Super easy breaded chicken cutlets that are not only crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside but also gluten free and egg free. The only chicken cutlets recipe you will ever need.
If you don't want coarse, crunchy panko crumbs to stick to your fried chicken, this breaded chicken cutlets recipe is definitely for you. I use a combination of heavy cream and tapioca starch and still accomplish that perfect, traditional crispy, golden brown outer skin.
Serving these breaded chicken cutlets with lemon or lime wedges, a fresh salad, and a creamy mashed potato accentuates its deliciousness. Are you looking for sauce on the side? This simple spicy mayo sauce will be an excellent pair with these cutlets.
These gluten free chicken wings are also another option for gluten free folks. Easy to make and only requires three ingredients.
Other crispy chicken options (not GF) are worthy of your time: parmesan crusted chicken, baked parmesan chicken wings recipe, and crispy Cajun fried chicken and waffle.
Essential ingredients and substitution
To make such successful gluten free, egg free super easy crispy breaded chicken cutlets, you'll need these ingredients:
- Chicken breasts - you need one boneless, skinless large or medium size chicken breast
- Heavy cream - if you don't have heavy cream, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream & milk can be substitution
- Tapioca starch - corn starch and potato starch can also be used in replacement. If so, you might need to switch cream to sour cream & milk for those starch to stick to the chicken breast more.
- Kosher salt - I always use Morton Kosher salt in my recipes. If you use table salt, you need to reduce the amount by half. Remember, the finer the salt is, the less amount it should be used.
- Italian seasoning - this is optional. You can use any seasoning you like.
- Unsalted cashew - this is also optional. Cashew helps bring out that crispy and golden crust for these breaded chicken cutlets. Unsalted peanuts can also be used as a substitution.
How to trim boneless, skinless chicken breasts
The perfect chicken breasts for this chicken cutlets recipe is nothing attached to it. Make sure your chicken breasts are smooth and free of any excess fat.
Here is how you should trim chicken breasts:
- Place the breast with the smooth, shiny side facing up.
- Use a clean, sharp knife to cut away any excess fat on the edge of the breast.
- Also, trim any connective tissue that still sticks around the breast.
How to cut chicken cutlets evenly
You can't just fry chicken breasts bought from the store and call them chicken cutlets.
Chicken breast has an uneven shape. Its thickness is also different thoroughly. So it must be cut into an even shape before proceeding with frying or any cooking method.
- Place a trimmed breast with a smooth, shiny side facing up.
- Put your left hand on top of the breast. Remember to spread your fingers so they will not be in the way of the knife.
- Hold a clean, sharp knife on the other hand, then carefully cut each breast in half lengthwise.
- Place the pieces between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap, then gently pound them to ¼ inch thickness.
Steps-by-steps instruction
Prepare chicken breast: Remember to line your cutting board with parchment paper for easier cleaning.
Cut chicken breast in half
Pound chicken breast into ¼ inch thickness
Season with salt and pepper
Coat chicken breast: work with one cutlet at a time.
Coat each piece with heavy cream, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl before moving to the next step.
Carefully dredge cream-coated chicken cutlets thoroughly in a dry mixture. Remember shaking off the excess.
Fry chicken cutlets: Add 2-3 cups of oil to a large cooking pan or Dutch oven, heat over medium high het to 325F.
Carefully put chicken cutlets in the oil. Do not overlap them.
Breaded chicken cutlets should be fried for 2 to 2.5 minutes for the first side and 1 to 1.5 minutes after you flip the pieces. Approximately it takes around 4 minutes to fry each cutlet.
FAQs
Lower the average fry oil temperature from 350F to 325F. The first piece of chicken cutlet you put into a frying pan is the most accessible piece to get burned.
Since I only fry a small number of cutlets in this recipe (2-3 pieces at a time), I keep the oil at 325F the entire time.
If you have a larger frying pot and fry a bigger batch of breaded chicken breast, you can turn up the heat to 350F after you flip all pieces of cutlets.
Yes, there is. You can substitute heavy cream for dairy-free cream. Such as coconut milk (due to its consistency) is the best substitution for the starch to stick to the chicken easily. Then come almond milk, cashew milk, and other dairy-free milk.
There are many ways to do this, such as using heavy cream as a liaison in this super easy breaded chicken cutlets recipe.
Or you can use sour cream diluted with a bit of milk (¼ cup of milk for 1 cup of sour cream) or plain yogurt.
If you only have milk, you can double coat the chicken breast to ensure flour/panko/starch sticks to the meat perfectly.
You can keep pre-coated chicken cutlets in the fridge for up to a day. Do not overlap the chicken and cover them with plastic wrap.
Then before frying time, take them out and leave them at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. This way, chicken cutlets won't reduce the oil temperature, which can cause the fried chicken to become soggy.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Super EASY breaded chicken cutlets (GF, egg free)
Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast trimmed
- ½ c heavy cream see notes for substitution
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning optional
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ c tapioca starch see notes for substitution
- ¼ c unsalted cashew coarse ground, optional
- 2 c vegetable oil
- 1 sprig parsley finely chopped
- ½ large lime or lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
- Line your cutting board with parchment paper for easier cleaning. Place trimmed chicken breasts with smooth, shining side facing up.1 large chicken breast
- Put your left hand on top of the breast. Hold a clean, sharp knife on the other hand, then carefully cut each breast in half lengthwise.
- Place another piece of parchment paper on top of two halves chicken breast. Use a meat mallet to gently pound them into ¼ inch of thickness.
- Season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper.¼ tsp Kosher salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
- Pour the heavy cream in a mixing bowl.½ c heavy cream
- Working with 1 chicken cutlet at a time. Coat each piece with heavy cream, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl before moving to the next step.
- In a shallow dish or another mixing bowl, combine tapioca starch, Italian seasoning, and ground coarse cashew.½ tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ c unsalted cashew, ½ c tapioca starch
- Carefully dredge cream coated chicken cutlets thoroughly in dry mixture. Remember shaking of the excess.
- Place cutlets on a rimmed baking pan or a large dish lined with parchment paper. Do not over lap cutlets. Let the coating rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of oil to a large cooking pan or Dutch oven, heat over medium high heat to 325F.2 c vegetable oil
- Carefully put chicken cutlets in the oil. Do not overlap them.
- Breaded chicken cutlets should be fried 2 to 2.5 minutes for the first side and 1 to 1.5 minutes after you flip the pieces. Approximately it takes around 4 minutes to fry each cutlet.
- The cutlets are done when the outer layer becomes wrinkled and has a golden brown color on both side.
- Garnish breaded chicken cutlets with chopped parsley. Then serve hot immediately with lime or lemon wedges on the side.1 sprig parsley, ½ large lime or lemon
Notes
Substitution
- Heavy cream - if you don't have heavy cream, plain Greek yogurt (equal amount) or a combination of sour cream (1 cup) & milk (¼ cup).
- Tapioca starch - corn starch and potato starch can also used in replacement. If you do so, you might need to switch heavy cream to sour cream & milk combination in order for those starch to stick to chicken breast more.
- Kosher salt - if you use different sale remember the finer the salt is, the less amount it should be used.
- Unsalted cashew - this is also optional. Cashew helps to bring out that crispy and golden crust for these breaded chicken cutlets. Unsalted peanut can also be used as substitution.
- Italian seasoning - this is optional. You can use any seasoning you like.
Food safety tips
- Line your cutting board with parchment paper before working with chicken breast. This will eliminate any crossed contamination as much as possible.
- If you still have chicken breasts left over, you should not freeze them in groceries packaging. The air gaps in the original package can cause freezer burn. You should individually wrap each piece of left over chicken breast then place them in a zipper freezer bad, and press out the air.
Side dish recipes
Nutrition
Leave a Reply