Anyone else go through phases where you can't get enough chicken cutlets? Yeah, I'm there right now. I absolutely love making chicken cutlets. It's chicken. They're crunchy. And there's cheese involved. For me, there's almost always cheese involved. Except when I make chicken cutlets just to cut them into thin strips and dip them in honey mustard sauce. But that's another recipe altogether. This recipe is all about cheddar chicken cutlets with salad. Cuz if you're going to fry something you have to at least pretend to eat something healthy with it.
The Alex Guarnaschelli Technique for Cooking Cutlets
Alex Guarnaschelli is an amazing chef. You may know her as one of the judges on Chopped or Beat Bobby Flay. I made her superb pork cutlets some time ago from her book Cook with Me. Outstanding. And it was in this recipe that I tried her technique of only egg yolks for the dredging station. And no flour. I've always been a fan of the double egg dip: egg, flour, egg, bread crumbs. Then fry it.
What Alex does is separate out the yolks first. Then it's egg yolk, bread crumbs, refrigerate for 30 minutes - THEN fry. I went with that technique for these cheddar chicken cutlets and they were so awesome. This is what I love about cooking. There are many ways you can go about it. I'm totally open to trying a new way to approach the dredging station. And I mix it up. Sometimes I use this method and other times I use my double dip method.
Delicious and Easy-to-Make Cheddar Chicken Cutlets
There are some recipes that come to mind for me as comfort foods. I definitely consider chicken cutlets in my comfort repertoire. And as mentioned above, I have been a little obsessed with chicken cutlets these days. They're so darn easy to make and you can use them in a lot of different ways. With this recipe, I like that we're combining chicken and salad. That's a classic combo. I have another chicken cutlet recipe which is Lemon Butter Basil Chicken Cutlets that is slightly more indulgent. I mean, I unabashedly pour melted butter on the chicken, along with lemon juice and fresh basil. It was a summer experiment and I LOVED it.
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Then we have the absolute classic of all classics - Crispy Chicken Parmesan. This I always make using my mom's Big Batch Spaghetti Sauce. And if you're still looking for something in the breaded cutlets arena, you can always try my Crunchy Coconut Chicken Fingers.
So if you're looking for some easy recipes using chicken cutlets - I think these options will cover all your cravings. 🙂
Easy Steps to Making Cheddar Chicken Cutlets
Cheddar Chicken Cutlets with Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
Description
Crunchy cheddar chicken cutlets with salad is an easy delicious meal to satisfy your healthy and indulgent cravings.
Ingredients
- 4 thin-cut chicken cutlets
- 1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese (½ sharp, ½ mild)
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 cup plain panko bread crumbs
- ¾ cup plain (fine) bread crumbs
- 1 package of salad greens (your choice)
- 1 large tomato cut in wedges
- ¼ of an onion, sliced in thin strips
- Salt and pepper to taste on chicken
- Canola oil for frying
Optional Toppings:
- Balsamic vinaigrette for salad or your favorite dressing
- Red pepper flakes for chicken
- Flaky salt for chicken
- Fresh grated parmesan cheese
- Parsley
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Instructions
- Lay plastic wrap over the thin chicken cutlets and pound down to even out the pieces. Should all be about ¼” in thickness. I used already thin-cut chicken breast. If you are using large chicken breast that you cut in half and pound down this will take a little longer. Season one side of the chicken with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. (about ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper)
- Shred the cheese and set aside. I used both a sharp and a mild cheddar for this.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Use two small bowls. Crack the egg and let the white part fall into one bowl. Move the yolk back and forth between the two shells until all the white is gone. Put the yolks in their own bowl. Do this for all five eggs. Whisk the egg yolks together until well combined. Add a pinch of salt here too.
- Refrigerate the whites and make an omelet another time. Transfer the egg yolks to a wider bowl for the dredging station.
- To a second wide bowl, add the panko bread crumbs and the regular (fine) bread crumbs. Then add the shredded cheese and toss to combine.
- Dip one thin chicken cutlet into the egg yolks and cover on both sides. Hold it up with a fork and let the excess yolk drip off. There isn’t a lot of yolk, but there is enough for four cutlets. Just make sure you let the excess drip off. Place chicken in bread crumb and cheese mixture and coat on both sides. Transfer breaded cutlet to a plate or sheet pan. Do this for all four cutlets.
- Refrigerate the cutlets for 30 minutes before frying.
- While the chicken is in fridge – if you are using the optional parsley garnish you can chop that now.
- Wash your salad greens and put in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the tomato into wedges for the salad.
- Slice a chunk of an onion into thin strips for the salad.
- Heat canola oil in large two pans on medium heat – about a ¼ inch of oil per pan. Let it get hot before adding the chicken. You can use one pan and cook in batches, but it’s quicker to use two.
- Once oil is heated, carefully place the chicken cutlets, one at a time into the oil. Let them cook about
- 3-4 minutes until you can see it getting gold brown around the edges. Turn chicken carefully. I used a fork and a small spatula to turn – need to be careful of oil splatter here. Then cook 3 minutes on other side or until golden brown.
- Remove chicken from oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and let cool a couple of minutes.
- Cut the chicken in half at a diagonal angle and transfer to a serving platter.
- Add my favorite balsamic vinaigrette (or your favorite dressing) to the salad greens and give them a toss. Transfer greens to the platter. Top with tomato wedges and onion.
- Sprinkle a little flaky salt on the chicken cutlets, and if you want a little red pepper flakes, fresh parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately.
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