Skip to Content

Crispy Chicken Cutlets Recipe

Chicken cutlet are a second course that everyone loves! Super crispy and super flavorful!

chicken cutlets recipe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

These crispy chicken cutlet are thinly sliced chicken breasts covered in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, that together create a delicious, golden, flavorful crispness.

When you need a quick dinner, chicken cutlets are the ideal dinner.

They are delicious and quick to prepare.

To prepare the cutlets you basically need sliced chicken breasts, flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.

Ingredients that almost all of us already have in our kitchen.

The wonderful thing about chicken cutlets is that they cook in a few minutes, and make evenings when you don’t feel like cooking elaborate meals much easier.

Why This Crispy Chicken Cutlet Recipe Is The Best

Italian chicken cutlets recipe

This is the recipe my mom taught me. It was and is one of my favorite dishes. 

They’re super good: This chicken recipe is crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. 

Simple and easy: With simple ingredients it’s really easy to make these chicken cutlets. You can also prepare it in advance so that you can cook them when it’s dinner time.

Perfect for easy weeknight meals.

Family-friendly: Just like adults, kids will love these crispy chicken cutlets! It is a recipe for the whole family.

 

Ingredients For The Best Chicken Cutlet Recipe

Slices of skinless chicken breasts

Always choose chicken that has a pinky, flesh-colored tone.

Flour

The flour ensures that the egg, which acts as a glue for the breadcrumbs, does not slide off the surface of the meat.

Breadcrumbs

Italian breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs or you can make your own breadcrumbs.

Parmigiano reggiano or pecorino cheese

Will give the cutlet an incredible flavor.

Eggs

Helps to hold all of that amazing breading on the chicken cutlets.

Fresh Parsley

Will give your cutlets a super fresh flavor.

Use the fresh herbs you like best or the Italian seasoning you prefer.

How To Make Chicken Cutlets

Step 1

Pound the chicken slices with a meat mallet if you prefer thin cutlets, using the flat side of a meat mallet.

 chicken breast slices

Prepare three separate shallow bowls, one with the flour, one with the beaten egg, and one with the breadcrumb mix.

Step 2

Take the chicken breast slices and dip them on both sides in flour mixture; this will make the egg and breadcrumbs stick better.

Step 3

Beat the eggs; one at a time dip the floured chicken breast slices in the beaten eggs and then coat both sides well in the breadcrumbs.

The chicken breast must be perfectly covered with breadcrumbs – no bare parts must be left. 

Step 4

Take a frying pan, and put in a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. (Many people use cheaper oils, but for me olive oil is a better and more healthy option!) 

Heat the oil and as soon as it is ready, place the breaded cutlets in the pan, without overlapping, and cook until golden brown.

Oil for Frying

The most appropriate is peanut or canola oil because it has a high smoke point and a flavor that does not overpower the food being fried. 

Obviously, virgin olive oil is also good, but it has an intense flavor and in the opinion of many it has a high cost for this use. 

With olive oil, however, our cutlet will be less greasy.

Oil, finally, must be abundant because otherwise, when the cutlet is put in the pan, the temperature of oil will tend to drop quickly and the breading of the meat will remain greasy and not very crispy. 

How hot should the oil be for frying?

The ideal temperature for a good small to medium sized fry is 348 degrees F. You can measure this with a kitchen thermometer.

What To Serve With Chicken Cutlets

chicken cutlets recipe

You can serve this crispy breaded chicken cutlets with french fries, vegetables or this panzanella salad, for an authentic Italian meal.

Or make a delicious chicken burger with these brioche bun or a italian chicken cutlet sandwich recipe.

Below are my favorite side options:

A perfect match whit this Crispy Cauliflower Recipe or Breaded Zucchini Sticks.

This chicken milanese is delicious with hearty side dish like Cabbage Stir Fry, Pickled Aubergine, stuffed artichokes or a fresh Salad.

Healthier Alternative For Cooking The Best Chicken Cutlets

Crispy Baked Chicken Cutlets

Drizzle all the chicken cutlets with extra virgin olive oil and bake them in a preheated oven at 200° for about 25 minutes until they are cooked and golden brown.

Remove the baked chicken cutlets from the oven and serve them hot.

How To Cook Chicken Cutlets In The Air Fryer

Lay the cutlets on the basket in a single layer of the air fryer, without baking paper or baking sheet. 

Spray with olive oil and cook at 400 degrees F for 4 minutes or until golden brown, then turn them over and spray with olive oil again, cooking for another 4 minutes. 

The cooking time of the cutlets may vary depending on the model of airfryer and the thickness of the individual slices. 

You can check the cooking time by looking at the browning or by making a small cut in the meat.

How To Store Leftover Cutlets?

You can store fried chicken cutlets in the refrigerator, in food containers, for 3-4 days. 

To reheat them, I recommend doing it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes 390 degrees F.

Freezing & Cooking Chicken Frozen Cutlets (big batches)

I recommend freezing the chicken cutlets raw.

Place the cutlets in a tray, be sure not to touch each other, leave the tray in the freezer for about 2-3 hours, when they have solidified, you can put them in freezer bags. 

Another method to freeze the cutlets is to put the cutlets in an airtight container, separating the cutlets with baking paper, in ways that they do not touch each other.

The secret is to fry them while still frozen!

Let’s dip one at a time in hot oil  with a temperature that will not exceed 356 degrees F.

Drain them on absorbent paper and, if necessary, salt them when they are warm.

In this way they will always be incredibly crispy, soft inside and will look like they have just been breaded! 

Try it to believe it!

FAQ

What Is A Chicken Cutlet?

Cutlet is a term for a food, breaded and cooked in a fat or grilled or baked.
In this case we are talking about breaded chicken, which is simply a thinly sliced chicken breast, first passed in the flour, then in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs.

What Cut use for Chicken Cutlet?

One always prefers to use chicken breasts for your chicken cutlet. 
You can choose thicker ones for a very soft cutlet or beat them with a meat tenderizer for a crispier result. 
There are also those who use chicken thighs, in which case the dish will be more tender.

How To Tell If The Cutlet Is Cooked? 

Let the cutlet cook for 7-8 minutes, shaking it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 
After about 4 minutes, gently flip the cutlet so it can brown on the other side as well.
Press them with a wooden spatula. If the crust does not come off, they are perfectly cooked. If, however, the crust tends to come off, let them cook for another minute.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets Recipe

Italian chicken cutlets recipe pintarest
Yield: Easy dinner

Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets

Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets

Chicken cutlet are a second course that everyone loves! Super crispy and super flavorful

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 Slices of chicken breast
  • 100g of White flour
  • 200g of Breadcrumbs
  • 70g of Parmesan or pecorino cheese
  • 2 Medium eggs
  • Parsley
  • Salt & Black Pepper
  • Olive oil for frying

Instructions

    1. Pound the chicken slices with a meat mallet if necessary. Take 3 shallow bowls.
    1. In the first bowl, beat the eggs and in the second bowl place the flour.
    2. In a the last bowl combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
    3. So you have 3 bowls in total - eggs, flour and the breadcrumbs.
    4. Salt and pepper the chicken slice on both sides.
    5. Flour the chicken slice making sure the flour sticks well on all sides, it will help the egg to stick better.
    6. Then dip the chicken in the egg mixture, and then dip it in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing well so that the breadcrumbs stick together. The breading should cover the chicken slices well.
    7. Proceed in this way for all the chicken slices.
    8. In a large skillet pour the olive oil and heat the oil for 2-3 minutes. To tell if the oil has reached the perfect temperature drop a little bit of crumb into the pan, if it starts to fry you have reached the perfect temperature.
    9. NB: The oil should reach about halfway up the side of the chicken.
    10. Now fry the cutlets for 2-3 minutes on each side at medium heat. Place the cutlets in paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil.
    11. Your delicious cutlets are ready! Serve them hot with a squeeze of lemon juice, accompanied by your favorite side dish




Notes

If you have time, let the cutlets rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking them. This helps with a crispier breadcrumbs.

How to soften the cutlets?

Marinating in milk will help soften the slices, which will melt in your mouth.

Customizations 

To give more flavor to these cutlets you can add fresh garlic or garlic powder.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 849Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 308mgSodium: 1139mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 94g

Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram and tag thebellavita_blog

Stale bread, preferably a few days old, is the best. If you don’t have any on hand, you can cut up some fresher bread and leave it uncovered in the air for a few hours.

Place your stale bread in a food processor and blend it until you have fine breadcrumbs.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can cut the bread into smaller cubes and use a blender or immersion blender.

If you don’t have one of these items, you can put the smaller cubes in a Ziploc bag and simply crush them with a rolling pin!

ENJOY

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Genevieve

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

I love chicken and being an Italian girl myself, this recipe is perfect for summer! I can't wait to try this!

Jerika

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

I like my chicken to be crispy, just right crispiness.:) This recipe is perfect for it. Thanks much!:)

Natalie

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

I made your delicious chicken cutlets in an air-fryer. It was perfect, have to save this recipe, thanks!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe