Who doesn’t love a great crispy breaded chicken cutlets recipe? Crunchy, golden brown breading on the outside and a juicy, succulent chicken on the inside.
What are Breaded Chicken Cutlets?
A pan-fried chicken cutlet is technically just a thinly sliced piece of chicken breast. These can be cut thin OR they can be tenderized manually using a mallet to give them a uniform thickness. You’ll sometimes see them called Italian chicken cutlets, Italian chicken, chicken parmigiana, or as a kid I called them pounded chicken breasts. LOL.
The term chicken cutlets usually refers to breaded chicken cutlets. They are thin-sliced chicken breasts coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and either lightly fried or even baked.
Either way, they are absolutely delicious! I like to serve mine with tomatoes and a balsamic reduction.
Gather This
The ingredient list for this breaded chicken cutlet recipe is short and everything on it is easy to find. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Chicken Cutlets – Buy whole chicken breasts and slice them thin or cut the breasts into two or three pieces before pounding them thinly with a mallet or a rolling pin. Whichever you choose, be sure the thickness is even so they cook evenly in the pan. Boneless chicken breast are great, but it you can find thin cut breasts, this will save you a step.
- All purpose flour
- Grated nutmeg
- Breadcrumbs
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Eggs
- Parmesan cheese
- Vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- Balsamic glaze
- Arugula
Make it A Meal
I usually pair it with a side salad, soup, or bread. Homemade tomato bisque and my cauliflower soup are favorites for this dish. Of course, it tastes grand over a plate of pasta. Since the chicken is the main focus, use any type of pasta you desire.
Crusty bread is also a great option. Make your own easy, no-yeast bread like my potato bread or roast garlic bread. Or opt for my award-winning garlic bread spread or 2-ingredient bread sticks.
Breaded Chicken Cutlets
Equipment
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 homemade balsamic glaze
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
You can store this leftover breaded chicken cutlets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
You can also freeze them. Just make sure to tightly wrap them in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container. It will last for up to three months.
Questions About Chicken Cutlets
Chicken Cutlets are made from boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are either sliced in half horizontally into thin pieces OR portioned out and pounded into thin even pieces.
A chicken breast is a whole breast of a chicken. A chicken cutlet is a thinner piece cut from a whole chicken breast.
Each cutlet is dipped in seasoned flour and the excess is shaken off. They are then dipped into beaten eggs allowing any extra egg to run off. Last but not least, each cutlet is dipped into seasoned breadcrumbs making sure each and every bit of them is covered in the mixture.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Chicken dinners don’t have to be boring! Here are some of our favorites.
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!