These Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets are pounded thin, sauteed until super crispy, and drizzled with a savory lemon butter garlic sauce for a crowd-pleasing meal that kids and adults will scarf down.
It is both elevated and elegant but light and simple. It’s easy to throw together and great for leftovers.
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🍋 The Best Tips For Crispy Breaded Chicken
Super Thin Cutlets: Cut the chicken in half and pound them thin. The higher the panko-to-chicken ratio (i.e. thinner chicken cutlets), the crispier they’ll be.
Panko and Parmesan: Add lots of parmesan to the panko for breading the chicken.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Adds so much flavor to the breading when the chicken is pan-fried in extra virgin olive oil (I love Spanish olive oil).
Cookie Drying Rack: Rest the crispy chicken on a cookie drying rack to keep the bottoms crispy, not soggy.
🍯 Variations
I turn to crispy chicken cutlets over and over again in our house. It’s one of our most cooked dinners. We all love it, kids and adults. They’re also super versatile.
- Drizzle them with honey for Hot Honey Chicken.
- Top them with bruschetta and pesto in this Pesto Bruschetta Chicken
- Or layer on a simple marinara and mozzarella for the best chicken parm.
This lemon version is super savory, light, and refreshing, and the sauce is addictive.
Looking for other chicken dinner options? Try Street Cart Chicken, Oven Baked Cornflake Chicken, or Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make the Crispy Chicken Cutlets and the Lemon Garlic Sauce.
Chicken Cutlets
- Panko: For crispier chicken, use panko breadcrumbs rather than standard breadcrumbs.
- Parmesan Cheese: Grate it yourself for the best flavor (pre-grated often has added preservatives). I love the parmesan at Trader Joe’s, and it's not too expensive.
- Salt: Brings out flavor.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, pasture-raised if possible.
- Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Opt for the best quality chicken you can afford. Some supermarket chicken is pale, dry and just a totally different world than high-quality chicken. You can really see the difference when you look at high vs. low quality side by side.
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil. It makes such a big difference. I recommend Spanish olive oil from Trader Joe’s or Costco. I do not recommend using vegetable oil because it does not impart a good taste in the chicken.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley (choose Italian parsley) is just for garnish to add a bit of bright green. It is optional.
Lemon Sauce
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic: Keep the minced garlic quite small.
- White Wine: Choose a dry white wine that you would also enjoy drinking. If you have extra white wine, it's also great in this Gnocchi Stir Fry Dish.
- Butter: Use salted butter.
- Lemon Zest and Juice: Zest only the outermost bright yellow part of the lemon and add a little bit of lemon juice for acidity and flavor.
- Chicken Broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make the Crispy Chicken Cutlets and the Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce that gets spooned over the chicken.
Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce. Saute the Garlic: Bring a medium saucepan to medium-low heat (a setting of 3 out of 10). Add the olive oil and allow it to warm through for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and stir frequently for 1-3 minutes. Do not allow to brown.
Step 2. Add White Wine: Turn up the temperature slightly and add the white wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally until it no longer smells of wine, about 3-5 minutes.
Step 3. Lemon and Butter: Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter. Allow the butter to melt. Stir.
Step 4. Chicken Stock: Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally until reduced by half, about 5-10 minutes.
Step 5. Prep Breading: In a shallow dish, combine the panko, parmesan, and salt.
Step 6: Egg Mixture: In a second bowl or shallow dish, whisk the eggs.
Tip: If you have milk, you can add 1-2 tablespoons to the egg mixture, which thins it out and makes it slightly easier to dip the chicken.
Step 7. Prep the Chicken: Cut the chicken in half horizontally to create two thin cutlets. Cut the thin chicken cutlets in half again so that you have 4 thin, wide cutlets. Smaller pieces make it easier to tenderize and cook the chicken in the pan.
Layer the chicken on a cutting board and cover with parchment paper. Pound the chicken with a meat mallet or hammer until it is 1 ½ times the size and each piece is an even thickness.
Step 8. Bread the Chicken: Dip each chicken slice in the egg mixture, then in the panko breadcrumb mixture. Press the panko breading mixture firmly into the chicken with your fingers on both sides.
Tip: You do not need to coat the chicken in all purpose flour before the egg and bread crumb mixture. I've done it both ways, many times. It does not make it crispier, nor make it taste better, and it actually makes it a little more challenging to dip in the egg mixture.
Step 9. Sauté the Chicken: Bring a large skillet or sauté pan to medium heat (a setting of 4-5). Add olive oil so that the bottom of the pan is lightly coated in the hot oil. Add the chicken pieces, but do not overcrowd the pan.
Tip: Ensure that the bottom of the pan is always covered in a light coating of olive oil. Add more olive oil as needed.
Leave the chicken without touching it until the bottom edges start to turn a deep golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 1-3 minutes until the bottom is again golden brown.
Remove the chicken and place it in a single layer on a cookie drying rack with a paper towel under the rack to catch any drips of oil. Serve the Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets with the Lemon Butter Sauce spooned over the chicken.
Tip: Resting the chicken on a cookie drying rack allows for air circulation and prevents the bottom of the chicken from getting soggy.
🍴 To Serve, Store, Reheat
- To Serve: You can bring the chicken to the table on the cookie drying rack or transfer it to a serving dish (at the last minute) if you wish. Serve the chicken on plates and spoon the Lemon Butter Sauce over the chicken. It pairs well with a simple salad or Green Beans with Toasted Almonds.
- To Store: Store the crispy chicken cutlets in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- To Reheat: The best way to reheat the chicken is to get it crispy again in a sauté pan. Bring the sauté pan to medium heat, add olive oil, then the chicken, and cook on both sides until crispy again.
💖 If You're Interested in More Chicken Dinners, You May Love These
If you make these Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients
Lemon Sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 4 tablespoon salted butter
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
Chicken Cutlets
- 3 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3 chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more as needed
- parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
Lemon Sauce
- Bring a saucepan to medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and allow to warm through for 30 seconds. Add the minced garlic and stir for 1-3 minutes. Do not brown.
- Increase the temperature slightly and add the white wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes or until it no longer smells of wine.
- Add the salted butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir.
- Once the butter has melted, add the chicken broth. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until it has reduced by half. Set aside.
Crispy Chicken Cutlets
- In a shallow dish, add the panko, parmesan cheese, and salt and combine.
- In a separate shallow dish, whisk the eggs.
- Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally so that you have two thin wide cutlets. Cut these in half so that you have four smaller cutlets per chicken breast.
- Place each chicken cutlet on a cutting board (work in batches). Cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Use a meat hammer to tenderize the chicken and pound it super thin, about 1.5 times the original size.
- Bring a large sauté pan to medium heat - a setting of 4 out of 10 on an electric stove, or the equivalent on a gas stove. Any hotter and the olive oil will start to smoke and the breading on the chicken will burn easily.
- Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then the panko mixture. Use your fingers to firmly press the panko into each side of the chicken (really press it on).
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan or enough to lightly coat the bottom. Add the chicken. Let the chicken get crispy in the pan, about 2-4 minutes. Do not touch the chicken while you wait for it to get crispy. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 1-3 minutes until the bottom is crispy and golden brown. Add olive oil as needed to ensure that the bottom of the pan is always lightly covered in oil.
- Set the cooked crispy chicken on a cookie drying sheet (put paper towels under the wire rack). This allows air to circulate under the breaded chicken cutlet to keep the bottom crispy rather than cause it to soften if it were on a plate.
- Cook the chicken in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan. This is very important. If the pan is crowded, the chicken will not get crispy. If you want to speed up the process, get two different pans going at the same time.Spoon the lemon sauce over the chicken on individual plates. Do not spoon the sauce over the chicken earlier or it will cause it to get soggy.
Eva Skardal says
Delicious! The chicken turned out moist but still crispy.
Lauren says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! We love making this all the time!