Don't know what to do with leftover roasted chicken or turkey? Those chicken (or turkey) muffins will be perfect for a grab and go meal, in your lunch box or to bring to a picnic. Serve these savoury muffins at room temperature with a salad or soup or as an appetizer. They also make the most delicious savoury breakfast muffins.
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I'm back with another muffin recipe: chicken (or turkey) muffins!
With Thanksgiving coming up next week I thought this recipe could be interesting for some of you, in order to use up some of the turkey leftovers. And yes, if you are not American and not going to celebrate Thanksgiving you are probably thinking “why am I even reading this?
Well good news, these muffins can be made either with leftover roasted chicken or leftover roasted turkey. And this recipe doesn't need to be made only after Thanksgiving or after any other holiday. You can make it all year long with chicken (here I say chicken on purpose because I'm not sure anyone eats roasted turkey all year long).
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- These chicken (or turkey) muffins are a delicious way to use up chicken or turkey leftovers. Another great way to use those leftovers is with this French chicken spread (rillettes).
- They are extremely convenient!! You can either have them for breakfast, appetizers, bring them to a picnic or a potluck, eat them with a salad or soup for a quick lunch or dinner, bring them in your lunch box...
- These savoury muffins are gluten free, eggless, dairy free, paleo and AIP compliant. But everybody will love them, even those who don't have a special diet!
📖 Ingredient notes
- Sweet potato purée. Make sure to use orange sweet potatoes. See below how to make sweet potato purée.
- Tigernut flour (or almond flour for those who are not on AIP nor nut free). If you don't know what tigernut flour is and want to learn all about it, you can read my complete guide to tigernut flour. If you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase, you have to use tigernut flour (because almond flour is not AIP compliant). Those who are not on AIP nor allergic to nuts can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour.
- Arrowroot. It is a type of starch. See below for substitutions.
- Leftover roasted chicken (or turkey). Make sure to remove all bones and skin.
- Tarragon. You can either use fresh, frozen or dried tarragon.
For the complete list of ingredients and quantities for these chicken muffins, please see the recipe card below.
💭 Substitutions
- Arrowroot substitutions. If you are not cassava intolerant, you can substitute it with tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). If you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
- Sweet potato purée. To make these chicken muffins, you can also use pumpkin purée instead of sweet potato purée.
🧾 About the sweet potato purée
To make this recipe easier, I prepare a big batch of sweet potato puree that I will use for different recipes (either mashed sweet potatoes or a sweet potato breakfast bowl or even some fudgy brownies).
And to make sweet potato puree, you can either :
- use a steamer (my personal favorite) : peel and slice the sweet potatoes. Put them in your steamer and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until they are soft.
- use an oven : use a fork to pierce several holes into the sweet potatoes, then place them on a baking dish and cook in the oven for about 1 hour at 400°F (205°C) or until they are soft. Then slice them down the middle and scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin.
- use a microwave-oven : use the same process as with the oven, then place them on a microwave-oven safe dish and cook for about 10 minutes or until they are soft.
Whichever way you decide to cook your sweet potatoes, once they are cooked and cooled down, just add them to your blender with the other liquid ingredients of this recipe.
🔪Step by step instructions
- In a blender combine the sweet potato (or pumpkin) puree, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Blend until well combined.
- Cut the chicken (or turkey) into small pieces.
- And chop the tarragon
- In a large bowl, combine the tigernut flour, arrow root, baking soda and pinch of salt. Stir.
- Add the sweet potato purée to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Then add the chicken/turkey and tarragon to the bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
- Line or lightly oil a muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup with dough (you should get about 8 muffins depending on your pan).
- Bake for about 25 minutes for the muffins (or for about 35 minutes for the loaf). To make sure that they are cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of one the muffins, the knife should come out clean. And voilà! Wait for them to cool down before removing from the pan. Serve at room temperature along with a salad or soup. Bon appétit!
👩🏻🍳Top tips
- Tip #1. As you can see in the picture above, in order to create tall muffin tops, I fill my muffin tins all the way to the top.
- Tip #2. Never ever open the oven door before the end of the baking time (unless, of course, in case of a danger or problem with your oven). If you open the oven door during the baking time, just to "check how they look", they will fall down or won't rise.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! If you don't have a muffin pan or simply don't fell like having muffins, you can make this as a loaf instead of muffins. Just follow the instructions in the recipe card for the bread.
After they are cooled, store the muffins in the refrigerator (no more than 2 days in the fridge, otherwise, they will get dry). After storing them in the fridge, you do not need to reheat them.
In France, they are eaten at room temperature. But if you prefer them hot, you can reheat them. Though keep in mind that reheating them might dry them out a bit. Take them out of the fridge in advance in order for them to reach room temperature. You can also eat them right out of the fridge if you forget to get it out in advance.
Yes, they freeze very well. That's another reason why they are so convenient! Get them out of the freezer in the morning and they will be defrosted when it's time for your lunch break. Prepare yourself a salad or a nice hot soup (stored in an insulated lunch box) and voilà, your packed lunch is ready!
Personally, if I know in advance that I want to freeze my batch, I will make this recipe as muffins rather than a loaf. Because they look better in a muffin shape (yes, beauty is important when it comes to food) and I also think they freeze better as muffin VS as loaf slices. Also, it is better to freeze your chicken muffins when they are still fresh. So freeze them on the day you make them or the day after at the latest.
🥘Other recipes you might like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5 star rating on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Chicken (or turkey) muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 grams (1 cup tightly packed) orange sweet potato purée (or pumpkin purée)
- 200 grams (1.5 cups) leftover roasted chicken (or turkey) skin and bones removed
- 150 grams (1 cup + ⅓ cup) tigernut flour (or almond flour if you are not on AIP nor tree nut intolerant)
- 50 grams (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) arrowroot (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons tarragon (fresh or frozen) (or 1.5 Tablespoon dried tarragon) you can adjust quantity to your own taste
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- In a small blender combine the sweet potato (or pumpkin) puree, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Blend until well combined.
- Cut the chicken (or turkey) into small pieces and chop the tarragon.
- In a large bowl, combine the tigernut flour, arrow root, baking soda and pinch of salt. Stir.
- Add the sweet potato purée to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Then add the chicken/turkey and tarragon to the bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
- Line or lightly oil a muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup with dough (you should get about 8 muffins depending on your pan).
- Bake for about 25 minutes for the muffins (or for about 35 minutes for the loaf). To make sure that they are cooked, insert a thin bladed knife into the centre of one the muffins, the knife should come out clean. And voilà! Wait for them to cool down before removing from the pan. Serve at room temperature along with a salad or soup.Bon appétit !
Lisa Daniel Rollins
Finally have time to make this and now (January) it's impossible to get fresh or frozen tarragon. Can I substitute dried tarragon, and if so how should I use? Thanks!!!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Lisa. So sorry for the delayed answer, due to my blog migration to a new host, I didn’t have access to my dashboard for a few days. Now that everything is back to normal I can finally answer you. Yes you can use dried tarragon but considering that it tastes stronger than fresh or frozen tarragon, I think maybe 1Tbsp or 1.5 Tbsp (depending on your own taste) of dried tarragon instead of the 4 Tbsp of fresh or frozen should be good. Can’t wait to hear if you liked those!
Fritz
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