Tarts are perfect for appetizers, snacks, and even a main dish for a meal accompanied by a nice fresh salad. After sampling a cute chicken tart at local bistro, I wanted to try to recreate it with my own flourish.
I believe this recipe turned out really well and my kids absolutely love it for an after school snack.
I haven’t calculated the calories in these but I did use an impressive amount of butter so if you are an adult you may want to consume only a few (and then only occasionally).
However, these are great for an active child (active being the keyword – if he/she spends their life behind an X-box, you may want to think about a lifestyle change).
Although these can serve remarkably well as appetizers for parties, these chicken tartlets can also serve them as your main dish. Just make sure to prepare a large batch.
If you are a vegetarian or following a strict diet, you can still have this dish without sacrificing the taste by replacing the chicken with mushrooms. For added flavor, you can even add some grated cheese like parmesan or even mozzarella.
My kids loved the original dish but I tried adding some grated cheese on the next batch I baked and they loved the mini chicken tarts even more.
If you love cheese, I recommend you add some grated parmesan cheese on top of the mini tarts before topping it with few cherry tomato halves.
Number of mini-tarts that this makes depends heavily on the size of your pan(s). When in doubt, double the recipe.
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg*
- 1/2 cup butter cut in chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 chicken breast cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoon frozen corn kernels
- 1 onion large
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- fresh basil chopped
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese optional
- Salt and black pepper
- To prepare the pastry crust, mix flour and salt first then gradually add the cold chunks of butter. You can mix the dough using your hands or you can also use a stand mixer for this step. Mix the dry ingredients until crumbs start to form.
- Add the egg and mix thoroughly until the egg is fully incorporated into the dough. Knead the pastry dough then form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 356°F or 180°C.
- Using a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add onions and cook until onions start to sweat and become soft. Add in the small pieces of chicken breasts and cook fully or until the raw color of the meat disappear.
- Add paprika, basil, and corn kernels to the skillet and sauté for an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and set aside.
- Take the refrigerated dough and roll it out until you reach the desired thickness for a pastry crust. Cut the dough into small circles that would fit into your mini tart molds. When pressing the dough into the tart molds, make sure not to stretch the dough too much. However, I like to fold any extra dough over the top to form a partial crust (see photos).
- After fitting and pressing the dough into the mini tart molds, make small holes on the bottom of the tart by punching the bottom using a fork.
- Fill the tart molds with the chicken mixture then top with grated cheese depending on your desired amount. Garnish each mini tart with several cherry tomato halves.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.
- You can serve these tarts both hot and freshly baked, or let it cool first then serve cold.
The pastry base for this dish is easy to prepare and make. You can make your own pastry crust for the mini tarts but there are also a lot of shortcut pastry products available in the market if you want to cut your preparation time and have a pastry base readily available for cutting and baking. Preparation is just about thirty minutes and cooking time is thirty minutes as well, so within an hour you can already serve these yummy tarts with chicken for everyone to enjoy.
With a little garnishing, these simple mini tarts can turn into party-worthy appetizers and finger food snacks.
About Lynne Jaques
Lynne is a stay-at-home mother of two boys. As a former US military officer and the spouse of an active duty US military member, Lynne enjoys traveling the world (although not the moving part!) and finding new cuisine and methods of preparing food. She also has the habit of using parenthesis way too much!
I can only say I would eat my weigh in them. I honestly wouldn’t care about the calorie count. Butter, butter, and more butter. I have a deep seeded love for chicken pot pie. This is a bit of an upper scale version. The recipe is so simple. Yet the photo looks as if it took a ton of preparation, and cooking time.
Yes butter (and lard). Why must tasty things be bad for you? I actually think butter in moderation is much better for you than margarine. I’ve got no scientific backup for that but processed corn oil vs cow’s milk – no comparison.
@karmaskeeper You are too funny when you say that you would eat your weight in them, but honey I could be right there with you eating MY weight in them too! I wish I had some right now.
Gorgeous looking little chicken pot pies, just delicious looking, ugh!! I probably would go the prepared pastry route the first time making these, just so I could get the recipe done and ready to eat, but I wouldn’t mind making the whole thing from scratch to see how it tastes made from scratch from start to finish.
I really could go for one or two of these right now. The recipe seems easy enough, I might try to make this in one large skillet and see how it turns out. Can’t do it now though, don’t have all the ingredients handy, but soon!
Cuuki, it can easily be made in one large skillet; I’d make at least a double recipe and increase the baking time (“eyeball it”). A cast iron (preferred) or carbon steel (if you are Europe) would be the ticket and would finish off the crust quite nicely.
These mini tarts look delicious and would be fantastic for lunches, as a change to the usual sandwiches. I like the fact that you don’t have to blind-bake the pastry at all – such a timesaver!
I am happy you liked the recipe missbishi. Yes, these do make great lunches, dinners or even brunches. Another thing I like about them is you can make the tarts, enjoy them and then eat them again the next day.
I also love the fact they are equally as delicious hot or cold, I feel that depends on personal taste and or the weather. They are also wonderful when paired with a simple arugula and tomato salad topped with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar and of course some salt and pepper to taste. Something about the way the flavors combine really compliment each other.
This looks delicious! I am an awful cook but this doesn’t look too difficult. Maybe I can convince my husband to make it for us LOL. Thanks so much for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
You are welcome ShalynDMM! No it’s not too difficult, I am sure you can pull it off or why not try making them with your husband? Your husband must be a wonderful cook, lucky you!
This looks absolutely delicious, and I’ll bet the tomato adds an unexpected flavor too!
I also think you are correct about butter being healthier for you than margarine. Something I heard years ago has always stuck with me, and to this day I avoid margarine because of it. The idea was that while people think of butter “clogging” their arteries, the natural composition still allows it to be sloughed off – very technical wording, I know. 😉 The margarine may not cause as much of a build up, but what is there STAYS there almost like a plastic-y substance. This was long before the transfat-free craze, so maybe things have improved, but I’ll still take the butter, thank you. 🙂
Thank you for explaining the butter vs. margarine health issue. I always feel anything natural is going to be not only healthier but more delicious so finding out that butter was healthier was good news for all!
Am licking my fingers already…the presentation got me excited…i can foresee how many pounds i’ll be packing by the end of that delicious mini tart…recipe noted down, if i don’t work on it this weekend, then next weekend i have a kitchen date making at-most two mini chicken tarts 😉
True dianethare, the presentation is irresistible and I love the fact they are mini’s but like I said earlier you can make them larger. I just think the mini’s look cuter. The way the food is presented is such an important part of the whole eating experience and these tarts definitely are beauties. Enjoy your tarts!
I’m all for a buttery crust as they taste better. As a vegetarian I would use sauteed mushrooms and maybe some onions as well for flavor. I do like to have more protein so there are fake chicken chunks made of quorn that I could add instead and still make the tarts with some mushrooms too.
I might try to make mine a little healthier with some wholemeal flour to make up for the butter!
Yes they do don’t they Bella? Definitely you can customize this recipe according to your dietary preferences. There are so many delicious things you can add to make it vegetarian and I agree about the mushrooms. Asparagus is also another good one or broccoli. I have not tried it with wholemeal flower yet, please let me know how that works out.
So maybe I am ages behind but I always think of tarts as sweets. This is a great recipe for an appetizing savory tart. I also like that you can so easily make a vegetarian one, because I know that when I have a party there are always at least a few vegetarians. This seems like something I would make for a nice gathering of 5-10 friends to really impress. Thanks.
Hi TinVanMan,
Your welcome! Better be safe than sorry with the guest list and the vegetarian version everybody will love, whether vegetarian or not. Enjoy.
I like the idea of serving these as an appetizer at my next gathering. I’m wondering, if I do what else will I have with it. I’m going to end up planning my entire meal around these. With so many people here having so many different preferences I think this will be a great fit!
Hi kana_marie,
With savory tarts I love to serve fresh, crispy salads but this will actually go with anything. You could also think about Coleslaw. Personally I love it when I put the tart on my plate, on purpose of course, with the salad next to it and the oil and vinegar for the salad sort of mix with the tart crust. Delicious!
That looks delicious. I’m one of those people that never make crusts or breads from scratch, but that seems so simple that I think I may attempt it. I’ll buy a backup just in case, though. But I think I’ll use these golden grape tomatoes that I’ve become addicted to instead of cherry and add mushrooms instead of onions (I don’t eat onions)…. we shall see how that goes 🙂
Ash,
Thank you! I think the reason for the red cherry tomatoes is the color contrast with the tart but the golden grapes will taste delicious. How do you feel about adding some fresh garlic into the sauté?
This chicken mini tart reminds me of the one my mother used to make, it was absolutely delicious. The ingredients in this recipe are amazing and I think they go very well together.
I think adding a little bit of garlic would be great too, I’m also a person who would eat that with a little of bit of Ketchup on the side, which is maybe quite unusual but it is good to my taste. W
What also would go great with that is some fried potato chips on the side, it certainly would be a heavenly meal. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will try it when I can.
Hi kylerlittle,
Thank you! I am glad you like it. Garlic and ketchup sounds great! I love to use ketchup as a dipping sauce with lot of things, especially tuna melts and fish pie.
Have you tried baked or fried sweet potatoes?
I love the look of this, and have no doubt it would be well received in my home. The tarts seem easy enough to prepare, and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand, so this could be one of those fall back dishes for when I get the urge to cook, but don’t want to run out for ingredients. The addition of cheese and cherry tomatoes on top make this a must try recipe.
Hi Diane Lane,
Thank you! I think cherry tomatoes make just about anything delicious. 😉
I would like to try tasting this appetizer. The appearance gives off how potentially yummy the inside is and I am quite sure that it tastes superb. Maybe one of these days I’ll give it a go.
Hi TPhoenix,
I promise, this tart is as tasty as it is pretty!
This recipe sounds delicious and seems similar to a pot pie. I also think it can be adapted to a number of different fillings. I can imagine a dessert version of this recipe that uses fruit and a creme of some sorts. This is one I will definitely try out on a rainy day with some time to experiment.
Hi Dame6089,
Yes, using different ingredients is definitely a possibility and a good way to use what you already have but be sure and keep the cherry tomatoes! 😉 Let us know if you make a dessert tart.
Yeah this looks tasty. There is something about anything like that that has a crispy outside to it that makes you want to eat it. I like these dishes it is in too.
The vegetarian replacement would be good to try. Most vegetarians don’t eat dairy or cheese though. There are lots of different replacements.
Hi Love2eat,
Crispy is good! Actually vegetarians do eat dairy, vegans do not though but there are plenty of vegan replacements out there in the health food stores.
My mouth watered while reading this. My family loves chicken in any form, this recipie will be one of many chicken based recipie we make regularly
Hi ashleydageek,
Thank you! I am happy you like it. Let us know when you make it.
Oh my God! I want these right now. They look delicious and simply delightful. Not even the butter will stop me from getting my hands on these. It’s because of dishes like this, that cooking is described as art.
MichelleVL,
Hahahahaha! Thank you!
Hi Lynne! Let me tell you I gave these a try for my best friend’s baby shower last week and they were a hit. I do confess, that the first ones came out a little on the burnt side (I still ate them LOL), but after some oven adjustments I got the hang of it and they came out perfect! My best friend is your new fan! Thank you for the recipe. These tarts are to die for!
I had to laugh when I read about children living behind their Xbox. I have big brother and when given the chance, he will sit behind his video games all day. Although he works so he can’t literally play video games all day. Having the chicken tarts “mini” can help with portions as well.
Jasmine2015,
Unless you eat 5 of them, hahahaha.
This recipe literally has my mouth watering! I will definitely be trying this out!
I do believe you have snagged me with this one, like a fish caught on a hook! This certainly looks delicious and it seems real easy to make. I am sure I could make those and freeze them to be eaten at a later date, especially when my son is hungry and nothing is ready. I don’t know if there would be any over from the first batch though, I would have to hide some if I wanted to keep them.
As a fan of tarts and quiche alike, I cannot stress enough how important cheese, as an ingredient, and tomatoes, as a garnish, boost the flavor. The wonderful aroma of an aged cheddar accompanied by the heartiness of the tomato make a perfect combination for any oven-cooked, savory pastry.
I would definitely serve this dish as a main for my family with a side salad or roasted medley of vegetables. Looking over the recipe, I would probably cut back a little on the butter, even though our family is quite active. This may even be delicious with turkey, steak or even fish??? not sure will have to try.
These look delicious and blow the butter content-everyone needs a treat and these will do just fine. I would enjoy these with some roasted Mediterranean vegetables and even, perhaps, some roasted new potatoes. A delicious dinner for those long summer evenings!
This looks delicious and I bet tastes delicious too. I’ll try this at home.My little nephews and niece will love it for sure. Thanks for this recipe Lynne.