Spanish Chicken Croquettes Recipe

There are only a couple of food items that work well both as appetizers and as main courses, and the famous Spanish chicken croquettes are one of them. 

You can have chicken croquettes as Spanish tapas or you can serve them at dinner, so once you try and make this chicken croquettes recipe, you won’t be able to get enough.

Keep reading this article and I’ll show you how to make croquettes, you’ll learn what are chicken croquettes, and more about the history of this popular food in Spain.

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Background of the Dish

As you can imagine from their name, croquettes, in general, were created by a famous French chef during the 18th century. 

He was also in charge of introducing this dish to the different countries of Europe and to all members of society.

Over time, this dish became even more popular and especially in the lower classes, since it could be made with food cooked days before.

Therefore, in its origins, the first recipes for chicken croquettes were created by the lower classes of Spanish society. 

They used the chicken that they had cooked days before, and even in some cases, Spanish garlic soup from the previous day was used instead of the béchamel sauce.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Chicken Croquettes

To make these Spanish tapas you won’t need any fancy or expensive equipment; a couple of saucepans, a knife, and a cutting board are all the kitchen equipment you need.

The ingredients are also pretty basic, the main ones are just chicken, oil, flour, butter, and seasoning. 

Thankfully there are many replacements that you can make, but I’ll talk about them later.

If you liked this Spanish-style chicken, then you should try other Spanish recipes such as Spanish garlic chicken, Spanish Chicken Soup With Rice, and Spanish grilled chicken.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (40 g) butter
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) flour
• 2 1/4 cups (500 ml) whole milk
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 onion
• 3 tablespoons (40ml) olive oil
• 2 eggs (to coat the croquettes)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (to coat the croquettes)
• Salt to taste
• Blackground pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Neutral oil for frying (sunflower, corn, etc.)

How to Make Spanish Chicken Croquettes – Step by Step Guide

1. To start with this Spanish chicken croquettes recipe, add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a frying pan. Once it starts sizzling, add the chopped onion and cook over medium heat until it’s transparent.

2. After that, cut the chicken breast into small cubes and add to the pan, cook for 10 minutes until the breast is cooked. Season with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set them aside

3. Then grab a saucepan and add the milk, take it to the fire until it boils. When it’s ready remove the milk from the heat and reserve.

4. In the same skillet where you made the chicken breast, melt the butter. Once melted, add flour and mix for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. This step is important so that the croquettes don’t taste like raw flour and you make sure your croquettes won’t get any flour lumps.

5. Up next, add the milk at once, and don’t stop stirring until the béchamel sauce begins to thicken. If you want it thicker, you can leave it for a couple more minutes.

6. Add the seasoned chicken with the onion to the bechamel sauce and mix well.

7. Put the mix on a plate and cover it with plastic wrap. It’s important that the plastic wrap is well attached to the mix so that it doesn’t create a crust. Then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the mix chills and you can work better with it. 

8. After the time went by and the mix is cold, with the help of two spoons, shape the croquettes, pass through breadcrumbs and beaten eggs.

9. You can cook them in abundant oil immediately if you don’t have more time, but I recommend that you take the shaped croquettes to the refrigerator for 1 hour or to the freezer for 30 minutes, so they keep their shape and are easier to fry.

10.  Cook them in abundant oil until they get golden on the outside, remember that the chicken inside is already cooked so it should only take a couple of minutes. Your croquette recipe is now ready, all you have to do is to serve them warm.

Substitution of Ingredients

The chicken croquettes are one of the best Spanish dishes for multiple reasons, and one of them is that you can make different substitutions in the ingredients and you’ll still have an amazing dish.

As well as other Spanish food recipes, you’ll probably notice by now that most of them include some type of oil or frying process in their recipes. 

But if you are looking for a healthier version, you can cook these Spanish appetizers in the oven or in an air fryer for 350°F until golden. 

You can also find inspiration in other Spanish tapas recipes, and adding other ingredients to your chicken and bechamel mix.  For example, you can add some chopped serrano ham, garlic, and more.

Now if you are looking for a gluten-free option, you can make the bechamel sauce with cornstarch, or any other type of gluten-free flour. 

For the coating of the croquettes, you can make homemade breadcrumbs with your favorite gluten-free bread.

If you love croquettes, make sure to try the bacalao croquettes, the Spanish mushroom croquettes, and the most famous one, the Spanish ham croquettes.

The Spanish potato croquettes with cheese and the salmon croquettes are also a must-try when it comes to delicious Spanish tapas.

Tips on Serving Spanish Chicken Croquettes

My favorite part about Spanish chicken croquettes is that they can be eaten at any time of the day, and you can serve them as appetizers or even as a main dish.

Like you would do with the best Spanish tapas, you can serve them for lunch or dinner with some french fries, or even with Patatas a lo Pobre and you’ll have authentic Spanish snacks. 

You can copy other tapas ideas, and serve these Spanish chicken croquettes alongside some garlic cream sauce, barbecue, honey mustard, etc.

If you have guests over, you can prepare an authentic tapas plate, with chicken croquettes, Spanish deviled eggs, Spanish Fried Anchovies, Berenjenas con Miel and of course, some Spanish beef empanadas or chicken empanadas.

How to Store Spanish Chicken Croquettes

What chefs and lovers of tapas recipes know very well is that the grace of making homemade tapas is quick to make, so it is always recommended to do it on the same day that you are going to eat them.

But since this is one of the best tapas recipes that you can make, one of the advantages is that you can freeze them and your Spanish croquettes on a different day.

You can store them cooked in the fridge for up to 4 days, and all you have to do is to heat them in the oven or in the microwave before eating them. 

You can also freeze them cooked for up to one month and then take them to the fridge to unfreeze overnight.

As well as other easy Spanish recipes, you can also store them in the fridge before cooking them. 

They last up to 1 day this way, and then all you have to do is to fry your Spanish chicken croquettes.

 If you do this, be careful and make sure that the chicken is completely covered because raw chicken can contaminate other food items.

Recipe Card: Spanish Chicken Croquettes

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