Chicken Cutlets

By Lidey Heuck

Published July 16, 2024

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(964)
Comments
Read comments

In this simple recipe for Italian-American style chicken cutlets, chicken breasts are sliced thinly, pounded even thinner, then breaded with a mixture of panko, Parmesan, garlic and Italian herbs. The breaded cutlets are wonderful served simply with a few lemon wedges, topped with a vinegary, green salad, or even used to make chicken Parm. The trick to ensuring your cutlets come out perfectly crunchy is to wait until the oil is very hot before adding them to the pan. Doing so will prevent the chicken from sticking and the bread crumbs from becoming soggy. Take your time cooking the cutlets, moving them around in the hot oil with tongs and pressing them gently for evenly browned, perfectly golden results. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each)

  • Salt and black pepper

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs

  • ⅓ cup grated Parmesan

  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • ⅓ cup neutral oil, such as canola or avocado oil

  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

29 grams carbs; 184 milligrams cholesterol; 680 calories; 29 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 46 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 530 milligrams sodium; 37 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then carefully slice each in half horizontally to form two thin cutlets. Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the cutlets until they are somewhere between ⅛- and ¼-inch thick. Season the chicken all over with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Place the flour in a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Crack the eggs into a second bowl and beat them with a fork. In a third bowl, combine the panko, Parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Working one at a time, dip the chicken breasts into the flour, shaking off any excess, then into the egg mixture, then the panko mixture. Place the chicken breasts on a plate until ready to cook.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the olive oil and canola oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high. When the oil is hot (it should sizzle immediately if you drop a bread crumb into the pan), carefully place two cutlets in the pan. Adjust the heat to medium and cook about 2 minutes on each side, until golden-brown and just cooked through.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining two cutlets, adjusting the heat as necessary.

  6. Step 6

    Serve the cutlets hot or warm, with lemon wedges on the side.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
964 user ratings
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Comments

MZ

I am Italian American from New Haven, CT, and my family made these with Progresso Italian breadcrumbs, not panko.

Squirrel Butler

I love eggs. I, too, once had a bowel full of eggs

works withought the flour step just as well

I made them for years using this exact technique of flour/ egg/ crumbs until I saw a 90 nonna on the gram just mix the chicken in a bowel of eggs then bread crumbs. I tried it and they were perfect! So now I skip the flour step always.

Lee

Mix the egg and flour into a paste and dip the raw chicken into that before the breadcrumbs. The paste binds the crumbs much better than the egg sticking to the flour and the flour sticking to the crumbs. Much better binding of the crust.

holly

This is the ultimate “don’t wanna go to the store” breaded chicken recipe. All the ingredients are staples but can easily be customized with whatever spices and herbs you have lying around. Yum.

Andrea

So amazing! I actually forgot to add the parm and it was still so good!

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