This is a simple recipe that takes no time at all to make. Serve with a nice salad (try my cannellini bean salad if you want something different), and even a dish of pasta on the side to round it out and you are all set!
On the other hand, you can also use these cutlets with Italian bread to make a delicious sandwich. If frying isn’t your thing, you should also check out my breaded chicken breasts recipe where I show you how to bake the chicken and still have them come out crispy!
When I first made this recipe I didn’t follow any instructions. I got the gist of what to do from my mother-in-law over the phone when I called for help finding good Italian recipes.
And true to the stereotypical old Italian woman describing a recipe, I was told how to make them with… “a little bit of this… and a little pinch of that… and I don’t know… you’ll just know when it’s ready. Okay honey?”
Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went… literally. So I was soon on my way… very scary indeed.
But alas, it proved to be so simple my husband was totally surprised and raved about the meal. So what I’ve done is create a more detailed step by step version of the recipe, one with actual *gasp* measurements!
Enjoy, I know you’ll love them! It’s so easy to make you can’t go wrong!
Chicken Cutlets Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts partially thawed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 beaten egg
- pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
-
Slice the chicken breasts to fillet them very thin. No more than 1/4 thick!
-
Place a few at a time in a large plastic ziplock bag and use a meat mallet/tenderizer to flatten the breasts even more. You can skip this step if you're real low on time - I have done it both ways.
-
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat
-
Add the salt and pepper to the flour and mix so it's blended evenly.
-
Dip cutlets in the flour, egg, then breadcrumbs in that order. The flour allows the egg to adhere, hence it is first.
-
Place in frying pan and fry for about 2 - 3 minutes
-
Turn over and fry another 1 minute or until fully cooked. Length of time varies depending on the thickness of the breasts.
-
Remove from the pan and place directly on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Recipe Notes
A few tips to mention:
TIP #1: Fry your chicken in batches and add more oil if you need to during the process. You know when to add more oil when it starts to smoke or burn.
TIP #2: Serve with a nice salad, bread and some pasta.
TIP #3: You do not have to use extra virgin olive oil, regular olive oil is fine for frying.
TIP #4: Feel free to add in some herbs in the breadcrumb mixture such as dried parsley.
