Chicken Puff Pastry (Pakistani Chicken Patties) is a nostalgic tea-time snack sold in bakeries throughout Pakistan. Quick and easy to make, these crisp and flaky parcels, filled with a creamy, spiced chicken filling, are love at first bite.
Pakistani Bakery-style chicken patties are essentially a Vol-au-vent with a chicken filling. In Pakistan, chicken patties are round, potato patties are triangular, and ground beef patties are rectangular. While making round patties is a little more time-consuming, I like to make them this way for an utterly nostalgic experience.
I always make these chicken pastry puffs when making homemade chicken broth. It's a great way to use up the chicken from the soup. Pair these chicken patties with Chinese chicken corn soup or hot and sour soup for a light and cozy lunch!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Nostalgic recipe - For so many of you, this recipe will take you back to your childhood and the popular Pakistani tea trolley, which almost always featured chicken patties from Shezan bakers and confectioners.
- Versatile recipe - While traditionally served as a tea-time snack, this recipe is perfect for a school or work lunch, a quick after-school snack, or even a fun breakfast option.
- Make ahead recipe - This chicken puff pastry can be made ahead of time and frozen until needed. Preheat the oven and bake the patties straight from the freezer as needed.
Ingredients for chicken puff pastry
- Chicken - I like to use chicken tenderloins for most recipes, like chicken tikka sandwiches or sheet pan chicken quesadillas (with chicken tikka). These are a little more expensive than chicken breast but cook more quickly and tend to be juicier than the breast.
- Puff pastry - My favorite brand has always been Pepperidge Farm for my chicken puff pastry recipe. Feel free to use a favorite alternative if you prefer.
- Garlic & ginger - Seasoning the chicken with garlic and ginger as it's poached adds essential flavor.
- Vinegar - White distilled vinegar adds a nice tang to the chicken and helps tenderize the meat.
- Soy sauce - A little soy sauce is added to the chicken as it simmers to give it a depth of flavor.
- Onion - Chopped yellow onions are added to the shredded chicken as part of the filling.
- Serrano chili - This helps give the chicken filling a bold flavor, which complements the buttery, flaky puff pastry well.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter to create a roux that will help bind all the ingredients in the filling, making it easier to stuff the puff pastry.
- Flour - Standard all-purpose flour is used for the perfect roux.
- Egg - An egg wash gives the chicken puff pastry a perfect glossy brown finish and helps seal the edges completely.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- Use the leftover scraps - Lay all the leftover dough on a flat baking sheet, brush with some egg, sprinkle with your preferred seasoning and toppings, and bake for a deliciously crispy snack. My two favorite toppings are cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat or paprika and shredded cheese for a savory snack.
- Make a different shape - Make triangle-shaped chicken patties to avoid wasting dough. This also allows for more puffs per sheet of pastry.
- Use different chicken - Use chicken thighs for a more budget-friendly option, or to save time, use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Try a different filling - Try filling variations, like ground beef or spiced potatoes, for a change in flavor.
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How to make chicken puff pastry
- First step - Cook the chicken with ginger, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper, and one cup of water.
- Second step - Once fully cooked, strain the meat from the liquid and shred it.
- Third step - Melt the butter in a saucepan to prepare the filling.
- Fourth step - Saute the onions in the butter until they're translucent, and then add the chopped serrano pepper and crushed red chili flakes.
- Fifth step - Add the flour and saute until you have a thick paste.
- Sixth step - Mix the shredded chicken with the above and set aside to cool.
- Seventh step - Use a 2 ¼-inch biscuit cutter to make small indentations in a sheet of puff pastry.
- Eighth step - Place 2 tablespoons of the cooled filling in the center of each marked indentation. Once done, place the second sheet of puff pastry on top and use the biscuit cutter to cut out the patties.
- Ninth step - Place the prepared chicken puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave 1-2 inches of space between each pastry.
- Tenth step - Use a fork to press down and crimp the edges, sealing them completely.
- Eleventh step - Beat the egg, brush on the surface of each pastry, and the crimped part of the patties to create a tight seal.
- Twelfth step - Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
Expert Tips
- Don't overfill the pastry - Don't fill each puff with more than two tablespoons of the chicken filling, or the edges won't seal correctly.
- Sealing the edges - If the edges aren't sealed properly, the pastry opens up as it bakes in the oven. I like pressing the edges with my hands, then crimping with a fork, and then brushing the edges with egg yolk to seal completely.
- Use chilled dough - Pastry dough that is well chilled will puff better. After working with the dough, place my patties in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking them.
- Don't overbake the patties - Watch the chicken puff pastry closely after 15 minutes, as they can overcook quickly.
Recipe FAQS
Overworking the dough can sometimes wreak havoc with the layers of butter. Preheat the oven properly and chill the puffs before baking them to allow for steam to be created. This will result in perfectly cooked layers of pastry.
The most likely cause is a filling with too much moisture. Strain the cooked chicken well and let it dry before cooking the filling. Also, make sure to cool the filling completely before filling the patties.
Chicken puff pastries are best eaten fresh out of the oven. However, if you need to store them, place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. A better method is to freeze the prepped and filled patties for up to 3 months and then bake them as needed straight out of the freezer.
Other tea-time snack recipes you may like
For more Pakistani recipes like this, check out 20 popular Pakistani recipes. If you decide to try this recipe, Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture, then tag me on Instagram! Thank You!
Chicken Pastry Puffs (Pakistani Chicken Patties)
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Ingredients
- ½ lb chicken tenderloins (see notes)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp crushed ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar (see notes)
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ chopped yellow onion
- 1 chopped serrano pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Add the chicken, water, ginger, garlic, black pepper, vinegar, and soy sauce to a saucepan and cook until done. (see notes)
- Remove the cooked chicken, discard the remaining liquid, shred it, and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the chopped onions, and cook until they become translucent.
- Add the serrano pepper and red chili flakes, and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Add the flour to the above mixture and stir until you have a thick, cohesive paste. (see notes)
- Mix in the chicken and cool until the mixture is at room temperature. (see notes)
- Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Remove your pastry from the fridge, lay it flat, and use a 2 ¼-inch biscuit cutter to make nine indentations.
- Add two tablespoons of the filling in the center of each circle.
- Cover this with the second pastry sheet and cut out all the puff pastries.
- Seal the edges tightly with your fingers and then crimp using a fork. (see notes)
- Chill the prepared parcels in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Beat the egg yolk and brush on top of each pastry. (see notes)
- Bake for 15-20 minutes till the pastry rises and browns on top. (see notes)
Tisha
Thank you! I can’t wait to try it!
Nosheen Babar
Can’t wait for your review!
Kimberly
What a wonderful recipe! So easy to follow, and I even used leftover shredded chicken (just added the seasonings and voila)! This has inspired me to think of other "fun fillings" to use in the future, although you can't beat that ginger flavor! YUM!
Nosheen Babar
Thank you Kimberly,
I'm so glad you tried and liked the recipe! I can't wait to see your experiments with the fillings!
Omar M
Nostalgic and positively delicious!!
untoldrecipesbynosheen
Thank You Omar
Saima Kamal
They turned out delicious! Just like the ones from back home ? only flaw was that they were polished off in minutes ??
untoldrecipesbynosheen
Well that's a flaw I like to hear about. Glad you liked them!
Tisha
Is there salt in the recipe and do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Nosheen Babar
Hi Tisha,
The chicken is seasoned as is the puff pastry.This along with the salted butter and soy sauce is adequate for this recipe.