Baked Chicken Cutlets

Need a fast, healthy, and wholly delicious dinner idea? These baked chicken cutlets will be your answer! Perfectly seasoned and coated with a sparkling golden crispy crust that is juicy beyond belief, this recipe yields the crispiness of fried chicken without the calories.

Perfect for busy weeknights, meal prepping, or feeding a crowd, these cutlets are as versatile as they are delicious. They’re also kid-friendly, highly customisable, and easy to make. Whether you’re an experienced cook or a first-time chef, this simple recipe will become a staple in your household!

Depending on the country, you only need to travel back a few decades to find various breaded chicken dishes.

The History of Breaded Chicken Dishes

Dishes like these breaded and baked chicken cutlets have roots in many religious and culinary traditions:

• Italy: The traditional chicken parmesan is an Italian dish of chicken breast covered with tomato sauce and cheese, fried in breadcrumbs.
• Japan: In Japanese cuisine, “katsu” is the name for breaded and fried cutlets, usually served with a tangy sauce.
• Central Europe: Schnitzels, breaded and fried meat cutlets, are a mainstay of Austrian and German cuisine.
• The United States: In the U.S., breaded and fried chicken became a cosmic entity. Southern fried chicken was born of an amalgamation of Scottish fry canonical practices and West African seasoning traditions.

Now, baking provides a better way to enjoy all the delicious flavours in a much healthier form than those recipes.

Why Baked Chicken Cutlets Are Perfect for Meal Prep

1. Easy to Make in Large Batches

This is a great way to bake chicken cutlets simultaneously to prepare several meals beforehand.

2. Versatile for Multiple Meals

Baked chicken cutlets can be used in salads, sandwiches, wraps, or reheated. Their versatility is why they are a go-to for meal prep!

3. Freezer-Friendly

Make and freeze the cutlets in advance. This way, you’ll always have a speedy, nutritious protein on hand for busy days.

4. Customizable Flavors

For example, use different seasonings—Italian, Cajun, and Mediterranean—to keep it interesting and varied.

5. A Healthier Option to Fried Chicken

Baking rather than frying means less oil and fewer calories but the same crunch. These healthy baked chicken cutlets are high in protein, full of flavour, and reduced in fat, so they’re the meal prep option for people who want to eat healthily without compromising taste.

6. An excellent choice for families and picky eaters

If you are meal-prepping family dinners, baked chicken cutlets are a kid-friendly favourite! They have a mild flavour, an enjoyable crispy texture, and shine with a wide range of sides. They’re also helpful for quickly preparing healthier versions of fried chicken tenders that you can make at home instead of buying in stores.

Baked Chicken Cutlets Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (Panko for that extra crunch)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray or olive oil spray

Optional Garnish:

• Chopped parsley
• Lemon wedges

How to Prepare Baked Chicken Cutlets

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

1. Set the oven temperature to 400°F or 200°C.  Line a baking sheet with foil (sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking) and preheat the oven to 375°F.

Step 2: Prepare the Chicken

1. Cut the chicken breasts horizontally, then butter them into thinner pieces or pound them to an even thickness (about ¼ inch thick) with a meat mallet. This ensures even cooking.
2. Use paper towels to dry off the chicken to help adhere to the breading.

Step 3: Prepare a Breading Station

1. Place the flour on a plate.
2. In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs.
3. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a separate shallow bowl.

Step 4: Bread the Chicken

1. Shake off any extra flour after dredging the chicken in it.
2. Dip it into the beaten eggs, making sure it’s completely covered.
3. Press into the breadcrumb mix, thoroughly coating both sides.

Step 5: Arrange on the Baking Sheet

1. Place the breaded chicken cutlets in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly mist the tops with cooking spray for a golden finish.

Step 6: Bake the Chicken

1. Bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes, rotating halfway through.
2. Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). It should be golden brown and crispy, just the right amount.

Step 7: Garnish and Serve

1. Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley on top, and serve with lemon wedges.

Creative Ways to Serve Baked Chicken Cutlets

1. Chicken Parmesan Bake

Drape the baked chicken cutlets in a casserole dish with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling and golden for a cheesy Italian-inspired dinner. Pair with spaghetti or garlic bread on the side for the ultimate comfort food.

2. Chicken Cutlet Wraps

Add your baked chicken cutlets to a tortilla with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and your favourite dressing. It’s a satisfying, flavorful, portable lunch that can be assembled quickly.

3. Chicken Cutlet Bowls

Pair your chicken cutlets with a bowl of rice or quinoa to make them a more balanced meal. Top with roasted vegetables like broccoli, sweet potatoes, and zucchini, and drizzle with a creamy tahini or yoghurt sauce.

4. Mini Chicken Sliders

Sever the chicken cutlets into smaller pieces and serve them on slider buns with pickles, lettuce, and a smear of chipotle mayo. These are excellent for parties or if you’re looking for a fun dinner idea for kids.

5. Chicken Cutlet Salad

Slice the baked chicken cutlets into strips and top a bed of fresh greens with them, along with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and croutons. Drizzle with a balsamic vinaigrette or Caesar dressing for a refreshing, protein-packed salad.

6. Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Turn your baked chicken cutlets into the ultimate pizza topping. Stack your cutlets on a pizza crust, sprinkle on some marinara, cover it with mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake until bubbly cheese. It’s a combination of two classic dishes that everyone adores.

7. Chicken and Waffles

Serve your crispy baked chicken cutlets alongside fluffy waffles for a brunch-inspired indulgence. Top with a maple syrup or honey drizzle for an addictive, sweet-savoury combo.

8. Asian-Inspired Rice Bowls

Depending on how big a batch of chicken you cooked, slice your baked chicken cutlets and pile the pieces onto a bed of jasmine rice, next to steamed broccoli and shredded carrots, with a drizzle of teriyaki or sesame ginger sauce. Garnish with chopped onions and sesame seeds for that extra touch — this Asian-inspired meal is mouthwatering yet simple and quick!

9. Mediterranean Wraps

Wrap your baked chicken cutlets in a pita with hummus, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, and tzatziki sauce. This Mediterranean flavour twist is light and refreshing!

10. Chicken Tacos

Slice your chicken cutlets into strips to use as a taco filling. Add shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, and cheese. And push a lime wedge alongside to finish it off sweet and zesty.

How to Get the Perfect Crunch Without Frying

1. Use Panko Breadcrumbs

Panko breadcrumbs are lighter and crispier than standard breadcrumbs, resulting in a better texture. To add an extra crunch, toast the breadcrumbs lightly in a dry skillet before breading.

2. Add Cheese to the Breadcrumbs

The grated Parmesan cheese in the coating will season and help the coating of the bakes get golden and crispy.

3. Lightly Spray with Oil

A gentle mist of cooking spray on the breaded cutlets before they go in the oven helps replicate the golden crispness of frying. For extra flavour, you can also use an olive oil sprayer!

4. Bake on a Wire Rack

Set the breaded chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet. This helps circulate hot air around the chicken so all sides cook and crisp evenly.

5. High Heat Baking

Then, bake the cutlets at a higher temperature (about 400–425°F/200–220°C) to quickly crisp the coating without drying the chicken.

6. Don’t Overcrowd the Baking Sheet

If the cutlets are overcrowded, they steam rather than crisp.

7. Do not serve the chicken straight away

Cutting into the chicken immediately releases steam, which renders the coating soggy.

Health Benefits of Baking Instead of Frying

Making oven-baked chicken cutlets has some health benefits over frying them:

1. Lower in Calories

You can keep the oil to a minimum since you don’t need it when baking, drastically cutting the calories from this recipe.

2. Reduced Saturated Fats

Frying can add nasty fats, while baking keeps things lighter and low on heart offence.

3. Retains Nutrients

Baking also retains more nutrients in the chicken, so you get essential vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins and phosphorus.

4. Easy to Make Gluten-Free or Low-Carb

Baking helps by using different crust coatings, such as almond flour, crushed nuts, or gluten-free breadcrumbs, that meet various needs.

5. Less Grease = Digestion Made Easier.

Fried foods are challenging on the digestive system, often causing bloating, discomfort, and sluggishness due to excess oil and fat.

6. A More Sanitary Way to Cook

Frying is messy, leaving oil spattered all over, not to mention the risk of getting burned from hot oil. Also, when fried oil is reused, the heat creates harmful compounds.

How to Flavor Your Baked Chicken Cutlets

1. Italian Style

Sweat the settlers! Season your breadcrumbs with dried oregano, basil, and Parmesan cheese. Accompany with marinara sauce and spaghetti for an Italian-inspired plate.

2. Cajun Style

Add Cajun seasoning or blackened spice to the breadcrumb mixture for a bold and spicy spin. Serve it with a creamy ranch dip or coleslaw.

3. Lemon Herb

Add lemon zest and fresh parsley to the breadcrumbs. After the cutlets come out of the oven, balance them with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

4. Middle Eastern Flavor

In the breadcrumb mixture, use za’atar seasoning and serve the cutlets with tahini sauce and a cucumber-tomato salad.

5. Buffalo Style

Or, after baking, coat your baked chicken cutlets in buffalo sauce and serve with a crowd-pleasing appetiser of celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. 

6. Parmesan-Truffle Chicken Cutlets.

Parmesan-truffle chicken Cutlets have a crispy coating of Parmesan and a drizzle of fragrant truffle oil for an indulgent flavour. Great for a gourmet dinner or special occasion, they are enjoyed with garlic aioli or truffle mayo.

7. Honey Mustard Chicken Cutlets Nothing is boring about Honey Mustard Chicken Cutlets—they’re tangy-sweet compared to plain breaded chicken. The cutlets are dunked in a honey mustard egg wash and then breaded for a crispy coating. Serve with additional honey mustard marinade for dipping.

Kid-Friendly Baked Chicken Cutlets

Kids are really into chicken cutlets with a crisp layer and mild taste. But here’s how to make them a little more appealing to picky eaters:

1. Cut Into Fun Shapes

Use cookie cutters to cut the chicken into stars, hearts, or dinosaurs before breading and baking.

2. Serve with Dipping Sauces

Kids love dipping, so provide various sauces (e.g., ketchup, honey mustard, ranch, barbecue sauce).

3. Make Mini Sliders

It’s small-size chicken cutlets on mini buns with melted cheese and a dab of mayo. These sliders were made for little hands.

4. Sneak in Veggies

Add finely grated carrots to the breadcrumb mixture for extra nutrition that kids will not realise they’re consuming.

5. Build-Your-Own Wrap or Bowl

Allow the kids to customise their meal by providing whole wheat tortillas or a bowl of rice and toppings like:

• Cheese
• Avocado slices
• Shredded lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Yogurt-based dressing

The Most Common Mistakes When Making Baked Chicken Cutlets

1. Skipping the Drying Step

Be sure to pat the chicken dry before breading it. Too much moisture makes it impossible for the breading to adhere correctly and may result in soggy cutlets.

2. Overcrowding the Baking Sheet

Arrange the cutlets in a single layer with space between them. Crowding the pan will make them steam rather than bake, producing less crispy cutlets.

3. Using Unevenly Sized Pieces

If your chicken pieces are uneven in thickness, they will cook at different rates. Pound them  to even thicknesses to ensure more cooking and avoid dry spots.

4. Skipping the Flip

For maximum crispiness, flip the cutlets midway through the baking to make sure you brown both sides evenly.

5. Not Preheating the Oven

Preheat the oven to achieve the right crispiness. A poorly heated oven can result in unevenly cooked chicken.

How to Get Crispy Baked Chicken Cutlets in an Air Fryer

If you own an air fryer, even crisper chicken cutlets await in a fraction of the time. Here’s how:

Ingredients and Prep

That is bread, the chicken cutlets as you would if you made them in the oven.

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat air fryer to 375F (190C).
2. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
3. Arrange the breaded chicken cutlets in a single layer, ensuring they don’t touch.
4. Air fry for 8–10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until cutlets are golden brown and interior temperature registers 165°F (74°C).

Why Air Frying Works

• Requires less oil for equal crispiness.
• Cooking time is faster than that of the oven.
• Perfect for small batches.

How to Store and Reheat Baked Chicken Cutlets

1. To Store Leftovers: Let the chicken cutlets cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. They last in the fridge for about three days. Stack the cutlets between sheets of parchment paper to keep the breading from getting soggy.

2. Freezing the Cutlets: Once superb, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until firm (1-2 hours). Once frozen, place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. This technique prevents the cutlets from clumping together. They can be frozen for 3 months.

3. Reheating Tips:

• In the Oven:

Set the Oven to 350 degrees. Since you don’t want the cutlets to dry out, pop them in the oven on a baking sheet and cover them loosely with foil. Bake for 10–15 minutes, flipping halfway through to ensure they are evenly crispy. Remove the foil for the last few minutes to let the cutlets crisp up even more.

• In an Air Fryer:

Air fry the cutlets in a single layer at 375°F (190°C) for 5–7 minutes, flipping halfway for a uniformly crisped exterior.

• In the Microwave:

(While microwaving is the fastest method, it can soften the bread.) If you’re short on time, cook the cutlets in small increments (30-45 seconds) on a microwave-safe plate. Use a paper towel beneath the chicken to remove excess moisture and help the breading remain crisp.

• In a Skillet:

For a brief reprisal, heat the cutlets in a skillet over medium heat with a bit of oil to crisp them back up. Reheat for approximately 2–3 minutes per side or until the breading is crispy once again.

4. How to Keep Breaded Chicken Crispy:

If you are storing and reheating multiple cutlets, you might consider placing a wire rack over a baking sheet. This allows air to circulate the cutlets as they bake or reheat and helps keep them crispy.

Already, baked chicken cutlets like this one are a revelation in your kitchen, with infinite possibilities for meals, snacks, and appetisers. Whether serving them as a straightforward main dish, stacking them into a big sandwich, or topping a salad, these cutlets deliver on taste, texture, and nutrition.

This recipe is straightforward to customise and full of ideas for serving it in many versatile ways. It is perfect for busy weeknights, family gatherings, or meal prep! Get your ingredients, start stacking and baking, and feast on these crunchy, crispy baked chicken cutlets!