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Cooking With Anadi
12K subscribers · minced chicken with bread, spices and a satisfying crunch
Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets Recipe
Who doesn’t love a crunchy and crispy snack? I sure do, anything crispy is just my favorite! From samosas to French fries to buttermilk fried chicken, I just love fried food! Seriously, it’s really my favorite!
However, let’s be honest and admit that frying food isn’t always the best for our health. Not only that but frying food is pretty messy and time consuming! If you’ve been around the blog for awhile, then you know my motto toward good food is there’s no good time for good food! If you have a craving, then you should really go for it, or else the craving will just get worse and worse. Plus, when you want to eat something and you make it yourself, it’s just an opportunity to expand your skills in the kitchen! You can learn more about this in my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! free guide! Also be sure to check out my Live to Cook one month challenge for more cooking motivation, and this may be a recipe you try for the challenge! Tag me on Instagram so I can see your results!
So that’s how this air fryer cutlet recipe came to be! When I made these for the first time, I had just returned from my trip to India after not having visited for over four years! I had whatever crispy snacks my heart desired on my trip, whenever I wanted! However, I didn’t wanna do the work of frying and stuff after a long journey, and I think I needed to lighten up! It was the perfect time to experiment with an air fryer recipe, plus I hadn’t shared one in awhile! The result was perfect, and I just couldn’t wait to record the recipe in less than 48 hours! If you love a good hot and crispy chicken snack, then add this to your rotation!
Don’t forget to watch the video to see the exact steps to make awesome crispy air fryer chicken cutlets! Please also subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Hit the bell so you receive the notifications when the video recipes are live! I find the video recipes are the perfect complement to the written recipes to give a visual representation so you’re set up for success! Let’s get cooking!
What’s an Air Fryer?▼
Air frying is all the rage lately - and with good reason! If you didn’t know, an air fryer is a countertop kitchen appliance that circulates air in a similar fashion to a convection oven. Because of the accelerated speed of air circulation, air fryers cook food much faster than in a traditional oven. Additionally, the high cooking speed in a small area give food the crispy texture that is similar to the texture of deep frying, without the added oil!
Air fryers are selling like hot cakes because they help people like me who love their fried foods! You avoid the mess and the negative health effects of frying your favorites by substituting with Air Fryer Wings, Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges, and even Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan! If you’re curious what air fryer I have, it’s the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 2 basket air fryer! I use it nearly every day and it has great results! For more details about this air fryer, then be sure to check out my full first impressions review on YouTube!
What Are Indian Chicken Cutlets?
These Indian Chicken Cutlets, also known as chicken patties or chicken tikki, are an easy and super tasty snack! The base of the cutlets are made with minced chicken, veggies, and a few spices, and the binding agent for all of these ingredients is some bread. Typically, the chicken cutlets are deep fried in oil, but for this chicken cutlet recipe we’ll be air frying instead! You can shape your Indian Chicken Cutlets in round discs, but I’ll be making an oblong shape here.
Why Make Crispy Chicken Cutlets?
Seriously these Crispy Chicken Cutlets are such an awesome snack in so many ways, and air frying them makes them even more of a winner! Here’s why you need to try out this delicious Indian Chicken Cutlet recipe!
- Crispy and crunchy outside
- Lightly flavored
- Easy to make the cutlets
- Minimal cleanup!
- Cooks in half the time as traditional oven baking
- Healthier than classic fried cutlets
Tips & Tricks for Perfect Chicken Cutlets
- Water or oil is great to form the oblong cutlets with the mince without it sticking on your hand.
- Turn the cutlets after 7 minutes into the cook time to ensure each side is evenly colored.
- Make sure not to stack the cutlets on top of each other. If you don’t have enough space in your basket then I recommend you make your cutlets in two batches. It’ll be worth it!
- You can always quickly reheat the cutlets from the first batch in the air fryer by selecting the reheat setting.
Tools Needed
Ingredients for Crispy Chicken Patties
Time to see what we’ll need for our delicious FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD at the bottom of this post! You can easily scale the amounts based on how many samosas you’d like to make!
- Minced chicken
- Green chilies
- Bread. We’ll be using sliced bread to make your own breadcrumbs.
- Water. To soak the breadcrumbs.
- Ginger
- Onion
- Salt
- Cilantro
- Chives
- Lime juice
- Red chili powder. I’m using Kashmiri Mirch.
- Olive oil. Just a little bit to help get a nice crispiness and color on our cutlets.
How to Make Indian Chicken Cutlets
Chop the bread in a large dice and place in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water to submerge the pieces of bread. Soak for at least 5 minutes.
Squeeze out any excess water from the bread and transfer the bread to another clean bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.
Using some water or oil on your hands, form 7-9 oblong shaped cutlets.
Arrange the cutlets in the air fryer basket. If your air fryer basket has a trivet, make sure to place that in the basket before adding the cutlets.
Cook at 400 F for 10-15 minutes, flipping the cutlets halfway along the cook time.
Cook until the cutlets are golden brown and crispy.
Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or chutney.
what kind of bread should I Use?▼
I’ve used a simple sourdough bread for this recipe. Each bread you use will add its own unique flavor and texture to the final cutlet. I would recommend a bread such as a sourdough, pumpernickel or even multigrain - something with an interesting texture and flavor which will make your cutlets even more delicious.
What if I don’t have an air fryer?▼
If you don’t have an air fryer then no worries! You can still make these cutlets deep fried style. Use my method described here for my Aloo Patties to see how to get the deep fried method just right.
Serving Suggestions for Indian Chicken Cutlets
There are a ton of ways you can enjoy Crispy Chicken Cutlets! My favorite chutneys are Cilantro-Mint Chutney or Tamarind Chutney, but I also really like to serve cutlets with a good hot sauce or ketchup! You could even serve with your favorite pickle, yogurt, or sour cream! For beverages, a Mango Lassi would be an awesome refreshing cold beverage to complement the heat, or if you want some cozy snack vibes, then pair these cutlets with Easy Masala Chai!
Can I Make Chicken Cutlets Ahead of Time?▼
I would recommend that you do not. The reason for this is because the chicken mixture will get soggy and you won’t have that nice crispiness on the outside. These Indian Chicken Cutlets are best enjoyed piping hot and fresh out of the air fryer, so enjoy as soon as possible!
However, if you want to make a large batch for a crowd, then you can certainly prepare the chicken mixture without the breadcrumbs ahead of time. You can either store your chicken mixture in the fridge or freezer. I would keep the chicken mixture in the fridge for no longer than three days, and in the freezer for no more than three months. When it’s time to cook your cutlets, add the breadcrumbs and olive oil and air fry away!
Other Air Fryer Recipes!
- Air Fryer Chicken Samosa
- Air Fryer Jerk Chicken Wings
- Juicy Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Spicy Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Super Crispy Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges
- Crispy & Cheesy Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
No Batter, No Bread Crumbs on the Outside: How These Cutlets Hold Together
Most cutlet recipes you will find involve a coating station - all purpose flour, then egg, then bread crumbs - and this one has none of that. There is no batter and nothing to dredge. The two large slices of bread go on the inside instead: diced, soaked in water for at least five minutes, squeezed out hard and mixed straight into the minced chicken, where they do the job of both binder and bulk. That is also why there is no cornstarch or egg in the ingredient list. Squeezing matters more than anything else here - leave the bread wet and the mixture will not hold its shape, and the cutlets will spread in the basket instead of staying oblong.
The bread you pick changes the result more than you would expect. A plain sandwich loaf disappears into the mix; sourdough, pumpernickel or a multigrain give the inside more texture and a bit of flavor of their own. Beyond that, the mixture is chives, cilantro, red onion, an optional green chili, a teaspoon of red chili powder or Kashmiri mirch, a teaspoon of lime juice, salt to taste and a tablespoon or two of olive oil - and 6 oz of minced chicken makes seven to nine cutlets. Wet your hands with a little water or oil before shaping and nothing sticks.
Chicken, Spices and What You Can Change
Minced chicken is boneless chicken by definition, and if you would rather grind your own, chicken breasts or thighs pulsed in a food processor work fine - thighs will give you a juicier cutlet. What will not work is rotisserie chicken or any other cooked, shredded meat: the binding here depends on raw mince gripping the soaked bread as it cooks, and cooked shreds simply fall apart in the basket. Taste is the other thing worth saying plainly - the mixture is raw, so season by judgement rather than by tasting it, and remember that lime juice and salt both read louder once the cutlet is crisp.
The recipe is deliberately lightly spiced: red chili powder is the only spice in it. If you want it closer to what you would eat on a street corner in Delhi, a pinch each of cumin, coriander powder, turmeric or garam masala all belong in this mixture, and a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste is the other classic addition. Add them one at a time rather than all at once, since the point of this version is that the chicken and the fresh herbs still come through. The cilantro, incidentally, is the same thing as coriander leaves if that is what your grocery store calls it.
Chicken, Fish or Potato, and Frying Without an Air Fryer
Cutlet is a broad word in Indian cooking, and the same method covers a whole family: an aloo cutlet swaps the chicken for boiled, mashed potato, a fish cutlet uses flaked cooked fish with potato as its binder, and vegetable versions run on whatever is in the fridge. This one is the chicken version, so nothing below involves potato at all - if that is what you came for, my Crispy Aloo Cutlets recipe is the one you want.
The air fryer is the point of this recipe - 400 F, 10 to 15 minutes, flipped halfway, cooked in two batches if your basket is small, and no cutlet stacked on another. But if you do not have one, these deep fry perfectly well; use the method from my Aloo Patties recipe. A frying pan with a shallow layer of oil will also do it, turning once, and either way lift the cutlets onto a paper towel or a rack for a minute so the surface oil drains and the crust stays crisp rather than going soft. Serve them hot with a green chutney - cilantro-mint or tamarind are my two - or with plain yogurt if you want something cooling.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Crispy, flavorful Indian chicken cutlets made easy in the air fryer. No egg, no breading needed — just bold spices and a satisfying crunch ready in minutes.
Air fryer
5.0 · 1 rating
25 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
Total
7
cutlets
easy
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
Instructions
- 1
Chop the bread in a large dice and place in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water to submerge the pieces of bread. Soak for at least 5 minutes.
Chop the bread in a large dice and place in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water to submerge the pieces of bread. Soak for at least 5 minutes.
- 2
Squeeze out any excess water from the bread and transfer the bread to another clean bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.
Squeeze out any excess water from the bread and transfer the bread to another clean bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.
- 3
Using some water or oil on your hands, form 7-9 oblong shaped cutlets.
Using some water or oil on your hands, form 7-9 oblong shaped cutlets.
- 4
Arrange the cutlets in the air fryer basket. If your air fryer basket has a trivet, make sure to place that in the basket before adding the cutlets.
Arrange the cutlets in the air fryer basket. If your air fryer basket has a trivet, make sure to place that in the basket before adding the cutlets.
- 5
Cook at 400 F for 10-15 minutes, flipping the cutlets halfway along the cook time. Cook until the cutlets are golden brown and crispy.
Cook at 400°F (204°C) for 10-15 minutes, flipping the cutlets halfway along the cook time. Cook until the cutlets are golden brown and crispy.
- 6
Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or chutney.
Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or chutney.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
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1 comment
Why Indian recipe looks soo yummy!
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