Who doesn’t love a great chicken cutlet recipe? Crunchy, breaded outside nicely browned and maybe even sizzling and inside, juicy chicken.
What's In This Article
What are chicken cutlets?
A pan fried chicken cutlet is technically just a thinly sliced piece of chicken breast. Alternately to being cut thin, it can also be tenderized using a mallet to a uniformly thickness.
However, chicken cutlets usually refer to breaded chicken cutlets. Chicken with a seasoned bread crumb crust and lightly fried, although there are baked versions out there.
Chicken Cutlets vs Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Parmesan, which hails from Southern Italy is traditionally thin, breaded and lightly fried chicken breast smothered with cheeses, vegetables and sauce.
This recipe is similar, but not really traditional because I’m not using a marinara or cheese. Instead of throwing a slab of mozzarella on the top, I used Parmesan and incorporated it right into the breading.
Parmesan fries up to a crunchy crust with a nutty flavor, so a dab of nutmeg helps amplify the flavor.
To top, I used a roast tomato and garlic confit seasoned with basil and olive oil and balsamic reduction. I serve mine over a bed of arugula, an idea I borrowed off of a famous underground (literally) Italian joint in Atlantic City called Chef Vola’s and their Chicken Milanese.
How To Make Chicken Cutlets
Making the sauce is easy, and honestly so it making breaded chicken cutlets. After you’ve done it once or twice you can make nearly any sauce or chutney to it, I even have a Mexican version.
- The trick here is having super thin pieces of chicken which can be achieved by slicing thin or tenderizing. Sometimes I buy them sliced at the store and other times I’m using a breast for the freezer for a crispy chicken hankering. To tenderize, place a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap over the chicken and beat it with a meat mallet or rolling pin. They will get pretty thin and big, so I highly recommend cutting them into two or even three pieces to keep it manageable.
- Prepare three shallow bowls or pie plates with the mixes you’ll need to dredge. The first is flour seasoned with nutmeg (my secret ingredient), salt and pepper. The second is just egg and the third is bread crumbs blended with parmesan cheese.
- Dredge chicken in the flour mixture, then the egg and finally the bread crumbs. Set aside to settle. This helps the breading stick and become more cohesive.
- Heat a neutral oil with a high smoke point to 325°F-350°F. Use a deep frying thermometer to monitor oil temp.
- Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep the oil temperature steady, which might mean adjusting the heat while cooking. Chicken will be golden brown.
- Remove to a wire rack to drain excess oil. Place in a warm oven and repeat with remaining chicken cutlets.
The Sauce
Sometimes dishes are best in their simplicity and this is one of them. I prepare the tomatoes and garlic in the oven with a slow roast. This brings out natural flavors and caramelizes the onion so you don’t get an overwhelming garlicky tastes when you eat a whole clove.
Pair this with a balsamic sauce and it is pure heaven. Making a balsamic reduction is quite easy, but if you aren’t in the mood just grab a bottle at the store.
Make Ahead & Reheating
Like any type of fried food, easy chicken cutlets are best enjoyed right after cooking or shortly after if kept warm in the oven.
If you do make them ahead and need to reheat, or just have leftovers, there are three optimal choices: oven, quick fry or Air Fryer.
Reheat cutlets in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes or heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium heat and just quickly heat on each side for 1-2 minutes.
I am 100% certain you can cook chicken cutlets in the Air Fryer from the start, but I haven’t experimented with this yet, so stay tuned. I do know you can easily reheat them and get a nice crunch with just 1-2 minutes on each side at 350°F.
While microwaving is sometimes a necessity, it will undoubtedly make the breading soggy and not be as good.
Godere! (Enjoy)
More easy chicken recipes:
- Chicken Fried Bacon
- Fireman Chicken
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Braised Chicken Thighs
Chicken Cutlets with Roast Tomato & Garlic
Ingredients
Roasted Tomatoes:
- 6 plum tomatoes
- 10 cloves garlic , peeled
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves , packed
Chicken Parmesan:
- 4 chicken cutlets* , thinly sliced
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs , beaten
- 1 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese , finely grated
- Vegetable or Canola Oil , for frying
Serving:
- 4 tablespoons balsamic reduction
- 4 cups arugula or baby spinach
Instructions
Make Roast Tomatoes & Garlic:
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Cut tomatoes in quarters, remove woody stem and using your fingers, push out pulp and seeds. If you don't want skins (they don't bother me) follow our instructions for how to peel a tomato.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss peeled garlic and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and white pepper. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet.
- Roast for 60 minutes, opening the door every 10 minutes to release built up steam.
- Dice tomatoes and transfer whole garlic cloves, basil and remaining liquid in the baking sheet to a bowl. Set aside. You can remove tomato skins during this step as well (optional).
Make Chicken Cutlets:
- Preheat oven to 200°F or use the "warm" setting.
- In 3 shallow dishes or pie plates. In bowl #1, mix flour, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. In bowl #2, beat two eggs. In bowl #3, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Dredge chicken in flour mixture, then egg mixture and finally bread crumb mixture. Pressing bread crumbs into the breast. Allowing breading to sit for 10-15 minutes before proceeding to frying.
- Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Place into hot frying pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until medium brown. Continue with remaining chicken breasts.
- Place on wire rack over paper towels on a baking sheet.
- Place completed cutlets into the oven while you continue to fry. When complete, remove from oven.
- Plate chicken on top of arugula or baby spinach and top with roasted tomatoes and garlic and balsamic reduction sauce.
- If you tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
I could eat chicken every night of the week and this easy tomato and garlic combo with the plum tomatoes sounds delicious! Simple and my kind of food! Thanks
Yum, adding roasted tomatoes makes this recipe so enticing and I love how you cooked the chicken. Making this.
A delicious chicken recipe, the roasted tomatoes and garlic with balsamic reduction, added an amazing punch of flavour, I served ours with some rice too!
I am always looking for new ways to use chicken and this looks delicious.
This is such a simple, easy, flavorful meal. My whole family loved it. Thanks for the inspiration!
I can clearly see basil in picture you added it on it. good recipe 🙂
I am going to use this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Great! How did it turn out?
I guess everything I ever knew about my mother’s chicken alle parmigiani is wrong. Thanks for the info!
This sounds delicious!
I would like to correct a common misconception, however: Chicken Parmigiani is not a Southern Italy dish – in fact, it isn’t an Italian dish at all. It is simply one of the many hybrids created in the US (possibly by Italian immigrants, but maybe not) mixing Pollo alla Milanese (breaded and fried chicken cutlets) and Melanzane alla Parmigiana.
If it had, indeed, been created in Southern Italy, it wouldn’t be called Parmigiani, which is the Americanized version of “alla Parmigiana” which means “in the manner of Parma”, an Italian city in Emilia Romagna, which is *not* in the south.
That said, this dish does sound lovely, and I wish you good luck in the contest!