Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Avocado Chicken Cakes

Main Dishes

Avocado Chicken Cakes

Avocado Chicken Cakes

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Ours was very relaxing. I finally found our ice cream maker and whipped up a yummy strawberry-mango sorbet. We also had a date at Costco (Am I the only one that considers going to Costco together a date?), and came home with a rotisserie chicken since it was too nice outside to turn on the oven. I decided to develop a chicken cake recipe with the leftovers – crab shouldn’t have all the fun! The flavors were inspired by all the mouth-watering Mexican dishes on Pam’s blog, For the Love of Cooking.

I just took the chicken off the bones with my hands and tore it up and then mixed it with some mashed avocado, red onion, and spices. Then I covered the outside of each cake with some panko crumbs so they would be crispy on the outside, browned them in a little olive oil, and topped each one with a bit of salsa. I realized looking over these pictures that I need to work on my food styling skills – there is salsa all over the plate! We were starving though, so I’m lucky I got any pictures at all. This is a great way to spice up any leftover chicken and I think the cakes would also be really good on top of a salad with corn and black beans!

Avocado Chicken Cakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 avocado, mashed (mine was a little less than 1/2 cup)
1 cup panko
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
5 tablespoons of your favorite salsa

Directions:

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions for 5-7 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute.

In medium bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, onion mixture, avocado, 1/3 cup panko, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and egg. Shape mixture into 5 cakes that are 1/2-inch thick; lightly coat all sides of each cake in the remaining 2/3 cup panko.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 chicken cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 3 chicken cakes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of salsa over each chicken cake. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 468 calories, 13.9g fat, 1.8g fiber, 45.3g protein per serving
Cost: $2.15 per serving

Chicken Salsa Quesadillas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I’m in the lobby of the Bright Angel lodge at the Grand Canyon right now sitting next to the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and taking advantage of the free internet! Apolinaras and my brother Richard braved a snow and...

Citrus Glazed Salmon

When I got home from New Orleans this week, I found 3 salmon fillets that my hubby had defrosted in the fridge. Apolinaras is a great cook and loves to grill and throw meals together with whatever is laying around. Because he doesn’t ever follow recipes or write...

Goat Cheese Pizza with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

We rarely order pizza or make it at home, because I get free pizza at lunch meetings at least two times a week at work. This is a very common perk in science, and I’m sure I could find pizza to eat at seminars every day if I hunted around enough! But, I actually...

Salmon over Coconut Broth with Baby Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Mushrooms

I have to admit that even though I consider myself a “foodie,” sometimes hearing about the local/organic food debate tires me out. Ideally, we’d all get all our food from farmers in our state who use no pesticides, right? But it’s not really economical for most people...

Jerk Chicken and Sweet Potato Pot Pies

I’m sort of in denial that it’s somehow already November, but the bright side is that peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes are back, and I’m finally getting some use out of all my cute boots. Plus, now that there’s a bit of a chill in the air, I’ve been...

French Onion Phyllo Squares

Sometimes you have to milk an idea for all it's worth. My French Onion Mac & Cheese is by far the most popular recipe on my blog, so I was recently thinking about what other way I could highlight the same flavors. How about layers of flaky crispy phyllo dough...

Plantain Gnocchi/Koldunai Stuffed with Cheddar Cheese

So I finally got around to making plantain gnocchi again, but was so tired that I didn’t even make a sauce to go with them and just ended up topping them with some fresh tomatoes. They were still delicious though, mainly because they were stuffed with chunks of...

French Onion Mac & Cheese

Umm, so if you’re watching your weight, you may want to click back to the last page you viewed right about now.... I tend to cook healthy dishes most of the time, but decided to go all in on this one and it was so worth it! I was in the mood for some comfort food this...