One of my favorite memories of growing up in New Jersey was going out to eat at one of the many diners in the area. And Turkey Croquettes was always at the top of my list of dishes I would order when we stopped for dinner.
Although I wasn’t born in New Jersey, we moved here when I was pretty young and at the height of New Jersey’s love affair with Diners.
Turkey Croquettes was a dish that was rarely made at home. But at diner that serves turkey every day, it was the perfect way to use the leftover turkey.
It never fails that every time I roast a turkey or make my dry brine turkey recipe, I always have more turkey than we can eat before we get tired of it. I re-use the leftovers just about every way you can think of, like my homemade turkey noodle soup recipe, but a good portion always ends up in the freezer and never gets used.
That’s why I started making Turkey Croquettes, it’s a delicious way to use up the leftover turkey. And they freeze well too, that way you’ve got more ready to heat up for dinners for those days you don’t feel like cooking.
What is a Croquette?
“A Croquette is a small breadcrumbed fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, ground meat (veal, beef, chicken, or turkey), shellfish, fish, ham, cheese, mashed potatoes or vegetables, and mixed with béchamel or brown sauce, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer, or some combination, sometimes with a filling, such as sautéed onions, mushrooms, or boiled eggs.
The croquette is usually shaped into a cylinder, disk, or oval shape, and then deep-fried. The croquette (from the French croquer, “to crunch”) has gained worldwide popularity, both as a delicacy and as fast food.”
How do I make Turkey Croquettes?
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Turkey Croquettes. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
In your food processor, add celery, carrots and onion and pulse till finely minced. Repeat the process with the turkey.
*You can pulse the veggies to a finer consistency if you’d rather not see the bigger pieces in the croquette.
In a saute pan, melt butter and add finely minced celery, carrots, and onion. Saute until softened (3-5 minutes) Allow the mixture to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add turkey, stuffing cubes, sauteed celery, onions, carrots, and poultry seasoning. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Add 1 cup of chicken stock and two lightly beaten eggs and mix together. Gradually add more chicken stock as needed. You want the mixture to resemble a stuffing consistency. **Don’t let it get too wet. It will continue to absorb the liquid as it sits in your refrigerator setting up but it still needs to be shaped, so it needs to have a formable consistency.
- Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
- After mixing all ingredients together fully, refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow mix to set up.
After the mix has set up, form the mixture into cone-shaped croquettes.
*If you prefer another shape, go for it. Traditionally croquettes were cone-shaped.
If you like using your Instant Pot, this is a delicious Instant Pot Ground Turkey Recipe.
Set up a Breading Station
- Dredge the croquettes in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Then dip the floured croquette into the egg wash (egg and milk).
- Finally, coat the egged croquette with seasoned bread crumbs.
Saute the Turkey Croquettes
- Saute the turkey croquettes in olive oil (or your choice of oil), turning until all sides have been lightly browned.
- Place the croquettes you are going to serve into a 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes until fully heated. (minimum 165 degrees)
Not only is this a great way to use up leftover turkey, but it’s also a wonderful way to introduce a new generation to the joys of true Diner Food. Enjoy these croquettes with a salad, soup, or indulge with a side of mashed potatoes and lots of turkey gravy!
You’ll find different views on how to make turkey croquettes, some folks use mashed potatoes and others use stuffing. I’ve always found that stuffing makes a lighter tastier croquette that doesn’t sink like a lead weight in your stomach. I promise you’ll like my stuffing version better!
But any way you make them, you’re making a New Jersey Diner Classic!
More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love!
Diner Style Turkey Croquettes
Ingredients
Turkey Croquettes
- 2 cups turkey finely chopped – use a food processor
- 2 cups potato bread stuffing mix or use your favortie brand of stuffing mix
- ½ cup celery finely minced
- ½ cup onion finely minced
- ½ cup carrots finely minced
- 4 oz butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning or ground sage
breading station
- black pepper and sea salt to taste
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup milk
- 4 oz olive oil to saute croquettes
Instructions
- In your food processor add celery, carrots and onion and pulse till finely minced
- In the food processor add your turkey and pulse until finely chopped. (use a mix of dark and white meat)
- In a saute pan melt butter and add finely minced celery, carrots, and onion. Saute until softened (3-5 minutes) Allow to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add turkey, stuffing cubes, sauteed celery, onions, carrots, and poultry seasoning. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Add 1 cup of chicken stock and two lightly beaten eggs and mix together. Gradually add more chicken stock as needed. You want the mixture to resemble stuffing consistency. **Don't let it get too wet. It will continue to absorb the liquid as it sits in your refrigerator setting up but it still needs to be shaped so it needs to have a formable consistency.
- Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
- After mixing all ingredients together fully, refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow mix to set up .
- After the mix has set up form into cone-shaped croquettes
- Dredge the croquettes in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Dip the floured croquette into the egg wash (2 eggs, ½ cup of milk).Coat the egged croquette with seasoned bread crumbs.
- Saute croquettes in olive oil, turning until all sides have been lightly browned.
- Place croquettes you are going to serve into a 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes until fully heated. (minimum 165 degrees internal temperature)
- Freeze the remainder to use another day!
- Serve Croquettes with sides of your choice and your favorite turkey gravy and enjoy!
Katrina
Loved it , reminds me of a meal My Mother and I ate at Diner in Glassboro,NJ. We would have with mash potatoes, gravy , pickled beets and side of coleslaw.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you Katrina! I remember that diner, for me it was a diner on route 206 in Vincentown, NJ.
Eletta
Red Lion Diner? The Diner I work for now are the same owners as Red Lion.
Chef Dennis Littley
It was the Vincentown diner.
Eletta
Wow, are you talking about PB’s Diner or Angelo’s Diner, as of now I work at what was formerly PB’s and it is booming, however the croquettes are much to be desired, I’m going to make this recipe and bring a sample so they can see what a croquette really is.
Patricia Hopman
This recipe looks amazing! I have just mixed it all up and can hardly wait to roll the into croquettes. I love the stuffing added in! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!Patricia Hopman
Charles roberts
For ingredients under breading station it says one large large ,what is thatj
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for catching that Charles. It was a misprint. Its fixed now.
Patricia Raupp
I goofed . I didn’t sauta my onions,carrots,celery first, I added all ingredients hope it comes out good, also added cranberry sauce less checked broth..we will see.
sharon oneill
I had leftover stuffing. mashed potatoes. and turkey. I kept adding the stuffing and potatoes to the chopped up turkey until the consistency barely stuck to my hands. Then I dipped them in egg then crumbs and rolled into croquettes. I pan fried to brown them and then finished off in the oven at 350. I made a sauce from another recipe. Melted a can of cranberry sauce and added some white wine. Came out delicious but would have preferred turkey gravy. Your recipe inspired me to just wing it and am glad I did. Thanks.
Brenda Spinelli
Perfect! Just how my mom makes them! I never paid attention to how my mom made them when I was young living at home. I kind of just wingged the recipe when I became a mom. I thought they were good as did my kids. At 54, I was making croquettes and my mom (who now lives with me) informed me I was making them wrong all these years. I was not using milk & flour. Makes all the difference. Thanks.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you found a recipe that was close to your moms and that you can now enjoy them with your family!
Turps
I used this mix to make sausage rolls, just get a sheet of puff pastry, cut it in two and put a 1″ tube of the mix onto each half and roll into a tube. Use a bit of milk for the overlap and cut into 4 or five pieces, put them seam down on a greased sheet pan, paint with milk and bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.
Awesome
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for sharing your deliciousness with us!
Paulette BIllingsley
I made this this AM ,it looks fantastic ,I made the mistake of the broth made an adjustment and add the leftover mashed potatoes and it worked for me also added left over veg .thank you for the insight to these little wonders
Chef Dennis Littley
happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Marie keehl
I’m going to use this recipe tomorrow, I have left over pork roast. The first and last time I had croquettes was 3 years ago in Pennsylvania ( it was an old diner car) and I instantly fell in love with them. I have tried to make them before with no success. I think I can master it with this recipe. Ty
Debra Nowak
Thank you for reviving memories of my Grandmother and her fabulous cooking. Only her diner was a pub in Cleveland OH
Chef Dennis Littley
You’re very welcome Debra
Tracy Cherry Powell
This Jersey Girl loves your recipe. I haven’t had these for almost 10-12yrs. Thank you for sharing your recipe, it was delicious!!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed my recipe, my wife loves her turkey croquettes! We grew up in the land of diners in NJ and Pa.
Stacy
I was so excited to try this recipe but unfortunately it was a flop. My mistake was not separating the stuffing steps when I already had leftover stuffing to use. I knew when I added the 2 cups of broth that I had made a major mistake.
I am sure this is a wonderful recipe, I just wish the directions were a little more clear in separating the stuffing steps from the rest of the recipe. I will give it another go at some point.
Eddie
I made the same mistake last year, Lol. They were loose but the flavor was there ;-p I’m about to redeem myself today :-). Eddie NJ
dorothy
Great recipe – similar to my mother’s recipe! We serve it with a white pea sauce. I passed it on to my sister in Vermont!
Chef Dennis Littley
I love the idea of a white pea sauce Dorothy! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Cathy
Hi Chef Dennis, made these today with leftover Turkey and stuffing and they were a hit! As a MSJA mom, your peanut butter pie is also on our Thanksgiving table each year for my 2008 alumni. Hope you are warm down south! We had a white Thanksgiving in Flourtown/Erdenheim!
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks so much for letting me know Cathy, Florida has been a little cool this November but still mostly sunny which is the main reason we moved… gotta love sunshine!
mary bryan
I am trying this recipe as i type this…i had leftover stuffing so skipped those steps..so mixed turkey and stuffing and beat the 2 eggs and the stock and it looks very runny..should it look runny? I am worried that it isnt going to set..i actually was afraid to add 2 full cups of stock so did about 1 1/2cups…it is in the fridge now and i hope it will set as it is supposed to.
Chef Dennis Littley
it should not be runny Mary, if you already had stuffing made you wouldn’t need the stock, that was to make the stuffing