Name: Breaded Chicken Cutlets
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds chicken breast, thinly sliced; ½ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I use the 4C brand); 2 eggs; ¼ cup parmigiano reggiano, grated; ½ teaspoon onion powder; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; Black pepper; Light extra virgin olive oil, or neutral high smoke point oil of your choice (such as avocado); Maldon or kosher salt for topping; Fresh chopped parsley (optional)

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Perfect crispy, traditional chicken cutlets.

Breaded chicken cutlets dredged in egg and Italian breadcrumbs, fried to crispy perfection. A crowd pleaser and so versatile!

Four breaded and fried chicken cutlets resting on a cookie sheet with basil and cherry tomatoes surrounding them.

What are Breaded Chicken Cutlets?

The traditional chicken cutlet I have always made involves thinly slicing chicken breasts, dipping them in egg, dredging in fine Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, and frying in light extra virgin olive oil.

It is definitely a debate how thin a chicken cutlet should be, I do prefer them thinner, but you can butterfly a chicken breast for a heartier piece of chicken. They just need to be thin enough to evenly cook through when frying without burning – so try for the thinner side, as these aren’t finished in the oven. I haven’t mastered how I prefer to oven bake a chicken cutlet quite yet – but I think these are just so good, it can be hard to go the baked route!

You can often find thinly sliced chicken breasts or chicken cutlets sold at the grocery store so you don’t have to deal with it!

A side by side of the difference between a chicken breast and chicken cutlet.

What Breadcrumbs do you use for Chicken Cutlets?

I use and recommend traditional Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. My favorite is the 4C brand. They are different than panko breadcrumbs; I prefer panko for chicken tenders or oven baked chicken. The finer crumb of traditional breadcrumbs provides that traditional chicken cutlet feel if you were to order them from an Italian store or deli shop.

A container of 4C Italian seasoned breadcrumbs sitting on a marble counter.

I even tested with panko breadcrumbs and while of course they are delicious, they are not traditional in my home! The texture is completely different.

You can see the major texture difference after frying.

A side by side of a panko breadcrumb fried chicken cutlet and a traditional Italian breadcrumb fried chicken cutlet sitting on a blue wire rack.

Do you need to use Flour?

No! You can skip the flour. It doesn’t make them taste any better and is a step you can skip to make the process even faster.

I have even found it can make the breading not stick quite as well.

What Oil do you use for Frying?

I like using light extra virgin olive oil! You’ll often see it labeled for frying. But avocado oil works great and has a high smoke point.

A bowl of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, a bottle of light extra virgin olive oil, and a bowl of scrambled eggs sitting on a marble counter.

How to Bread Chicken Cutlets

Step 1: Crack two eggs in a shallow bowl and scramble
Step 2: In a separate shallow bowl or plate add your breadcrumbs and season them with additional cheese, onion and garlic powder, salt & pepper, and fresh chopped parsley (optional)
Step 3: One of the best tricks I’ve learned: throw your thin sliced chicken cutlets straight into the eggs and leave them in there as you dredge each cutlet into the breadcrumbs
Step 4: Take your egg covered cutlet and dredge in breadcrumbs to fully coat each side

A bowl of scrambled eggs with chicken cutlets in preparation for breading.

Chicken cutlets are great on their own, with a side of pasta (like this Creamy Lemon Pasta), or on a sandwich! They’re so versatile and everyone seems to love them.