Every Monday night chicken cutlets are on the menu at our house. Well, maybe not every Monday night but you can catch me chomping on some crispy Italian chicken cutlets at least once a week. Chicken cutlets are one of the most versatile foods that we make.
We eat them hot or cold, on sandwiches or in salads, for dinner or lunch, whatever the occasional calls for. We make impromptu chicken cutlet parmigiana or feed our son with one. One of the things it makes me wonder is what other people's staples are. Do other families have a food they eat weekly?
Want some other chicken recipes! Try our PERFECT Cast Iron Chicken Breast or Pistachio Pea Pesto Stuffed Chicken!
Monday Night Cutlets
Something Marisa and I do is reminisce about the meals we enjoyed most as children growing up. Both of us love our parents cooking and if it wasn't for their choice of how to feed us, I'm not sure we would've started a food blog.
Growing up we both recall that our parents never really took us out to eat. Dinner was something out mom's made 90% of the time. If it wasn't our mom's cooking then it was pizza or Chinese. I remember chicken cutlet salads and chicken cutlets with my dad's famous rice. Marisa recalls chicken parm tuesdays each week with leftover crispy cutlets.
Cooking from scratch is something that we've always appreciated from our parents and want to raise our children to appreciate. It's not for everyone to spend time in the kitchen that could be spent with their family. Luckily it works for us and we want to make it easy enough to work for you. The kitchen was where our families spent the most time for better or for worse, and it's probably already where my son has spent a great percentage of his life.
The Versatile Instructions
Chicken cutlets can be cooked two different ways. If you want a real crispy Italian chicken cutlet then there really is no alternative to frying. But if you'd prefer to stay a little on the healthier side, then chicken cutlets can also be baked in the oven at 375° for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the cutlet. I try to take temps instead of counting time though, because if they aren't all sliced exactly the same, you'll over come some and under cook others.
Breadcrumb mixture
I've never actually sat down and measured the ingredients for the breadcrumbs. No Italian is going to sit there and pretend to measure out the breadcrumbs by cup. Honestly, I make them so often, and it's not like you can really screw this part up. But I sat down and measured the ingredients today for you, so that you'd have a good idea of where to start.
You'll need the following ingredients:
- Breadcrumbs: check your ingredients on the bag. Breadcrumbs should be made with bread. Not corn starch. Look at the back of Progresso Breadcrumbs, there is high fructose corn syrup. What is that additive even for? If you have a bakery near your house, they probably sell breadcrumbs. This is bar none the best option, but, not the realistic one. Trader Joe's has a very good breadcrumb with decent ingredients it and that is the brand I've chosen to use over the past few years.
- Fresh Chopped Parsley: I don't understand chicken cutlets without parsley. Not for me. Not one bit. If it doesn't have a little green in it, it just doesn't seem right.
- Kosher Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
Below in the ingredients, you can see the exact measurements. Combine these ingredients on a large plate and set aside.
Chicken Breast
Slice your chicken breast thin or cut them in half and pound them out. I like to get 3-4 slices with each breast to have a really thin cutlet. Slicing them too thick will result in a chewy piece of chicken that doesn't reheat well.
Egg wash and coat
Scramble an egg or two in a bowl. Dip each cutlet into the egg mixture and then place them on the breadcrumb. Cover with thread crumbs, flip them and then do the same again. pat the breadcrumbs onto the cutlet so that it sticks. This will help create the crispiest cutlet.
Once all of the cutlets are coated we will fry them in avocado oil or canola oil. Canola oil is the traditional way for us to do it, but as we've become a bit more basic we occasionally switch to avocado oil. I don't recommend olive oil unless you're willing to switch the oil out after every batch. There is just no way to get it hot enough without burning the cutlets.
Heat the oil in large frying pan over medium high heat. Be patient to get the oil hot. Patience is something I literally never have for this, so wait as long as possible, like 7 minutes or so. Carefully lay the cutlets in the oil in batches as to not crowd the pan.
Fry them on each side for approximately 3 minutes or until golden brown. Give them an extra minute if you like them really crispy. Allow them to rest on a papertowel lined plate or a wire rack. For best results, don't place on top of one another until completely cooled.
Please let us know how your first attempt at crispy Italian chicken cutlets goes. We want to hear how this weekly tradition treated your family! This recipe is an important part of our lives because it's our go-to easy answer for the age-old, "what should we have for dinner" question.
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast, sliced thin
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Slice chicken breast thin. Two chicken breast should be big enough to make 6-8 cutlets.
- Mix the breadcrumbs, salt, garlic powder, parsley, and parmesan together on a large plate. Then beat your egg in a bowl.
- Dip your cutlets into the egg and let the excess egg drip off. Then place flat on your bread crumbs and use your hand to coat the cutlets, pat it in, then flip over and repeat.
- Once all of your cutlets are breaded, heat canola oil in a large frying pan to medium-high heat. Carefully lay your cutlets flat. Do this in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Heat each side for 3 minutes and then flip. They should be golden brown before flipping. Place on a paper towel lined plate or cooling rack to cool
Gloria LaRoche
Thank you for teaching me to make these. I’m getting pretty good at it!