Canned Chicken Patties (air fryer)

This air fryer canned chicken patties recipe makes for a quick and easy low carb, high protein dinner. They are very flavorful and take only 20 minutes so they are perfect for busy weeknight dinner! Eat them for a tasty low carb snack or even as an appetizer. Each keto chicken patty has just 87 calories, 0.5 grams carbs and 9.5 grams of protein.

You might also like these keto air fryer chicken nuggets.

In the past I have made salmon patties with canned salmon and thought why couldn’t I made something similar with chicken. So I came up with these keto canned chicken patties that I cooked in the air fryer.

This is a quick dinner idea because they are really easy to make and take no time in the air fryer. You can also vary the herbs and spices to change up the flavor and add a variety of dipping sauces. That way you can make them into a tasty and fun low carb appetizer for your next football party.

This is the kind of pantry dinner you can make anytime with simple ingredients. Note I didn’t use bread crumbs (not low carb), almond flour or pork rinds in these patties so they are pretty meaty! I also used these to make a low calorie frozen dinner so they are great for meal planning.

Recipe ingredients and I used and substitutes.

Below you can see the simple ingredients I used which were canned chicken, parsley, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, eggs and mozzarella. Note that because I wanted to keep these keto and low carb I didn’t use breadcrumbs or any flour of any kind.

Canned Chunk Chicken Breast
The purpose of using this is to make it easier and to use foods you have on hand. If you wanted to you could use leftover chicken breast meat store-bought rotisserie chicken just as long as it’s cooked. You would want to chop it up so its mixes easily with the other ingredients. I would not use ground chicken for this recipe though.

Mozzarella Cheese and Egg
These are necessary to keep the patties together. If you want you can use another kind of cheese but I would at least keep half mozzarella.

Parmesan Cheese
I use this mostly for flavor. Again I would keep this if you can but if you don’t have any you can use a little bit of extra mozzarella.

Fresh Parsley
I mostly use this for color. You can use other fresh herbs like basil, thyme, chives, etc. Or just eliminate it if you don’t want to use it.

Note that once you make these you can play around with the seasoning to make different flavors. Use a Mexican seasoning and fresh cilantro or Italian seasoning and a little marinara sauce for example. 

Or add a little hot sauce and use cheddar cheese for a Buffalo style flavor. And you can always add a little hot pepper flakes if you like a little spice or heat in any of these variations.

How to make keto canned chicken patties in the air fryer.

Here is how to make canned chicken patties in the air fryer but below you can learn how to cook them on the stove top too.

Step 1: Drain all the water out of the can and place the meat into a bowl. Using fork try to break it up or shred it so it mixes well with the other ingredients.

Step 2: Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well with the meat.

Step 3: Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and set aside. Portion chicken mixture into patties. I got 12 pieces out of this recipe and I used about ¼ cup of meat to make each.

Step 4: Place the uncooked patties in the prepared air fryer basket in a single layer. You may have to do these in batches. Air fry at 350°F for 13-15 minutes until golden brown. Check them around 13 minutes and if they are not brown enough put them in for a few more minutes.

Step 5: Let rest for a few minutes before saving. Store leftovers in an airtight container. You can just heat up leftovers in the microwave or air fryer. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Note if you wanted you could also cook these on the stove. Just heat up a skillet to medium high heat and add some olive oil or butter. Place the patties in the hot pan and then turn the heat down to medium heat. Cook for about 3-5 minutes per side. Let cool for a few minutes before eating.

Ways to eat these patties.

To make this more of complete meal you can serve them with a fresh salad and steamed vegetables. You can also eat them as a burger by making larger patties. Use lettuce leaves instead of a burger bun and top with your favorite toppings and condiments.

 These are great for keto meal prep and planning. I made low calorie and low carb lunches pictured below by adding some buttered green beans with almond slivers. I froze them for an easy and healthy lunch.

Another option is to eat them as an appetizer or snack along with a dipping sauce. I love it with this sriracha aioli or this homemade dairy free ranch dressing. You can use your favorite sauces or any dip or condiment you would use with nuggets would go with this dish.

More keto recipes to try with canned chicken.

Here are a few keto canned chicken recipes I have on the blog. It’s such an easy ingredient to always have on hand for quick dishes. These delicious recipes are some of my favorites!

• Buffalo chicken flavored dip, stuffed mushrooms, cheeseball, cheese chips and casserole
• Italian cheesy keto chicken dip
• creamy broccoli, spinach or sun dried tomato chicken based soups
• ham, swiss and chicken savory waffles
• stuffed poblano peppers or Greek stuffed peppers

Essentially you can use canned chicken in place of leftover rotisserie chicken in most recipes. However I find it tastes better in casseroles and dips where the chicken isn’t the main ingredient.

I hope give these keto crispy canned chicken patties a try someday. The canned chicken is so convenient to use in a low carb meal plan or for a quick healthy low carb meal. You can use them for a keto friendly appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce or as a main dish. Enjoy!

The nutritional information for 1 crispy chicken patty is 87 calories / 3.3g fat / 0.5g carbs / 9.5g protein = 0.5g net carbs