A delicious and quick way to prepare the chicken schnitzels in the Air Fryer from 4 ingredients only. Use chicken breast or chicken tenders and you will get a crispy crust on the outside and tender, juicy meat on the inside. As a bonus, you will also get a rich golden color that will look beautiful on any occasion on any table.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Chicken breast. You could also use chicken legs, tenders, or turkey breast.
Panko breadcrumbs. You can replace it with breadcrumbs or with crushed puffed brown rice cereal or corn flakes.
Egg. I used the egg to make the crust stick better to the meat.
Cream. You could replace it with regular milk. This will give a note of creaminess.
Seasonings. I used a classic mix of salt and pepper, but if you want to add more flavor to the recipe and make it your own, you could also add other aromatic mixes that you prefer.
Oil. I also sprayed the chicken schnitzels with olive oil to get a nice crispy crumb. If you will skip the oil, the end result will not have such a nice golden color and the meat will not be so succulent inside.

Step-by-step Directions

How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast?

In the beginning, we need to cut the chicken breast into thin, similar-sized pieces to be sure that the chicken schnitzels will be cooked the same on the entire surface.

This action is called “to butterfly a chicken breast”. Take care of how you operate the knife to avoid cutting your fingers. If you have the occasion, you can ask the butcher to cut the chicken breast for you. This will make the process a lot easier. If you don’t have this option I will try to describe next how to do it properly.

Prepare a sharp knife, then put the chicken breast on a chopping board.
Put your hand flat on top of the chicken breast.
Start cutting parallel to the chopping board from the thicker part and end at the thinner point.

After that, put the meat in a large bowl and season it with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Now, massage the meat well, to be sure that it is covered with spices evenly on all sides. After that, let the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you have more time available, you can leave it for even a few hours. The results will be even better.

Meantime, take another bowl, and mix in it one egg and cream. We are doing that to help the panko breadcrumbs stick better to the meat and to receive a note of creaminess.

Take one more plate (the latest one) and pour into it the panko breadcrumbs.

Pass the meat through the mix of a beaten egg and cream, then roll over the meat slices on the plate with panko. Make sure that the meat is covered evenly on all sides with breadcrumbs.

For that, soak the meat one more time in the egg and cream mix.

And then one more time on the plate with panko breadcrumbs. That way, you will get a thick crust that will not allow the chicken breast to dry and as a bonus, it will be also very crunchy.

Air Fryer Chicken Schnitzel

Print Recipe

Quick and easy homemade 4 ingredient chicken schnitzels in an air fryer coated in panko. Find how to make fried chicken steaks that are crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Author: Julia
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2 1x
Category: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

12 oz Chicken Breasts
1 cup Panko
2 tablespoon Cream or milk
1 piece Egg
⅓ teaspoon Salt or to taste
⅓ teaspoon Black Pepper or to taste
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Instructions

Cut the meat into thin, even pieces.

12 oz Chicken Breasts
Season the meat with salt, pepper, olive oil and let it to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

⅓ teaspoon Salt, ⅓ teaspoon Black Pepper, 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Take a bowl and mix in it one egg with the cream.

2 tablespoon Cream, 1 piece Egg
In another bowl, pour the panko breadcrumbs.

1 cup Panko
Take the chicken schnitzels and soak them in the egg and cream mix then cover them evenly with panko.
Repeat the last two steps one more time.
Sprinkle the air fryer basket with Olive Oil and put the chicken schnitzels in it.
Cook the chicken schnitzels at 380°F (190°C) for about 12-15 minutes or until they will get a nice golden color.

Notes

The timing in this recipe are for Cosori Air Fryer 5.8QT. If you use a smaller or bigger air fryer model, it may be needed to adjust the timing.
Soak two times the chicken breast into the beaten egg and in the panko breadcrumbs if you want to get a crispier texture on the outside and juicy meat on the inside.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket because you need to let the hot air to circulate easily between the schnitzels. This will allow the meat to cook evenly on all sides.