I love meals that I can have on the table in under 30 minutes, and Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets are my ultimate quick dinner! It is crispy, moist, and so satisfying. This is an easy weeknight meal that will keep you coming back for more. You can make this in a traditional air fryer or in your Ninja Foodi Grill with the air crisp function!
Raise your hand if you like crispy chicken?
If you stand with me in the crispy chicken-loving camp, you are going to love this easy-to-make chicken recipe.
It is kid-friendly and has just six ingredients (plus oil, salt, and pepper), making it perfect for those times when time is tight.
Ingredients for Making Chicken Cutlets in the Air Fryer
- Flour: Use whatever flour you have on hand - gluten-free or all-purpose flour will work just fine.
- Baking Powder: This isn’t necessary, but it helps to make the chicken a bit crispier.
- Salt: Adjust the amount to your liking.
- Smoked Paprika: I love the smoky flavor this gives, but you can use sweet paprika if you don’t have it. Note that smoked paprika comes in hot or mild, so be conscious of this if you are serving children. If it doesn’t say hot on the bottle it is typically safe to assume it is mild.
- Pepper: Fresh ground is best.
- Eggs: I used large eggs. Whatever you have on hand will work.
- Breadcrumbs: I like panko here, but any breadcrumbs will work.
- Chicken: If you don’t have chicken cutlets, pound boneless skinless chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap until it is approximately ½” thick.
- Cooking Spray: I used avocado oil.
Tips & Tricks
- Keep in mind that every air fryer is different! For this reason, I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to determine doneness.
- The cooking time can also be altered depending on the size and thickness of your pieces of chicken.
- To avoid overcooking, cook the chicken until 160° F, and then let it rest for five to ten minutes. The temperature will continue to rise, and it will reach the recommended 165° F.
- To ensure maximum crispness, don’t overcrowd the chicken. Most likely, you will need to cook in batches.
- For the crispiest chicken, make sure you don’t skip spraying it with oil.
- If you have time, try brining your chicken. To do this, heat a cup of water over medium heat. Add the salt and stir until it dissolves. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fill the bowl with cold water. Add the chicken cutlets, and brine in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
This Air Fryer Chicken Cutlet Recipe is versatile and can be enjoyed with a wide variety of side dishes. Try it with Pressure Cooker Potato Salad, Citrus Slaw, Coconut Cauliflower Rice, or Broccoli Slaw Salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken Cutlets are thin chicken breasts. You can buy them this way from the grocery store. If you do not have them or can’t find them, simply pound your chicken breasts to a uniform thickness.
An air fryer is basically a countertop convection oven.
Most models are compact cylinders with perforated baskets that suspend the food in the chamber. There is a heating coil above the basket, and hot air is circulated the food by a fan.
Toaster oven-style air fryers, like the Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Oven, use a tray rather than a basket but cook the food similarly with hot air being circulated by a fan. They can be handy when you are cooking for a large family since you can fit in more food at one time without overcrowding.
Yes, cooking in the air fryer is a fabulous way to reduce overall calories and oil consumption. It also allows you to easily control the temperature that the oil used gets to so that it doesn't reach the smoke point.
I don’t recommend it. All though you don’t need much oil, Chicken Cutlets in the Air Fryer will be better with just a little bit of oil.
I recommend using avocado oil for air frying because it is safe at high temperatures and better for you than many other high-temperature oils.
Tools Needed to Make This Air Fryer Chicken Cutlet Recipe
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- Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Oven, Ninja Foodi Grill, or Air Fryer
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Shallow bowls for breading
Storage
You can store the uncooked chicken in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Once you have cooked your chicken, keep it in the refrigerator for two to three days or freeze it for up to three months.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
First, start by combining your flour, baking powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
Beat the eggs in a second shallow dish.
Finally, place the breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish.
Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, and then dip into the egg mixture.
Next, dip the chicken into the breadcrumbs and toss it to coat.
Spray both sides of the chicken with oil.
Air Fryer or Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Oven
Preheat your air fryer and spray the chicken with cooking spray.
Cook in a single layer for 5 minutes and then flip the chicken.
Cook for another 4 to 6 minutes, until both sides are golden brown.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes, and then serve. I like to finish with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt.
How to Make Ninja Foodi Grill Chicken Cutlets
Set the grill to air crisp and then preheat.
Add the food in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd.
Cook for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
More Air Fryer Recipes to Try
- Side dishes don’t get much easier than this Air Fried Asparagus. This weeknight staple comes together in just 10 minutes.
- Looking to elevate a steak or chicken breast? Air Fryer Mushrooms are the perfect compliment.
- Crispy chicken wings without needing to fry? Yes, please! You are going to love these Air Fryer Chicken Wings.
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs are crispy, crunchy, and juicy all at once.
Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup flour gluten free if necessary
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs gluten-free if necessary
- 24 ounces chicken breast cutlets see note
- Oil for spraying
Instructions
- In another shallow dish, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper.
- Beat the eggs in a shallow dish.
- Place the breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and then dip into the egg mixture.
- Finally, coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs.
Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 375° F.
- Spray the chicken with oil and arrange in a single layer. (Unless you have a toaster oven-style air fryer, you will need to cook in batches.)
- Cook for 5 minutes and then flip. Cook for another 4 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 160° F.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.
Ninja Foodi Grill
- Set your Foodi Grill to Air Crisp, set the temperature to 375° F, and the time to 10 minutes.
- Close the lid and allow to preheat.
- When the grill beeps and the display says add food, add the chicken in a single layer.
- Cook for 5 minutes and then flip. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the internal temperature has reached at least 160° F
- Allow to rest and then serve.
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