Chicken Apple Bites {Freezer Meal}
Last night we tweaked and tried a new recipe that Jack (age 4) picked out from a cookbook called Perfect Food for After School. I made a few substitutions to make it healthier and more kid-friendly. We all really enjoyed these Chicken and Apple Bites. They remind me of the Mini Chicken Burgers recipe, except they are more moist, a little less tangy, and have a sweetness from the apple.
Chicken and Apple Bites are great for little hands to pick up and dip in ketchup. My husband and I preferred to eat them in a mini burger form on a bun with cheddar cheese. I will be making these again, as they led to a complaint-free meal!
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Chicken and Apple Bites – perfect size for small hands! There is a great flavor combination between the chicken and the sweet, tangy apples.
Ingredients
- 2 small or 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and grated
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 cup fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon chicken stock
- 1/4–1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- whole wheat flour, for coating
- olive oil, for frying
Instructions
- Peel, core, and grate 2 small, or one large, apple.
- Spread the apple out on a clean dish towel and press out all the excess moisture.
- Put the grated apple, chicken, onion powder, parsley, breadcrumbs, chicken stock, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper in food processor and blend until well combined.
- Spread the flour out on a plate.
- With wet hands, divide the mixture into 20 mini portions.
- Shape each portion into a ball (or a mini burger using several of the portions) and then roll in the flour.
- Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the balls for 5-8 minutes, rolling them occasionally so they brown on all sides.
- When done, they should be golden brown and juices should run clear (no pink inside).
- Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Serve hot (or cold for lunchbox).
Notes
Freezer Meal Directions:
To Freeze:
Roll into balls and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Then, freeze in airtight container for up to 2 months.
To Prepare:
When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave on the defrost setting. Cook as directed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 20 chicken and apple bites
Could you use ground chicken or ground turkey instead since you are food processing it all anyway? It’s on sale this week so I was going to try it!
Yes! In fact, I used it a few nights ago. I just replaced the chicken breasts with 1 pound of ground chicken. Worked great!
Is there a printable version of this recipe? I have been able to find one for the others. Thanks!
This is an older one of ours that we missed. I’ll make a printable version right now. Thanks for drawing it to our attention!
Just curious in the freezing directions you say to coat them in breadcrumbs and in the pan frying you coat them in flour. just curious why the difference.
Oh let me update that! Sorry.
don’t get me wrong – these are tasty, but every time i tried to fry them in the oil, they burned within a minute on the outside.
i started with medium heat, switched to medium low, then changed to a different kind of oil – and got the same results each time. eventually i had to just pan sear them and bake them for 12-15 minutes in the oven.
but this method of searing first is great for a freezer meal anyway – i can sear them, then freeze them and then heat them in the oven like i would make store bought chicken nuggets.
i just wanted to post this in case others are having the same issue when attempting to pan fry these.
thanks for the recipe.
That sounds like a wise idea to me. I haven’t tried just baking them, but that might be an easier route all together. I typically bake small meatballs for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Would it be possible to bake instead of frying these? Par-bake, cool, freeze, then just throw in the oven to re-heat/finish cooking…kind of like chicken nuggets.
I think you absolutely could bake these. I cook chicken meatballs for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, so I’m guessing that would work for this. You might want to give them a good spray of cooking spray to coat with oil so they will brown up a bit. I also think par-baking could work, but make sure you write out how much longer they need to bake for on your freezer pan so you don’t eat them partially raw by accident or you don’t overcook them. Good ideas!
just wanted to clarify, the chicken is raw when you form it into the balls right??
Yes, it is raw.