These Chicken Cakes and Remoulade Sauce are the poultry version of a crab cake. They're much less expensive to make, filled with sweet bell peppers, fresh garlic and green onion with just the right amount of seasonings. The balance of flavors, along with the crispy panko coating makes them a budget friendly entree that's a real family pleaser.
Easy Chicken Cakes with Remoulade Sauce Recipe
I first made these chicken cakes out of necessity. It was one of those days that we wanted something different for dinner, but, I only had my pantry to turn to for ideas. I didn't have crab meat on hand, but as I looked around in my pantry trying to garner inspiration, the perfect substitution was right in front of me....as always, there's chicken. My boys love jumbo lump crab cakes and go for these based on the similarities between the two savory cakes. You may also enjoy my recipe for vintage Salmon Patties.
How to Make the Best Chicken Cakes and Remoulade Sauce Recipe
The best way to divide the chicken mixture evenly is using an ice cream scoop. This is important for uniformity and even cooking. This recipe is ideal for those who can't tolerate shell fish. Likewise, if you're budget conscience like me, these chicken cakes will hit the spot.
- Ingredients you'll need to make homemade Chicken Cakes recipe: Chopped cooked chicken either canned or homemade leftover chicken, olive oil, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, green onions, salt and black pepper, garlic, mayonnaise, lemon juice, fresh parsley, Dijon mustard, fresh tarragon, Creole seasoning and panko breadcrumbs.
- For the homemade Remoulade Sauce you'll need: (Whisk together and chill until serving. Makes approximately ⅔ cup.) Mayonnaise, chili sauce i.e. Heinz or similar, fresh lemon juice for brightness and acidity, minced green onion, 1 teaspoon capers, chopped, dry tarragon, Creole or Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder and a few drops of hot sauce.
- I use a premium canned chicken for this recipe that I purchased at Costco and it works like a charm. That said, emphasis is on "premium." All canned chicken products aren't equal and won't yield such delicious results. Rule of thumb, if it's a brand you already enjoy, then you'll be good to go.
- You can use fully cooked poached chicken or leftover chicken, too.
- To keep the cakes uniform in size, I use a 4 ounce ice cream scoop to make these chicken cakes dinner size. Another fun option is, to use a 2 ounce ice cream scoop, so that you could serve these as a two-bite appetizer.
- Store leftover chicken cakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in an air fryer, in a skillet or in the microwave.
More Easy Chicken Recipes to Make
Whether the chicken is grilled, roasted, poached, fried or smoked, it's a regular on the menu in my Southern Style kitchen. More easy chicken recipes you may like to try:
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Crescent Pie is easy to make for a busy day meal.
- Sweet and sticky Air Fryer Barbecue Chicken Kabobs.
- Classic Buttermilk Fried Chicken is tender on the inside with a crispy breading.
- Crispy Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken is the easy way to make chicken Parmesan.
- Lemon Rosemary Roast Chicken is a complete meal in a pan.
- Juicy Baked Chicken Breasts for any day of the week.
- Honey Bourbon Chicken Pops from Food Network.
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Chicken Cakes and Remoulade Sauce
Servings: 8 chicken cakes
Calories: 240kcal
Ingredients
- Chicken cakes:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil plus add'l for frying
- ¼ cup red pepper finely diced
- ¼ cup yellow pepper finely diced
- ¼ cup green onions finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced [more or less to your taste]
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 12 oz cans fully cooked white meat chicken, drained well OR 3 cups poached chicken chopped
- 2 large eggs slightly beaten
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoon creole or old bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 2 cup panko breadcrumbs divided
- Remoulade sauce See Cook's note
Instructions
- In a stove top pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced peppers and green onions to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Saute over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add the minced garlic cooking for one minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- To the mixing bowl add chicken, lemon juice, Dijon, mayonnaise, garlic, tarragon, chopped parsley, creole/old bay seasoning and 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs.
- Mix in the sauteed vegetables. Mix making sure chicken is thoroughly blended with the other ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Add beaten egg, mix well.
- Pour the remaining panko breadcrumbs onto a plate. Using a 4 oz ice cream scoop, divide the chicken. Coat with bread crumbs, using additional crumbs as needed. Flatten to your desired thickness gently turning to coat the chicken cake on all sides.
- Place in a single layer on a pan or platter and chill for 30 minutes.
- To cook: Remove from the refrigerator. Heat a few drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chicken cakes for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Fry in batches adding more oil, as needed. Serve hot with the remoulade sauce.
- Remoulade Sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the remoulade sauce into a bowl and mix until smooth. Chill until serving.
Notes
For the remoulade sauce: Whisk together and chill until serving. Makes approximately ⅔ cup
⅓ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chili sauce
2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon green onion, minced
1 teaspoon capers, chopped
1 teaspoon dry tarragon
½ teaspoon creole/old bay seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
a few drops of hot sauce
¼ cup chili sauce
2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon green onion, minced
1 teaspoon capers, chopped
1 teaspoon dry tarragon
½ teaspoon creole/old bay seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
a few drops of hot sauce
Nutrition
Serving: 1cake | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 420mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 329IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!
My name is Melissa and I'm the Creator of Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen. Cooking, baking, developing recipes and kitchen tips is my passion. I love sharing my dishes and connecting with people through the food that I create.
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Joyce Miller
Iloved this recipe. The chicken was as good as crab cakes for a fraction of the cost. The sauce is perfect!
I've made it twice and will use this recipe again and again.
Melissa
Thank you, Joyce!
Bob
Can these chicken cakes be made with ground chicken?
Melissa
Hi Bob, you could adapt this recipe using raw ground chicken. Of course, the cooking time would be longer so make sure you cook them until no pink remains in the middle.
Ingrid Rinaudo
Really good, tasty use of leftover chicken I had from another dish. Rinsed them off and put in a Bullet, one quick pulse X2 batches (6oz). Easy peasy for great consistency for this very tasty, perfectly seasoned (our favorite, Old Bay seasoning) chicken patties. Of course I doubled the amount of red peppers, doubled the amount onion (in place of green onion). Chef husband loved them!
Joyce Miller
Delicious! This is a keeper.
Melissa
I'm so happy you enjoyed them, thanks!
Debbie
This looks perfect for our holiday party. Can they be baked instead of pan fried? Also can they be made ahead and froze and then baked the day of the party?
Melissa
I pan fry these although I've had other followers who say they have both baked them and air fried them. They can be frozen and cooked on the day of the party but again, you'd have to do a trial run with baking.
Andrea
Could you air fry them instead of pan frying?
Melissa
I'm certain you could adapt this to an air fryer, yes.
Kiki
Love this recipe! I buy a large package of rotisserie chicken in the meat section from Costco (by the premade dinners & deli trays. It is enough for 16 good size chicken cakes. Perfect for meal prepping! I always freeze them, thaw in the fridge overnight, and pan fry the next evening. Perfect every time! Makes for a really quick dinner when coming home from work.
Melissa
I share your love of those Costco chickens. Thanks so much!
Rob
Thank you for this recipe. It was so yummy.
Melissa
I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Helen
Made these and husband thought I made crab cakes..really good
Melissa
Wonderful, thanks!
Gillian
Melissa can I do everything including breading nit fry the next day
Melissa
I think you could, just store them chilled in an airtight container in a single layer overnight.
deb
Does this recipe require two cans of Kirkland Chicken Breast? The can is 12.5 oz. Thank you.
Melissa
Yes, you'll need two cans.
Susan
A cheaper way to get Panko crumbs is to crush a box of Rice Chex cereal.
Starry
Thank you for this recipe. I added sautéed celery to the mix as well. Very delicious. 🙂
Janet Jones
Our family loved this recipe!! I made it exactly as written. I’ll never use crab for crabcakes again. No one could tell the difference. Way cheaper too. Thanks for a keeper recipe.
Melissa
I'm so happy you enjoyed these chicken cakes, thanks!
Kim
I wonder how these would be using ground chicken?
Melissa
I'm going to assume you mean cooked ground chicken. If you prefer a finer texture, you could adapt using ground chicken.
Bethany
Do you freeze these raw or cooked? Thanks.
Melissa
It would work either way.
Kathy
Would love to make so many of these recipes but so many either calls for some variety of citrus, (lemon, and lime, orange, grapefruit, juice of any kind. I am allergic Citrus does not matter how much or how little is used.
What can be used instead of citrus?
Melissa
You can omit in this particular recipe.
Jacquelyn Peck
My family loved the chicken cakes. Can you please tell me how many calories per cake? Thanks so much
Jacquelyn
Melissa
Please use one of the 1000's of free online nutrition calculators like this one on My Fitness Pal.
Monika
What brand chili sauce are you referring to for sauce?
Melissa
You can use Heinz or similar.
Emily
Should be around 275-300 per cake with Mayo and whole eggs. I used Greek yogurt and egg whites as a sub to bring it down to 215 per cake.
David from Richmond
Wonderful recipe with easy to follow instructions. I didn't have any fresh veggies so I substituted a frozen pepper and onion mix, and added a few carrots. I gave them a few pulses in the food processor and then sauteed them as per the directions. They were great! I will add a bit more creole seasoning or pepper next time, but that's because I like spicy things. Thank you.
Melissa
Sounds great,thanks so much!
Cindi Poole
Are these good if you bake them instead of frying them. I would love to try these next week. They look so good
Melissa
I typically make these just as the recipe directs but, I suppose you could, if you prefer. I can't say they'd be exactly the same but, the flavor should still be good.
Tracy
Wonder what the airfryer conversion would be?
Melissa
While I'm sure these could be made in an air fryer, I haven't tested them and couldn't direct you specifically. If you give it a whirl, let us know how it goes.
Margie Laramore
You might try spraying them with cooking spray (Pam) before baking. I bake my breaded jalapeno poppers instead of frying them and it works great for my poppers, if fact we prefer poppers baked instead of fried.
Shelli
Hi! Making these tonight. What exactly is the chili sauce you mention for the roumelade? 🙂 At first I thought it was Louisiana type hot sauce, but then you also mention a few drops of hot sauce. Thanks so much!
Melissa
Hi Shelli, the chili sauce is like Heinz, or your favorite brand any will work.