Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 235.3kcal
Equipment
- food processor
- air fryer
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowls
- wax or parchment paper
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
Artichoke Filling
- 1 can quartered or whole artichoke hearts
- 3 wedges garlic and herb Laughing Cow
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch black pepper
Breadcrumb Topping
- 4 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp grated Romano cheese - Parmesan can be substituted.
- ½ tsp dried parsley, crumbled
- 1 dash garlic powder
- 1 dash black pepper
Chicken Mixture
- 1 lb 92% ground chicken
- 1½ tbsp grated Romano cheese - Parmesan can be substituted.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 1 pinch salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Artichoke Filling
- Open and drain the can of artichoke hearts. Squeeze as much water out of them as you can and place them in a food processor. Pulse them with the chopping blade until they are finely chopped.
- Transfer the chopped artichoke hearts to a mixing bowl. Add the wedges of garlic herb Laughing Cow along with the garlic powder and black pepper. Use a fork to combine all these ingredients until you have a creamy mixture. Set aside.
Breadcrumb Topping
- Place the panko breadcrumbs, grated Romano cheese, garlic powder, crumbled dried parsley flakes, and dash of pepper. Stir all these ingredients together and set aside. Chopped fresh parley can be substituted for the dried form if you have it.
Chicken Mixture & Making the Chicken Pockets
- Place the ground chicken in a bowl. Add the grated Romano cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, black pepper and salt to taste.
- Use your hands to mix the ground chicken and seasonings together. Pinch off a small piece, about the size of a quarter and microwave it on high for about 25 sec. Taste it and add more salt and garlic powder if you think it is needed.
- Divide the ground chicken mixture into four equal portions and place them on a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Use your fingers to press each portion out into a thin square or oval.
- Put 2 tbsp of the artichoke mixture on the bottom half of each pressed out chicken portion. Use a spoon to spread it out over the bottom half.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp of shredded fat free mozzarella over the artichoke cheese mixture. Use a scissors and cut the wax paper into four individual sections so there is a pressed out chicken square on each portion of wax paper.
- Pick up the wax paper near the top half of the pressed out chicken portion and use it to fold the top half of the chicken portion over the artichoke cheese filling on the bottom half of the pressed out chicken portion. There is a photo in the main part of the post showing this.
- Use your fingers to press the edges of the top portion and bottom half of the pressed out chicken portion together creating a chicken pocket.
- Sprinkle about ½ tbsp of the breadcrumb mixture over the top half of each chicken pocket. Place the chicken pockets, breadcrumb side face down, on the foil line tray of the air fryer. Then sprinkle the top of each chicken pocket with the remaining breadcrumb mixture.
- Place the chicken pockets into the air fryer and cook at 400℉ for 9 min. Flip them over and cook for another 9-10 min. Use a thermometer and measure the internal temperature of the ground chicken layer. They are done when the temperature reads 165-170℉.
- After removing the chicken pockets from the air fryer, let them rest for 5 min. Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate leftovers. I have not tried freezing these.
Notes
- I used 92% lean ground chicken. You can easily substitute 98% lean ground chicken.
- I routinely use Romano cheese but you can easily substitute Parmesan cheese. I prefer the more robust flavor of the Romano.
- The sodium in each pocket is 625 mg with a significant amount coming from the canned artichoke hearts. You can reduce the sodium substantially to 438 mg by using frozen artichoke hearts if you can find them. My local grocery stores do not carry them but Trader Joe's does if you have one of those near you.
- You can decrease the amount of salt you use in the chicken mixture or eliminate it all together and increase the other seasonings to compensate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pocket | Calories: 235.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.5g | Protein: 28.3g | Fat: 11.5g | Saturated Fat: 3.5g | Sodium: 625mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
