Name: Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fryer or Pan Fried)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 3 cups Italian bread crumbs; ¼ cup parsley; ¼ cup parmesan; 1 ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed by hand; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; Salt and Pepper to taste; 3 eggs

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This Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fryer or Pan Fried) is made with thin chicken cutlets, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan, fennel seeds, and garlic powder.

This is Nan's Sicilian father's special recipe. In Sicily, fennel seeds are widely used in their recipes. This breaded chicken contains fennel seeds and of course, parsley. These cutlets will always be a crowd pleaser and your kids will love them. It is extremely family friendly and easy to make. If you want to make your life easier, you could always buy thin cut chicken.

Feel free to try my Air Fried Coconut Chicken or my Chicken Fries.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fryer or Pan Fried)
Food safety

Ingredients

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:

Chicken breast
Italian bread crumbs
Parsley
Parmesan
Fennel seeds
Garlic powder
Eggs

See recipe card for Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fryer or Pan Fried) quantities.

Instructions

Cut the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise, making roughly 8 equal pieces. Place a piece of chicken on parchment paper and wrap the paper around the chicken. With a meat mallet or a heavy spatula, smack the chicken down in the middle, working your way toward the edges, until you get a very thin piece of chicken. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk. In another bowl, add the bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan, fennel seeds, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Dip a piece of chicken into the eggs and then the bread crumbs on both sides. Place in a clean plate. Repeat with the rest.

Air Fryer: Air fry at 400°F for 15 minutes, flipping once halfway. You may need to do this in batches.

Stovetop: In a deep large pan, place olive oil and heat up to medium-low heat. Wait until the oil is hot and place the chicken into the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes on both sides, until brown. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the rest.

Garnish with extra parsley.

Substitutions

Chicken: For this recipe, you buy thick chicken and tenderize them yourself. If you want to make your life easier, buy thin-cut chicken to skip this step.

Parsley: I love using fresh parsley for this recipe. It gives it a nice kick.

Breadcrumbs: I used Italian bread crumbs although panko bread crumbs works as well.

Fennel Seeds: This is the key ingredient to making a Sicilian-like chicken cutlet. It is absolutely phenomenal!

Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.

Spicy - add chili pepper flakes in the bread crumb mixture, or top with hot sauce at the end.
Deluxe - serve with tzatziki for dipping.
Kid friendly - add crushed potato chips into the bread crumb mixture.

Check out this Dona Maria Chicken Mole for more chicken recipes.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.

I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality. Get yourself a discount by clicking here!

Storage

This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

These Italian Chicken Cutlets (Air Fryer or Pan Fried) can be frozen for up to three months.

Top tip

Since the chicken cutlets are super thin, it is very easy to overcook them. Use a meat thermometer to get to 165°F.