This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Chicken cutlets from the air fryer: crispy outside, juicy inside, and none of the splattered oil situation you’d otherwise be dealing with. I know “air fryer chicken cutlets” sounds like a compromise, but it’s not. The crust is golden and real, and the whole thing comes together without much effort.
No skillet, no grease splatter, no smell that lingers in your kitchen for the rest of the evening. Just a proper golden crust—and I mean a real one, not the sad pale thing you get from the oven. A buttermilk soak and well-seasoned breading mean the chicken stays tender and actually tastes like something. These air fryer chicken cutlets are somewhere between Southern fried chicken and the cutlets your mom made, which is exactly where you want to be on a Wednesday night.
And if you’re in an air fryer moment right now, these air fryer Buffalo wings are worth your time. The same goes for these air fryer chicken nuggets and these awesome pickle-brined air fryer chicken tenders.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A crispy golden crust without the greasy mess
- Family-friendly
- Leftovers are versatile (think crispy chicken sandwiches or Buffalo chicken wrap)
Ingredient Overview
A quick look at the essentials before we dive into the recipe card:
- Chicken: You can buy ready-to-go cutlets, or you can butterfly boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then pound them down with a meat mallet. Check out my tutorial on how to make chicken cutlets from chicken breasts.
- Buttermilk & Franks RedHot®: Optional, but whisked together, they form a fantastic marinade. The acidity in the buttermilk breaks down the muscle fibers and collagen in the chicken, yielding tender, juicy meat.
- Spices: I use a variety of seasonings in my breadcrumbs for extra flavor. You can omit them, play around with them as you see fit, or even make it a bit spicy!
Cooking Tip
You can find buttermilk at the grocery store, but you can also easily make it at home by mixing 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar with enough full-fat milk to measure 1 cup over the vinegar. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Then gently stir the mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Step-by-Step: How to Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
Step 1: Marinate the Cutlets
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, Frank’s RedHot®, sea salt, and black pepper to make the marinade. Carefully place the cutlets into the bowl, submerging them completely. Pop them in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour, or up to 24 hours.
Step 2: Make the Honey Mustard Sauce
Mix the mayo, honey, mustard, apple cider vinegar, and paprika in a small bowl, and set it aside.
Step 3: Prep the Breading Station
Create somewhat of an assembly line (I like to use these breading trays). Have it set up so that one tray or shallow bowl contains flour, one contains the beaten eggs, and another, the breading mixture (paprika, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, cayenne).
marinade together in a large bowl and place the chicken cutlets into the bowl, submerging them completely. Refrigerate to marinate for at least an hour.
- Mix all of the panko, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl or pie plate.
- If you’re making the honey mustard sauce, simply mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover it and pop it in the fridge until dinner time.
- When it’s go time, preheat the air fryer to 390º F. Give the bottom of the basket a quick misting of cooking spray or olive oil.
- Create an assembly line with a shallow bowl of flour, egg wash, and the breading mixture.
- Remove the cutlets from the buttermilk mixture and shake off any excess buttermilk. Set the cutlets onto a covered baking sheet, plate, or cutting board. Gently pat the cutlets dry with paper towels (wet cutlets will give you soggy breading).
- One by one, evenly dredge the chicken cutlets into the three in that order (flour, eggs, crumbs), then place it into the air fryer basket once done preheating.
- Cook the cutlets for 5 minutes, then flip them over, give the basket and cutlets a mist with the cooking spray, and cook for another 5 or until the meat registers at 160º F with a meat thermometer. You’ll likely have to do this in two batches.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve them with the honey mustard sauce to dip or drizzle (instructions for the sauce in the recipe card below).
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Chicken—I’ve only made this recipe with skinless boneless chicken breasts. If you want to try this with thighs, let me know how it goes! Though timing will vary and results aren’t guaranteed.
- Marinade—You could use a regular brine in place of the buttermilk and hot sauce suggested about. Check out my post on how to brine chicken breasts.
- Sauce—I’ve included my yummy honey mustard sauce in the recipe card below, which I highly recommend! But you can use any sauce for dipping or drizzling.
- Parmesan Cheese—Two tablespoons of Parmesan adds a nice cheesiness to the golden brown crust.
- Whisk the ingredients for the buttermilk marinade together in a large bowl and place the chicken cutlets into the bowl, submerging them completely. Refrigerate to marinate for at least an hour.
- Mix all of the panko, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl or pie plate.
- If you’re making the honey mustard sauce, simply mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover it and pop it in the fridge until dinner time.
- When it’s go time, preheat the air fryer to 390º F. Give the bottom of the basket a quick misting of cooking spray or olive oil.
- Create an assembly line with a shallow bowl of flour, egg wash, and the breading mixture.
- Remove the cutlets from the buttermilk mixture and shake off any excess buttermilk. Set the cutlets onto a covered baking sheet, plate, or cutting board. Gently pat the cutlets dry with paper towels (wet cutlets will give you soggy breading).
- One by one, evenly dredge the chicken cutlets into the three in that order (flour, eggs, crumbs), then place it into the air fryer basket once done preheating.
- Cook the cutlets for 5 minutes, then flip them over, give the basket and cutlets a mist with the cooking spray, and cook for another 5 or until the meat registers at 160º F with a meat thermometer. You’ll likely have to do this in two batches.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve them with the honey mustard sauce to dip or drizzle (instructions for the sauce in the recipe card below).
How to Serve Them
These crusted chicken cutlets are fantastic with a side of oven roasted mini potatoes or Instant Pot mashed potatoes. You could also serve them over my Instant Pot rice pilaf. For veggies, grilled asparagus, oven-roasted broccoli, or hot honey roasted carrots. Another great idea is to slather them with homemade marinara sauce, top with grated mozzarella, and call it chicken parmesan!
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
- Leftovers can be store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- You can freeze these cutlets once they are cooked. Let the cutlets cool, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and pop them into a freezer-friendly bag.
- To reheat from the fridge, preheat the air fryer to 375º F. Pop a cutlet or two into the air fryer basket and heat for about 5 minutes or until heated through. From the freezer, preheat the air fryer the same way, but reheat the cutlets 4-5 minute per side or until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, chicken cutlets cook for about 5 minutes per side in the air fryer. But time will vary based on the thickness of your cutlets and the model of your fryer.
For this recipe, because we want the breading to get nice and crispy, we’re going for 390º F. You can take it up to 400º F is you wish. High heat is key.
If your cutlets don’t come out with a crisp golden crust, a few things could have happened: the air fryer wasn’t preheated; the air fryer basket was overcrowded, which effects proper airflow; cutlets weren’t marinated prior to cooking (buttermilk = crispy chicken!)
More Air Fryer Recipes You’ll Want to Make…
If you try these crispy air fryer chicken cutlets, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Best Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Breading
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp White pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp if you'd like more of a kick
Honey Mustard Sauce (Optional)
- 2 TBSP mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup raw liquid honey
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the ingredients for the buttermilk marinade together and place the chicken cutlets into the bowl, submerging them completely. Put them in the fridge for at least an hour, up to overnight.
- In a shallow bowl or pie plate, mix together the panko breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, white pepper, and cayenne pepper; set aside.
- Make the honey mustard sauce! Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover, and place it in the fridge until dinner time.
- When you're ready to cook the chicken, preheat the air fryer to 390º F. Spray the bottom of the air fryer basket with some cooking spray.
- Create an assembly line with a shallow bowl of flour, egg wash, and breading mixture.
- Remove the cutlets from the buttermilk mixture and shake off any excess buttermilk. Gently pat the cutlets dry with paper towels (wet cutlets will give you soggy breading).
- One at a time, take a chicken cutlet from the buttermilk bath and gently shake off any excess buttermilk. Dredge the chicken cutlets into the flour, then the eggs, and finally the crumbs. Place the breaded cutlets into the air fryer basket once it's done preheating. You will probably have to do this in two batches, depending on how many cutlets you can fit into the air fryer.
- Cook the cutlets for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes is up, carefully flip them over and give the basket and the cutlets a mist with the cooking spray. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- When done, serve with honey mustard sauce or your choice of sauce.
Love the flavours in the breading and the sauce is perfect. Such a great family dinner that’s so easy to do too.
So glad!
Love this recipe, easy delicious!!! Thanks for sharing :)
You’re welcome!
Another delicious chicken recipe for the air fryer. Love how crispy they are.
Me too :)
I love the addition of the hot sauce in the buttermilk, it gives the chicken the perfect kick of heat! I was able to find chicken cutlets at the store, which made this recipe so easy to make. I’ll definitely be keeping this one around for quick dinners!
Awesome to hear!
Another great way to use my air fryer! These crisp chicken cutlets turned out perfectly and they were a hit with my family. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
You’re welcome!
These turned out perfectly in my air fryer!! They really were super crispy on the outside – and I loved that I could get that texture without deep frying!
It’s incredible how crispy they turn out!
Enjoyed these for dinner tonight and they did not disappoint! Turned out perfectly crisp yet juicy and packed with flavor! Easily, a new favorite recipe!
Awesome, Sara!
These were amazing – so flavorful. I think adding Franks hot sauce really made them taste terrific.
That’s a technique taken from fried chicken in the south—they sure know what they’re doing!
So easy and so delicious! I appreciate your extra helpful tips to make this recipe a success. It disappears so quickly lol. Thanks for sharing!
Haha, here too. I always plan for fun things with leftovers but we never have any!
Easy and delicious, this one is a keeper. I know I’m going to make it over and over again!
I’m so glad, Shadi!