These tender and juicy kotleti are oval shaped chicken meatballs that are a favorite entree in Eastern European homes.
All Slavic children grow up with their mom's kotleti, just like Italians grow up with meatballs. Kotleti translate as meat "cutlets", and are small, individual meatball-type patties. Anytime I make these for dinner, I am guaranteed a huge smile from my husband and always an enthusiastic kiss too. He's so easy to please:).
Most of the time, kotleti are made with pork or beef, but I actually prefer chicken. I think the meat is much more tender and light. Adding fresh, toasted breadcrumbs gives the meat a porous, tender texture. I have also found that grating the onion on the smallest holes of a box grater incorporates the onion really well into the meat and using only a small amount will give just enough flavor without giving you kotleti aftertaste. Not a good thing:) For this reason also, I always omit garlic.
Kotleti are also on my list for company dinners too. I love watching guests happily gobbling up the plate of tender chicken patties. Since most Slavic people grew up eating them, no one ever gets too excited when they see them on the table. They're just a seemingly boring and uninteresting entree, but when they start eating them, they can't stop raving about how delicious they are and I rarely have any leftovers. I think it's the ground chicken and the fact that they are SO juicy and tender. I hope you love these as much as we do.
Ingredients:
- ground chicken
- panko breadcrumbs
- milk
- sour cream
- salt, ground black pepper
- egg
- onion
- dry herbs and spices
How to make Chicken Kotleti
- First, make the ground chicken mixture.
- Place the ground chicken in a large mixing bowl.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and set aside for a few minutes.
- Grate the onion on the medium or small holes of a box grater. You can also finely mince the onion instead.
- Add the soaked breadcrumbs, sour cream, egg, onion, salt, pepper and dry herbs and spices to the ground chicken. Mix to combine.
- The meat mixture should be very tender. It is much softer in consistency than regular meatloaf mixture.
- Shape the meat into oval patties.
- It really helps to use dampened hands.
- Pan fry the chicken kotleti.
- Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat and add the kotleti to the skillet. Cover and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side.
- Covering the skillet and cooking it on medium heat with produce some steam, cooking the kotleti all the way through and injecting moisture and juiciness into the meat.
- Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and add more oil before cooking the next batch.
- Serve the chicken kotleti hot.
- Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Make Ahead:
Chicken Kotleti are perfect to make ahead. They even freeze really well.
- You can make the raw chicken mixture and store it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in advance, then shape and cook them. The raw chicken mixture can be frozen for up to 3 months. Simply thaw, then proceed with shaping the kotleti and cooking them.
- Another option is to cook the kotleti and store them in the refrigerator for 5-7 months.
- Freeze the cooked chicken kotleti for up to 3 months.
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken Kotleti
Chicken Kotleti are Russian oval shaped meatballs. They are really juicy, tender and are always a big hit with the whole family, both children and adults.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 20-22 small, 16 large kotleti 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ¾ - 1 cup panko bread crumbs or 2 slices of bread
- ⅓ - ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 small onion, grated
- ½ cup flour, for dredging
Instructions
- If you're using bread, toast the bread and pulse in the food processor or use a box grater. Place the breadcrumbs or the panko breadcrumbs in a bowl and top with milk.The milk should just cover the bread. You may not need all the milk, depending on the size of your bread.
- Let it stand for a few minutes, just until the milk is absorbed by the bread.
- Combine all the ingredients, except the flour, in a bowl.
- The meat mixture should be very tender. It is much softer in consistency than regular meatloaf mixture.
- With moistened hands, shape into oval patties. Dredge in flour.
- In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons of oil and add the kotleti to the skillet.
- Cover and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side.
- Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel before cooking the next batch.
Make Ahead:
- To make ahead, you can either make the meat mixture ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until you're ready to cook or cook the kotleti and reheat later. When you re-heat the kotleti, add just enough water to a skillet or a small pot and cook, covered, on low heat. This will keep the kotleti moist even as leftovers.
Can i cook these in the oven? Abd for how long?
Yes, you can cook them in the oven, but they will be very pale and won't get a golden crust. I don't even know how long you would need to bake them; I've never timed it.
If I want to freeze this recipe, would I cook the kotleti first or freeze them raw?
You can do it either way, Tanya.
As always this recipe is a Winner! Winner winner chicken dinner! I used to make kotleti with pork or mix pork and beef… but… I think that’s one’s are way more tender!! Just love ‘em!!!
So happy that you enjoyed them, Natalya. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Hi Olga
I'd really like to try these. Could you give an idea of weight for a 'small' onion? Small like a shallot, or small as in choose a small one from the standard onions?
Thankyou!
It really depends on how strong of a flavor of onion you want, Ali. The onion is a completely personal preference. 4-5 oz should be good, but like I said, it won't make or break the recipe if you use one that is larger or smaller.
Thanks that's fab! I wasn't sure if too much might make it doggy!
I made these for dinner tonight...I cannot believe how good they were! I feel so lucky to have this recipe! Thanks so much!
That's awesome! I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe. This is always on repeat at our house:).
I made these yesterday and they are delicious. Easy and yet sooo yummy and juicy. I will be making these often. I wanted to say thank you for the recipe.
Hi Olga, thank you for posting this recipe, it looks delicious! I always have a problem of uneven browning of kotleti 🙁 Please recommend what frying pan you use?
thank you!
Hi Larisa,
A good skillet will definitely help in getting an even browning on the kotleti. A few other tips are to make sure that you are cooking them on a medium heat, not too high and to dredge off all the excess flour off of the kotleti before placing them into the hot skillet. If there is too much flour on the kotleti, the flour will fall off and burn and you will get uneven black burned spots all over the kotleti even though they will still be uncooked in the center. Also, make sure to wipe out the skillet after each batch of kotleti are cooked before you add new kotleti into the skillet.
Here are the skillets that I have used to make kotleti and I think they all work really well.
This is the newest one that I am really enjoying:
OXO nonstick skillet:
TFal nonstick skillet:
I tried to make these and they were frying up so quickly. Basically just cooking on the outside and formed thick. I was wondering what I did wrong? I didn’t add any milk to my breadcrumbs as they were very fine. I dreaded them in flour, as you stated. Wouldn’t I normally go in egg after the floor?
Please help!
Thanks!
Hi Yuliya.
Just cook them on lower heat next time. All stoves and skillets work differently and some heat up much faster than others. No, you don't need to dredge the kotleti in egg first; I never do. I hope it works out better for you next time.
Made these babies yesterday and of course they turned out so perfect and delicious!
That's wonderful, Marina. I'm so happy to hear that.
Thanks for the recipe! Can I fry them for 1 min and then bake in the oven?
wow this cutlet very delicious thanks a lot
Olechka,
I made these today using ground turkey thigh, oh my they were delicious. I served them with mashed potato, gravy and cucumber, tomato salad. My picky eater said, "Mom, this dinner is so delicious!!!!!" Thank you Olechka so much for your awesome recipes!
Thank you for this recipe! As a young wife, I am still learning to cook, and these turned out wonderful! My husband requests these often. I listened to your testimony... Wow, so powerful! God is amazing!
Made these today but with turkey (thats all I had :-D)..hands down the best kotleti I had ever made. Cant wait to try with chicken. Thank you.
That is so awesome to hear, Lesya! Thanks for taking the time to write.
Would you have a recipe on how to make katleti in a oven? Husband doesn't feel good after eating fried foods.
Thank you!
I don't make kotleti in the oven, but I have made meatballs in the oven all the time. It should work well, but you won't get a nice golden sear on them. Bake them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 min.
Ok, thank you!