Chicken Schnitzel
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Golden and crispy outside, tender and juicy inside—chicken schnitzel is a weeknight favorite for kids and adults alike.
A few months back, my 20-year-old son, Zach, came home from his summer internship in Israel with a thoughtful gift: a collection of popular Israeli cookbooks. (He certainly knows his mama!) Each book had its own take on chicken schnitzel. While schnitzel originally hails from Austria, it’s popular in many parts of the world, especially Israel. This crispy, breaded chicken is a regular at family dinners and a fixture on restaurant menus. And thanks to its irresistible crunch, it’s a surefire hit with kids. Just as many American kids clamor for chicken fingers, Israeli children typically love schnitzel.
The secret to making the best schnitzel, in my opinion, is to quick-brine the chicken. By soaking the chicken fillets in a saltwater bath for just 30 minutes before breading, you ensure they come out flavorful and irresistibly juicy. Borrowing a page from my Israeli cookbooks, I include sesame seeds in the breading for a delightful nutty touch and boost the overall flavor with garlic powder and paprika. As for sides? Schnitzel pairs beautifully with a vibrant, crisp salad—think Israeli salad or Greek salad.
Table of Contents
“Delicious. Husband and kids loved it, even my picky toddler. I made it with the Greek salad on this site, which is also so good!”
What You’ll Need To Make Schnitzel
Before you delve into the recipe, a piece of advice: take the time to pound the chicken yourself. It’s tempting to opt for store-bought thin-cut breasts, but they are too thin and a poor choice for schnitzel; I explain this further in the FAQs below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to form flat fillets.
Place a fillet in a resealable freezer bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound to an even thickness between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick. Remove the pounded cutlet and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Make the brine: In a medium bowl, combine the water, kosher salt, and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Add the pounded chicken to the brine and let sit for 30 to 45 minutes (no longer or the chicken may be too salty).
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
In a large shallow bowl, mix the panko, pepper, fine sea or table salt, garlic powder, paprika, and sesame seeds.
Place the flour in another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a third bowl. Set up a breading station in this order: flour, eggs, panko.
Dredge the chicken in the flour, coating evenly on both sides.
Dip in the eggs, letting any excess drip off.
Dredge in the panko mixture, turning and patting to adhere. Place the breaded chicken on a plate.
Repeat until all the chicken is breaded.
Line a 13 x 18-inch (33 x 46cm) baking sheet with paper towels. In a large nonstick skillet, heat about ⅛ inch of oil over medium heat until hot and shimmering. (You can test if the oil is ready by dropping a small cube of bread into it. If it sizzles upon contact and starts turning golden within a few seconds, the oil is ready.) Place two pieces of chicken in the pan, and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Carefully flip the chicken and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and cooked through. (If the chicken is browning too slowly, increase the heat to medium high.)
Place the cooked chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Cook the remaining chicken in the same manner (you shouldn’t need more oil).
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or individual plates. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, I don’t recommend it. Due to their thinness, these chicken breasts cook incredibly quickly. When pan-frying, the breading won’t have enough time to achieve that desirable golden brown color before the chicken is fully cooked. This will result in undercooked breading or overcooked (tough) chicken. Additionally, thinner cuts often result in an excessive amount of breading, which can overshadow the chicken itself. Finally, pounding the chicken not only tenderizes the meat by breaking down its fibers but also ensures a consistent thickness for uniform cooking.
For that classic crispy, golden exterior, pan-frying is the way to go. However, if you’re aiming for a lighter option, you can bake it. Place the breaded chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet lightly greased with olive oil. Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, making sure to flip the chicken halfway through the baking process.
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Video Tutorial
Chicken Schnitzel
Golden and crispy outside, tender and juicy inside—chicken schnitzel is a weeknight favorite for kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1.25 lbs) (see note)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1⅓ cups panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (or table salt)
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- Vegetable oil, for cooking
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to form flat fillets. Place a fillet in a resealable freezer bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound to an even thickness between ⅛ and ¼-inch thick. Remove the pounded cutlet and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Make the brine: In a medium bowl, combine the water, kosher salt, and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the pounded chicken to the brine and let sit for 30 to 45 minutes (no longer or the chicken may be too salty). Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a large shallow bowl, mix the panko, pepper, fine sea or table salt, garlic powder, paprika, and sesame seeds. Place the flour in another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a third bowl. Set up a breading station in this order: flour, eggs, panko.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour, coating evenly on both sides; dip in the eggs, letting any excess drip off; then dredge in the panko mixture, turning and patting to adhere. Place the breaded chicken on a plate and repeat until all the chicken is breaded.
- Line a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet with paper towels. In a large nonstick skillet, heat about ⅛ inch of oil over medium heat until hot and shimmering. Place two pieces of chicken in the pan, and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and cooked through. (If the chicken is browning too slowly, increase the heat to medium high.) Place the cooked chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Cook the remaining chicken in the same manner (you shouldn’t need more oil). Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or individual plates. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
- Note: As tempting as it might be to use store-bought thin-cut chicken breasts for this recipe, pounding the chicken yourself offers numerous advantages. First, it both tenderizes the meat and ensures a consistent thickness for evenly cooked, juicy meat. Second, pounding achieves a more balanced breading-to-chicken ratio; with thin-cut breasts, you get the feeling of eating more breading than chicken. Finally, thin store-bought cuts cook too rapidly, risking undercooked breading or overcooked chicken.
- Pro Tip: When breading chicken, use one hand for the dry coatings and one hand for the wet. It’s much less messy this way.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately ¼ cup of the oil is absorbed into the chicken when frying.
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Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 494
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Sodium: 796 mg
- Cholesterol: 196 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn! I am excited to try this recipe! Can you confirm that it will freeze well? If so, any tips / recs for freezing? Thank you!
Hi Carley, I do think they’d freeze nicely. After they’re completely cooled, put them in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, put the frozen schnitzel on a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet and warm in a 350°F oven until heated through and crisp, about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
I’ve made a LOT of chicken in my life. Usually make chicken cutlets breaded with Italian bread crumbs but this chicken was the best, it surprised me how much it upped the game of fried cutlets.
The brining made for juicy, tender chicken and the sesame seeds with the panko was just mind blowing. From the first bite, the seasonings and texture of the breading was perfect for the pounded cutlets. Served with Jenn’s Israeli Salad that I added roasted chick peas to and the meal was complete.
This is definitely the only way I will make chicken cutlets from now on.
Just note that the chicken is best served fresh from the frying.
Made this tonight. Delicious and easy. Schnitzel was tender inside and crispy outside as you said. Had 4 times as many schnitzels as the recipe specified so I X4 everything which wasn’t necessary – have enough breading mixture for several more batches!
So good! The combo of brining, pounding, panko, and sesame seed in the crust (who knew that could be so good?!) make this chicken delicious. We garnished with the flaky salt and parsley as pictured and definitely recommend finishing the dish that way. Kids and adults both will love this – just make it!
We absolutely loved this chicken. I pounded, brined and breaded it and it was simply amazing. I love all your recipes, but this is the first time I’ve taken the time to review one.
Hi Jenn. I am a huge fan of your recipes. I have two of your cookbooks as well. I have a package of tenderloins I need to use. Do you think they will work well with this recipe? I am debating between the Schnitzel or the Marsala. I have made the Schnitzel before and loved it…never tried the Marsala though
Thanks again for sharing your recipes with us!
Hi Jill, thanks for your nice words about the recipes and support of the cookbooks! ❤️
Yes, it would be fine to use chicken tenders here – enjoy!
I’m never eating chicken any other way! This recipe is stellar. I didn’t have chicken breasts so I used thighs and treated them the same way (pound and bread, etc.) They turned out incredibly crunchy and flavorful! My kids liked eating the chicken with Banchan’s Japanese BBQ Sauce. You’ve hit it out of the park with this recipe, as you do all your recipes!
Hello, Jen!
Thank you for this recipe! Aldi ran out of chicken schnitzel, so I decided to try making it from scratch and now I don’t know if I could go back to store bought. Lol
We brined it for 40 minutes in Malcom Reed’s bird brine and it tuned out so moist in the inside and crunchy on the outside. The only other change I made was adding turmeric to the dry mix, and I would probably decrease the salt the next time around. And we will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
For those looking for more suggestions on what to pair it with, my husband made a simple white gravy to go with it, and we also had mashed potatoes, green beans, and Parmesan garlic carrots.
Well…another great one. I enjoyed it plain, however we used to have a local family restaurant that made a cajun schnitzel with shrimp cream sauce, and since I recently came across a crawfish cream sauce recipe, I thought I’d add that too. So, tonight I made the sauce, then the schnitzel and topped it, and WOW! Everyone loved it. My son ate the schnitzel plain and wanted more. We’ll definitely be making it again! Thanks Jenn!
I made this and it was delicious!! I am NOT a cook. Doing too many things in one go I messed it up! I added all the dry ingredients together including the flour! Mixed them up super good and it still turned out great! Thanks and I will be making it again! Oh I only had progresso garlic and herb bread crumbs and like I said it was really good!!