Chicken Schnitzel

Golden and crispy Chicken Schnitzel in 30 minutes! This Chicken Schnitzel recipe is perfect for busy weeknights. Recipe with step-by-step photos.

Chicken Schnitzel

In Switzerland, Chicken Schnitzel is commonly found on the childrens’ menu in most restaurants. I mention this because I wish it was more commonly available on the menu for adults!

I suppose Chicken Schnitzel is essentially a more fancy and up-market version of chicken nuggets, which explains why Pouletschnitzel is a popular option for kids.

What is Chicken Schnitzel?

Chicken Schnitzel is also called crumbed chicken, which is chicken coated in breadcrumbs.

Chicken Schnitzel originates from Austria and is a distant cousin to the more popular (and original) Veal Schnitzel, or Wienerschnitzel, which is made with thin veal fillets.

In fact, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Veal Schnitzel is more commonly found on restaurant menus than Chicken Schnitzel.

Chicken Schnitzel Recipe

My Chicken Schnitzel recipe is one that I also use for crumbing pork, veal and fish. It’s a very versatile recipe!

To make Chicken Schnitzel, I often do the following steps:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Coat the chicken in plain flour (all-purpose flour).
3. Dip the chicken in egg whisked with Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I like to add mustard for an extra kick of flavour.
4. Cover the chicken in panko breadcrumbs, which are Japanese-style bread crumbs and which give a lot of crunch.

How to Make Chicken Schnitzel

Step 1

Prepare the chicken breast fillets by first removing the tenderloin, if it is still attached.

If the chicken breast fillets are large and thick, slice them in half horizontally to produce two thin fillets.

Place the chicken pieces between two sheets of baking paper and use a wooden rolling pin to flatten the chicken until it is an even thickness all over. I aim for a thickness of about 0.8 cm/0.3″.

Season both sides of the chicken fillets generously with salt and pepper.

Step 2

Set up your crumbing station. You will need 3 shallow bowls or soup plates.

In the first bowl, place the flour.

In the second bowl, whisk together the egg, mustard, salt and pepper.

In the third bowl, place the breadcrumbs. I like to use panko breadcrumbs, but any type of breadcrumbs will do.

If your breadcrumbs are very coarse, I recommend grinding them to a finer texture, either by using your hands, or by putting the breadcrumbs into a ziplock freezer bag and running a rolling pin over them several times.

Crumb the chicken pieces as follows:

1. Coat the chicken in the flour;
2. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture;
3. Cover the chicken with the breadcrumbs.

Step 3

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. To shallow fry the chicken pieces, you will need about 1 cm/0.4″ depth of oil.

I prefer to cook the chicken in batches, so I use a saucepan which will comfortably fit two pieces of chicken at a time.

The oil is hot enough when tiny bubbles appear when you dip a wooden chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. Alternatively, you can also drop a piece of breadcrumb into the oil to test if it is ready.

Gently slide the crumbed chicken into oil, and cook for a few minutes on each side until nicely golden. I like to turn the chicken frequently so that it can brown evenly on all sides.

What to Serve with Chicken Schnitzel

For a quick and easy weeknight dinner, I love to serve Chicken Schnitzel with a simple coleslaw. If time is really tight, I even buy the ready-shredded cabbage from the supermarket!

In Switzerland, restaurants will typically serve Chicken Schnitzel to children as fancy chicken nuggets, served alongside French fries (pommes frites), boiled potatoes or a cold potato salad. This is also the usual accompaniment to pork schnitzel or veal schnitzel (together with lingonberry jam or cranberry sauce).

One of my favourite ways of serving Chicken Schnitzel is with a Japanese curry sauce to make Chicken Katsu Curry.

And for an Italian-American twist, I make Chicken Parmigiana by spooning some homemade Marinara Sauce (or Tomato Pasta Sauce) on the Chicken Schnitzel, topped with some grated mozzarella cheese, and then placed under a hot grill until the cheese has melted. This is a family favourite!

Another favourite in our home is to serve Chicken Schnitzel in Steamed Bao Buns. Simply follow the instructions at this Bao Bun recipe, and serve the buns stuffed with Chicken Schnitzel (either cut them into thick slices or use chicken tenderloins for smaller chicken pieces), and serve them with pickled cucumbers and a spicy mayo made from mixing Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise with Sriracha.

From one recipe, so many options 🙂 Enjoy!

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