Pan Fried Chicken Cutlets must become a staple recipe in your kitchen. There are soooo many other recipes that stem from this single basic one. I'm thinking an easy chicken Parmesan, chicken Marsala, chicken Piccata. They all start with a fried chicken cutlet, and just have different sauces on them!
Don't be intimidated by the process! I will walk you through it!
Start by cutting some chicken in half length wise.
Then get some plastic wrap and a rolling pin/hand weight/whatever you can find to beat the crap out of each slice of chicken. (No. I am not kidding...)
Why do you need to pound the chicken breasts you ask?
- It makes for a faster cooking time.
- The meat will be even thickness which mean an even fry.
- Pounding actually tenderizes the meat.
So you better not skip this step! Next make a "dredge". Dredging is a cooking technique to coat wet or moist foods with a dry ingredient (Thanks Wikipedia!).
I use flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pretty simple flavors!
Take the chicken and cover it with the flour mixture, then fry it in about 1/4" of olive oil in a skillet.
Cook each side for around 4 minutes! Then dress these babies however you like!
Make a cutlet sandwich...
Top the cutlet with marinara and mozzarella and Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes...
Or make an Easier Chicken Cordon Bleu...
Place a slice of ham and swiss cheese on top of each cutlet and bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes...
Or make a Chicken Cordon Bleu Cutlet Sandwich! Just make everything a sandwich really...
Yummy! Serve these cutlets with some Roasted Vegetables or Zesty Oven Fries!
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Pan Fried Chicken Cutlets
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Chicken Cutlets are such a versatile recipe. Make them for a fast dinner recipe or for a sandwich. I love this quick and easy recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, cut lengthwise
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast lengthwise.
- Cover them with plastic wrap (or use a large plastic bag), and pound each of them down using a rolling pin until they are about 1/2" thick.
- On a dinner plat mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Heat up 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large skillet set to medium high.
- To make sure the oil is hot enough throw a pinch of the flour mixture into the hot oil. If it sizzles it is ready to go!
- Dredge two chicken cutlets into the flour mixture, and make sure the flour is covering the chicken on both sides.
- Place two chicken cutlets into the hot oil at a time (If you have room you can do 3, but do not crowd the pan).
- Cook for 4 minutes, then flip the cutlet and cook another 4 minutes.
- Continue this dredging and frying process for the remaining chicken cutlets.
Equipment
Buy Now →Notes
*This recipe makes 6 chicken cutlets, but if you are cooking for a group I would make enough for each person to have two cutlet because they are so thin.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Italian
Sunny Field says
Excellent, quick & easy. About as fool proof as you can get. Today with chicken cream gravy, next time marinara sauce & mozzarella. After that the sky is the limit. One breast for each of us was plenty. The pounding first really tops it off for tenderness. Thank you.
thehungrywaitress says
Thank you!