How to Make Really Moist & Delicious Leftover Chicken Patties!

⏱️ Prep: 15 mins | 🔥 Cook: 20 mins | 🧊 Chill: 30 mins | 🥞 Servings: 10 | ⚡ Total: 65 mins | 🔥 185 kcal | ✅ Difficulty: Easy

You’ve got some leftover chicken in your fridge and you don’t know what to do with it? Well, I’m going to tell you how to make really moist and delicious chicken patties!

Actually, this is my favorite leftover chicken recipe, and the kids absolutely love these. Why would you eat a bland chicken breast when you can build up the flavor so easily?

Why You’ll Love This

• Turns Boring Leftovers into a Masterpiece: We are taking that dry roasted chicken nobody wanted to eat and transforming it into an amazing, easy meal.
• Super Moist (Without the Grease): The secret is in the batter! Plain Greek yogurt and mustard make the patties incredibly juicy without needing to add extra oil inside.
• Lunchbox Perfection: These reheat beautifully, but they are also absolutely delicious even cold—which is definitely not the case with plain, dry chicken breast!
• Crispy, Golden Crust: Dusting them in coarsely ground oats before pan-frying gives them a beautifully brown, crunchy exterior while keeping the middle super tender.

If you love chicken leftover transformations like this, also try my Spring Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes for crispy herb vibes!

What You’ll Need

Special Equipment

• Large mixing bowl & Whisk
• Cutting board and sharp knife
• 1/3 measuring cup (for portioning)
• Large skillet or frying pan
• Spatula

For the Batter & Filling

• 4 cups / ~500g Cooked chicken (roasted or boiled), finely chopped
• 2 Large eggs
• 1/4 cup (60g) Plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp (30g) Mustard (yellow or Dijon)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/3 cup (35g) Ground oats (oat flour)
• 2 tbsp Fresh parsley, minced
• 1 cup (100g) Finely grated cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)

For the Crust & Cooking

• Coarsely ground oats (for dusting)
• Olive oil (just enough for pan-frying)

Let’s Get Cooking!

1. Prep That Boring Leftover Chicken

Have roasted chicken breast that nobody wanted to eat? The first step is to break down the chicken. You can shred it, but I recommend chopping it up with a knife just because you want the patties to be more compact. You’ll need about four cups of cooked chicken for this recipe. Set it aside.

If you love easy chicken sheet pan meals that create perfect leftovers, also try my Super Easy No-Fuss Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas! for fajita night!

2. Make the Batter (Where All the Flavor Is!)

All the flavors are in this batter! In a large bowl, whisk together the two eggs to help bind all the ingredients together, a quarter cup of plain Greek yogurt, and two tablespoons of mustard.

3. Add the Seasonings

To the wet mix, add a half teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, and a half teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder. Whisk it up well!

4. Fold in the Dry Ingredients & Cheese

To finish the batter, stir in a third cup of ground oats (traditional breadcrumbs also work if that’s what you have), two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, and one cup of finely grated cheese. Mozzarella or cheddar cheese both work great here!

5. Combine

The chicken you previously chopped up goes right in. Gently fold everything together until well incorporated. When done, the batter should be sticky, not runny or too thick.

6. Chill (Pro Tip!)

It will be easier to shape if you put the mixture in the fridge for half an hour. But if you don’t want to wait because you want a quick dinner, you can totally skip this step!

7. Shape and Coat

Scoop out about a third cup of the mixture at a time and use your hands to shape it into flat, round patties. You should get nine or ten pieces. Lightly dust the outside of each patty with the coarsely ground oats for a crispy exterior.

8. Fry for a Beautiful Golden Crust

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the patties in the pan, making sure not to overcrowd them. Fry for about 5 minutes per side.
Give it time! If you get your stove too hot, the patties will burn. And since the leftover chicken is already cooked, you don’t have to worry about the internal temperature or raw meat.
(Note: Baking chicken patties is also an option, but if you want this beautifully brown, crispy, and flavorful crust, I highly suggest you fry them in just a little bit of olive oil).

9. Serve!

Remove from the pan and serve immediately. You can serve these chicken patties with any side dish you like, with some dipping sauce, or in a sandwich. It has the perfect texture—not too firm but not too soft—and it really takes plain chicken to a whole new level.

Thank you so much for reading. See you in another post. Stay healthy, stay happy!

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Moist & Delicious Leftover Chicken Patties

Recipe by Sana ReiCourse: Main CourseCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

patties

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories per patty

185

kcal

Chill time (optional)

30

Total time

1

hour 

5

minutes

Turn bland, leftover chicken into an amazing, easy meal! These juicy, kid-approved chicken patties use Greek yogurt, cheese, and a crispy oat crust for the perfect quick dinner.

Ingredients

• Equipment Needed:

• Large mixing bowl

• whisk

• cutting board

• knife

• 1/3 measuring cup

• large skillet.

• Ingredients:

• 4 cups (~500g) cooked chicken, chopped

• 2 large eggs

• 1/4 cup (60g) plain Greek yogurt

• 2 tbsp (30g) mustard

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/3 cup (35g) ground oats

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

• 1 cup (100g) mozzarella or cheddar cheese, finely grated

• Coarsely ground oats (for dusting)

• 2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)

Directions

• Chop your cooked chicken into small, compact pieces using a knife.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, plain Greek yogurt, mustard, salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
• Stir in the ground oats, minced parsley, and grated cheese.
• Add the chopped chicken and gently fold everything together until the batter is sticky.
• (Optional) Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to make shaping easier.
• Take about 1/3 cup of the mixture at a time and shape into flat patties (yields 9-10).
• Dust the outside of each patty in coarsely ground oats.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Fry the patties for about 5 minutes per side until a beautifully golden, crispy crust forms.
• Serve hot alongside asparagus, in a sandwich, or pack them in a lunchbox!

Notes

• Storage: Store leftover cooked patties in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. They are amazing cold!
• Freezing: You can totally freeze these! Flash freeze cooked or uncooked patties on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
• Pro Tip (Don’t Burn the Crust!): Keep your stove at a strict medium heat. Since the chicken inside is already cooked, you are just melting the cheese and getting that oat crust beautifully golden. Too much heat will burn the outside before the inside warms up!
• Baking Swap: Baking is an option if you want to skip the oil, but pan-frying is highly recommended for the best flavor and texture.