Chicken Croquettes – Mom’s Croketas

I made Chicken Croquettes from the  roast chicken and mashed potatoes leftovers. The weekend was a good time to roast a chicken in the oven and enjoy the flavorful, rich, savory aromas, while we relished the kitchen warmth on a snowy winter day.

When I travel to the Philippines and go back to my childhood home in Tarlac, my sister cooks a spread of mom’s classic dishes. One of them are these Chicken Croquettes. The roasted chicken now chopped into small bits is sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, a tad of butter, garlic and onions. The sautéed chicken is then mixed into the mashed potatoes. These are shaped into little round balls, rolled in bread crumbs and pan-fried. It’s that simple. When it’s served on the table in the house where I grew up, I still remember how my apron-clad mom fussed over the perfect spherical shape of each croquette. These days, it doesn’t matter to me, whether they are perfectly round, slightly oval or if the mashed potatoes are lumpy. What I love are the buttery flavors of the mashed potatoes and the crisp layer of bread crumbs coating the entire ‘croketas’, as my mom used to call them and the fact that mom taught us how to make them.

It is only fitting that I post about croketas today and think of mom as I cook this for my family. Today, March 14 marks another anniversary of my late mom’s passing away. Everything I know and everything I cook today for my family – I learned it all from mom. And to honor her, I wrote my newest cookbook—My Mother’s Philippine Recipes, honoring mom’s legacy of cooking featuring a collection of her classic Filipino dishes. But not all of mom’s recipes could fit in my cookbook, so I am sharing these Chicken Croquettes with you here on my blog.

What made my mom and her cooking special? She taught me that when cooking for my family, every recipe and every dish begins with the most basic ingredient… and that is love.

Print Recipe

Chicken Croquettes - Mom's Croketas

Chicken Croquettes was a classic Filipino recipe I learned from my mom using leftovers of chopped roast chicken and mashed potatoes. She cooked and served this often to us during our childhood years. In turn, I’ve done the same for my sons when they were growing up. It’s sheer comfort food and a hearty all-in-one weekend meal. You can use leftovers from the Sunday roast for this dish. This is an Asian in America recipe. Serves 2 to 4.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino

Keyword: Filipino Chicken Croquettes Potatoes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Asian in America recipe - Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Equipment

• Large Non-stick Skillet: 12 to 14 inches in diameter

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil use 2 Tablespoons for saute, 1/4 cup for pan-frying
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 whole white or yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cups cooked roasted or boiled chicken flaked or cubed in 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 to 3 cups mashed potatoes at least a day old, refrigerated previously
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon for chicken mixture 1/2 cup for coating all purpose flour
• 2 whole eggs divided, 1 for chicken mixture, 1 for coating
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper powder
• 1 cup plain-flavored bread crumbs for coating
• for serving: boiled rice

Instructions

• In a large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and butter to melt.
• Saute quickly the onions and garlic. Then add the cooked chicken.
• Remove this mixture from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, heavy cream, flour, salt and black pepper.  Blend well.
• Add the mashed potatoes and incorporate the chicken mixture well. Shape into 2-inch round balls.
• Roll the chicken croquettes in the following in this order : Flour, egg and bread crumbs.

  Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up.
• Over medium high heat, in a clean non-stick skillet, pan fry the chicken croquettes in the remaining vegetable oil. Do not flip them more than once or they might break. Cook for about 8-10 minutes over medium heat till croquettes turn medium brown.
• Serve warm with a crisp green salad and boiled jasmine white rice.
• Cook's Comments: Sometimes I add chopped cooked ham to the chicken mixture and cook according to the rest of the procedure. The results are chicken with ham croquettes and just as divine.
• Copyright Notice:

  Hello, Friends. Please DO NOT plagiarize, lift or copy verbatim my original recipes. All the images and content here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to use my photos or content on your website, videos, books, articles, TV programs or media content  without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected] for permission. Thank you.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 666mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 285IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.

Did you like this recipe?I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. I also have more classic recipes inspired by my mother’s cooking in my popular cookbook: My Mother’s Philippine Recipes. If you’re learning how to cook Filipino food or a fan of Philippine cuisine, buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.

Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE my original recipe, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]