 grams of protein and less than 2 grams of carbs per serving, these chicken fritters are ideal for low carb and keto-friendly diets.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground chicken: This simplifies the process, as there is no need to chop the chicken or to process it in a food processor.
- Sharp cheddar: I grated a full block of sharp cheddar (Cabot Seriously Sharp!) for these fritters and they were seriously amazing. They had a crispy cheese crust as they came out of the pan that was absolutely delectable.
- Almond flour: Almond flour or another nut or seed meal will help bind the mixture together. I don’t recommend coconut flour, as it will make the fritters dry and tough. Instead, try using another nut or seed meal, or even ground pork rinds.
- Egg: This is the glue that binds the patty mixture together.
- Seasonings: Garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
- Oil and butter for frying
Overview: How to make Chicken Fritters
- Combine the ingredients: Combine the chicken, cheddar, almond flour, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix with your hands to make it all nicely uniform.
- Form the patties: Use about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and form into small patties about 2 ½ to 3 inches across. Place a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate one hour.
- Cook the patties: Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet and add butter. When melted and hot, brown the chicken patties until cooked through.
- Drain: Place the patties on a paper towel lined plate to drain off any residual oil.
Tips for Success
An hour in the fridge allows the fritters to firm up hold together better when frying. But you can make the patties up to a day in advance of cooking.
Make them any size! I like the small fritters for appetizers and snacks but many readers turn them into full size burgers.
You should get 24 to 26 small patties, and you can cook 8 to 10 at a time in a large skillet, so you will need to work in batches. I recommend scraping out some of the stuck-on cheese between batches, to avoid burning it.
Yes, you can air fry them! Grease the basket well and then brush a little melted butter over the fritters to help them brown. I suggest cooking them at 400ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can serve them with ranch dressing or homemade keto ketchup for an appetizer. Or pair them with keto coleslaw or cauliflower potato salad as part of a full meal! Really, the sky is the limit here. Check out my full list of keto side dishes to find something that strikes your fancy.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in a warm oven. You can also freeze the cooked chicken fritters for several months. Use a heavy duty freezer bag and remove excess air to avoid freezer burn.
This keto chicken fritter recipe has 1.7g of carbs and 0.6g of fiber per serving. If you count net carbs, that comes to 0.9g carbs for 2 fritters.
Chicken Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb (907.18 g) ground chicken
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) Cabot Seriously Sharp, grated
- ½ cup (56 g) almond flour
- 1 large (1) egg
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tbsp (1.5 tbsp) butter
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, cheddar, almond flour, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Use your hands to mix everything well.
- Using 2 tablespoons at a time, form the mixture into small patties about 2 ½ to 3 inches across. You should get 24 to 26 patties. Place on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate one hour.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil and ½ tablespoon of the butter. Once hot, add 8 to 10 of the chicken patties. Cook about 3 minutes per side, until cooked through (the internal temperature should reach at least 165ºF on an instant read thermometer).
- Place the finished patties on a paper towel lined plate to dry and repeat 2 more times, until all of the patties are cooked. Note: you may want to scrape out some of the baked-on cheese between batches, to avoid burning it.
- Serve warm, with some ranch or bleu cheese dressing for dipping.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Looks delicious
I love your recipes. I use freekeh flour in place of almond flour when I make ground chicken meatballs.
That’s so freekeh! 😉
I just made these. SO GOOD! A keeper.
My husband gave this a thumbs up! This recipe does not disappoint!!
I made these with regular flour, as that was all I had. I also made these into dinner size burgers and we LOVED them!! Reheated in microwave for few minutes on power level 5, still nice and juicy. Thank you!!!
this is like chicken tenders on crack – its soooooo good! thank you for sharing this recipe
We enjoyed these with roasted Brussels sprouts and sliced cucumber. Delicious! I was worried that the cast iron would be tricky to get the cheese out, but it worked wonderfully and not too bad to clean.
Oh, I substituted pork panko for almond flour.
Hi – Thank you for all your wonderful recipes and guidance. I love your cookbook (and my children love your cookie recipes!) I was just about to make these but wondering about substitutions for Almond flour. Is Sunflower a good alternative and if so do you suggest any proportional changes? Thanks so much.
You can sub it in 1:1!
I reduced the recipe by half since there are only two of us and increased the serving size to use these for dinner instead of an appetizer… they were FABULOUS!
Nice crispy crunch and delicious topped with a drizzle of Ranch dressing . Thank you for another great recipe !
Really nice flavor! Thanks for all you do!
I made these for supper tonight, delicious. So very moist, I didn’t have ground chicken but I had ground turkey.
Love your recipes.
Caroline, these were so good and easy! I served them over a salad as a dinner entree. I made a quick dressing with mayo and your no sugar barbecue sauce. Oh my, match made in heaven. Picky husband loved them. Lucky us, we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Almost can’t wait. Thank you for yet another fabulous healthy recipe.
I mad this yesterday and it was so good. My husband was especially fond of it also. I didn’t have ground chicken so I put 2 chicken breasts in the food processor with the cheese and almond flour.
I also used some leftover pepper Havarti from a food board I did the day before.
It came out wonderful. Thank you so much.
Made these today to have on a salad tonight. They were very good….got a yummmmm from the husband! I used a 2 Tbs. icecream scoop so they would be uniform. They were also very sticky to roll so I had to wet my palms with water quite a few times. I think I’d put a few more herbs in them next time. Not a real cheesy taste, so might use jalapeño cheese next time or maybe even a hard blue cheese?! Definitely was able to get 24 nice pattie’s.
I use precooked shredded chicken and a large cookie scoop to portion out the patties.
Phenomenal! I halved the recipe and it was just enough for two people as a lazy Saturday appeti-dinner ????. I’ll definitely make sometime as appetizers for guests or for my grandkids when they visit. Reminds me of chicken nuggets but more filling – thanks Carolyn!