Let's fry a crispy schnitzel from sliced chicken breasts. It's quick and straightforward to make, and I bet your family will love it!
What Is Chicken Schnitzel?
Chicken schnitzel is a thin, pounded slice of chicken breast dredged in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. The cutlets prepared in this way are fried in a pan in a higher layer of fat.
The recipe is very popular in central Europe, in Germany, Austria, also in the Czech Republic. Especially the children like chicken schnitzels, but adults enjoy them as well.
Czechs call chicken schnitzel „kureci rizek”.
MY TIP: Try also pork schnitzel, it tastes fantastic!
Ingredients
For chicken fried schnitzel, you need:
- Chicken breast; chilled, boneless, skinless
- All-purpose flour
- Breadcrumbs; ground dry white bread
- Eggs; whisked with a fork in a shallow dish
- Salt
- Oil for frying; use lard or vegetable oil (sunflower or rapeseed)
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
Instructions with Photos
STEP 1: Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry using paper towels. Cut off any gristle or bone remnants. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat lengthwise into slices about one-third inch thick.
STEP 2: Pound the slices with a mallet gently, because the chicken meat is tender. Salt both sides.
STEP 3: Prepare the plain flour. Crack the eggs into a shallow dish, and beat them with a fork. Next, pour some breadcrumbs onto the work surface.
STEP 4: In this order (flour-egg-breadcrumbs), coat the slices on both sides. Finally, shake the breadcrumbs off the cuts so that they don't burn in a frying pan later.
STEP 5: Pour about ⅔ inch (1.5 cm) of oil into the pan; the schnitzels should swim in the oil while frying. Heat the oil to medium heat. Place the fillets carefully in the hot oil and shallow fry them on both sides until golden brown.
STEP 6: Place the fried chicken schnitzels on paper napkins to drain off excess fat. Keep them warm before serving.
Serving
Chicken schnitzels are served warm as lunch or dinner with a suitable side dish. In the Czech Republic, they pair well with mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes.
For festive occasions, serve with potato salad.
Useful Tips
- The breadcrumbs for the coating should ideally be homemade, freshly ground from dried white bread (baguettes, rolls). Czechs dry the white bread leftovers and grind them themselves in a conventional hand grinder. In the Czech language, breadcrumbs are called "strouhanka".
- I don't put the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates, but I prepare pieces of baking paper or foil of size about 12x12 inches (30x30 cm). By lifting the edges of the paper, I coat the schnitzels well without getting my fingers too dirty.
FAQs
Cut the chicken breasts lengthwise into slices about ⅔ inch thick. Use a sharp chef's knife; proceed carefully.
Fry the coated chicken schnitzels from both sides in well-heated fat until golden brown. It takes about two minutes on each side.
The best frying pan for schnitzels is spacious enough; an 11-inches (28 cm) diameter is suitable for a family of four. The pan should have a thick flat bottom, and it doesn't need to be non-stick. Cast iron or stainless steel is ideal for ensuring that the pan heats up and fries the fillet evenly.
More tasty recipes:
Recipe card
Easy Chicken Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- frying oil (pork lard, sunflower oil or Canola)
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry using paper towels. Cut off any gristle or bone remnants. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat lengthwise into slices about one-third inch thick.
- Pound the slices with a mallet gently because the chicken meat is tender. Salt both sides.
- Prepare the plain flour. Crack the eggs into a shallow dish, and beat them with a fork. Next, pour some breadcrumbs onto the work surface.
- In this order (flour-egg-breadcrumbs), coat the slices on both sides. Finally, shake the breadcrumbs off the cuts so that they don't burn later in a frying pan.
- Pour about ⅔ inch (1.5 cm) of oil into the pan; the schnitzels should swim in the oil while frying. Heat the oil to medium heat. Place the fillets carefully in the hot oil and shallow fry them on both sides until golden brown.
- Place the fried chicken schnitzels on paper napkins to drain off excess fat. Keep them warm before serving.
Notes
- SERVING: Chicken schnitzels are served warm as lunch or dinner with a suitable side dish. In the Czech Republic, they pair well with mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes. For festive occasions, serve with potato salad.
- The breadcrumbs for the coating should ideally be homemade, freshly ground from dried white bread (baguettes, rolls). Czechs dry the remaining white bread and make them themselves in a conventional hand grinder. In the Czech language, breadcrumbs are called "strouhanka".
- I don't put the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates, but I prepare pieces of baking paper or foil of size about 12x12 inches (30x30 cm). By lifting the edges of the paper, I coat the schnitzels well without getting my fingers too dirty.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Sandy
My mom made these often, with pork, when I was growing up. I made them with pork and chicken for my family and now I make them with chicken for my grandkids. I make them just like you do. Very delicious. I didn’t realize that this is a Czech recipe. Love my Czech heritage.