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I first saw a schnitzel on a food adventure channel on YouTube (I forget who it was, oops!) video where the people were actually in Germany, and a massive schnitzel was served. It was love at first sight, and I knew that I had to make a panko coated chicken schnitzel for myself right away! While I mention that going out to restaurants can inspire you to replicate your favourite recipes at home in my Make Cooking Fun! free motivational guide, seeing something tasty on TV or in the movie can have the same effect!
I’ve been making many schnitzels over the past couple of years but never got around to sharing the recipe. It was finally time to check off this easy and delicious schnitzel off my bucket list! If you’ve followed the blog for a while, then you know I really love my fried chicken! Whether I’m enjoying Crispy Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken, Indo-Chinese Drums of Heaven or Korean Popcorn Chicken, I get cravings for crispy chicken quite often! However, making full on deep fried chicken can get a lot of work. I like to make a lemon and herb chicken schnitzel for a quicker and easier preparation that will still satisfy the cravings but won’t take a lot of time or effort! If you want to make a deliciously crispy and flavorful chicken cutlet, then be sure to take a trip to Germany by preparing this recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get an exciting start to your cooking journey for free by signing up to my newsletter, plus all of my new recipes will be sent straight to your inbox so you never miss a tasty dinner idea!
To see the entire process of making the crunchiest and tastiest schnitzel, then check out the video! If you’re not already, I would love it if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel and press the bell button to be notified when all of my new recipe videos are live! Let’s get frying!
What is a Schnitzel?▼
A schnitzel is a thin cutlet of meat that is pounded thin. Then, the cut of meat is breaded with breadcrumbs and then it is fried. Schnitzels arose from Germany and Austria.
What Cut of Meat Should I use For Panko Schnitzel?▼
As the name of the recipe suggests, I’m using chicken for this schnitzel. However, schnitzels are also made with pork and veal. A Wiener Schnitzel in particular must be made of veal, and this definition is even protected by Austrian and German law!
If using chicken like I am, then you want boneless, skinless chicken breast. This is the best cut of chicken to pound down and to bread well.
Why You’ll Love Panko-Crusted Lemon Schnitzel
- Flavorful crispy chicken: We’ll season the breadcrumbs with thyme to get a fresh herby flavor to your chicken. Plus, it’s perfectly crunchy outside and hot and juicy inside!
- Simple ingredients: Most likely you already have everything on hand except perhaps chicken breast!
- Easy process: While it seems like making crispy chicken takes a lot of work, the process is really easy, and I’ll walk you through exactly what to do!
- Family-friendly meal: Who doesn’t love a great chicken dinner? I know I do! You can easily bread multiple chicken breasts at a time and fry multiple at a time, depending on the size of your pan. That means the family can get a nice hot meal all at the same time!
- 30-minute dinner: Yup, this doesn’t take much time at all! You can whip this up whenever you’ve got a crispy chicken craving but don’t want to go all out with fried chicken.
Tools Needed to Make Lemon Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
- Cutting board
- Meat thermometer
- Stainless steel pan
- Tongs
- Wire rack
- Measuring spoons
- Plastic wrap
- Meat tenderizer or rolling pin
Ingredients
The ingredient list below will show you how easy and accessible our schnitzel is to make for any occasion! You can see all ingredient quantities by scrolling to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD. You can also save the recipe for later and adjust the recipe based on how many schnitzels you’re looking to make - all individual ingredient quantities are automatically adjusted for you.
- Chicken: One boneless, skinless chicken breast per person. If it’s a larger chicken breast, you can split it for two people.
- All-purpose flour: Helps to remove any excess moisture and get you super crispy chicken! This also assists the egg to stick on the chicken.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Regular breadcrumbs if you don’t have Panko.
- Eggs: To really help the breadcrumbs stick onto the chicken pieces.
- Dried thyme: For seasoning in the breading.
- Salt and pepper: Extra essential seasoning, to taste.
- Lemon: Some lemon zest in the breadcrumbs and a sprinkle on top to really add a nice zing!
- Vegetable oil: For shallow frying the schnitzel. You could also use canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, or grapeseed oil for frying. Essentially, you want a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point.
How to Make Panko Chicken Schnitzel
Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag or between two plastic wraps and pound thin using a meat tenderizer (about 1/4 inch thickness).
Measure out the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in different plates or large bowls. Season flour with salt & pepper, lightly whisk the egg and season breadcrumbs with thyme & zest.
Working with one chicken portion at a time, dredge the chicken in flour, shake off excess. Dip the chicken in the egg and evenly coat both sides. Let excess drip off and coat the chicken in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to press the breadcrumbs on the chicken for an extra crispy chicken.
In a pan, heat about 1/2 cup of oil on medium heat and fry the cutlets for 2-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Use tongs to flip the chicken to help evenly brown each side.
Serve topped with lemon juice, and fresh salad and enjoy!
Enjoy!
How Do I Know the Chicken is Cooked?▼
My favourite method of checking if your chicken is cooked without using a thermometer is to lightly poke it with my index finger. Once poked, the chicken should have a slight spring back, which is similar to the spring back if you poke the tip of your nose. You could also slice one of the pieces of chicken in half to check if it is white and juicy inside, with no visible pink and juices running clear. The chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Celsius.
HOW DO I KNOW THE OIL IS READY TO FRY?▼
You can throw a couple of Panko breadcrumb pieces in the oil. If they float right up and slowly turn golden brown, then the oil should be ready. If it browns or darkens too quickly, your oil is too hot. Either reduce the heat or add more oil to the pan to regulate and bring down the oil temperature. A good range for your oil to shallow fry is 350 F to 375 F. Of course, the test still matters because your cooking utensil and its heat retention really helps decide which oil temperature is best for your setting.
If your oil is too cold, continue to heat gently until it reaches the desired range. The help of an instant read thermometer can do the trick, or simply repeat the breadcrumb test.
Tips for an Incredibly Crunchy Chicken Schnitzel
- While breading the chicken, press down firmly on the Panko breadcrumbs to embed them into the chicken. This will help to get an even and consistent layer of breadcrumbs which will be less likely to fall off while frying.
- Season the chicken before you fry it so make sure you generously season the flour mixture and if needed, you may need to sprinkle the fried schnitzel with a tiny pinch of salt as well.
- Make sure the oil temperature is just right to ensure crunchy golden brown crust and a juicy piece of chicken.
- A cooked schnitzel does not sit very well and needs to be served IMMEDIATELY to ensure that the steam from the hot chicken inside does not soften the crispy crust.
Can I use Regular Breadcrumbs?▼
Technically you can, and that’s actually the traditional way to coat the chicken for schnitzel. However, I like to use Panko breadcrumbs to coat the chicken because it gives a fluffier and crunchier coating compared to regular breadcrumbs.
Can I bake Or Air Fry The Schnitzel?▼
Yes technically you can. However, to be honest with you it’s just not the same as shallow frying the breaded chicken. Part of the definition of a schnitzel is to fry it, so I really suggest that you prepare it the authentic way! You can serve it with a lighter side dish to balance out the meal as I’ll outline in the next section! However, if you really want to bake or air fry your schnitzel, here’s what you would do:
To Bake Schnitzel
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Bake on the top-most rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes turning once at the 7 minute mark. In the final two minutes of cooking, turn on the broiler to lightly roast the breadcrumbs.
To Air Fry Schnitzel
- Place breaded chicken in the air fryer basket and set the air fryer to Air Fry mode, at 375 F and set timer for 20 minutes.
- After 5 minutes have passed, brush each side of the chicken with oil, flip the chicken and resume the air fryer.
- With 5 minutes remaining on the timer the chicken should be golden brown across.
Variations
- Herbs: You can switch up the herbs by experimenting with oregano, basil, cayenne, paprika, a combination of these, or even Homemade Italian Seasoning!
- Parmesan: Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese into the breading mixture.
- Mustard: Add in some Dijon mustard to the breading.
Serving Suggestions
You can make this a balanced meal or go all out with the frying since you’ve already got the oil! Here are some ways you can make your very own special meal, depending on what you’re looking for:
- Restaurant-Style Deep Fried French Fries
- Air Fryer Aloo Chaat
- Air Fryer Waffle Fries
- Greek Lemon Rice
- Mashed Potatoes
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Creamed Spinach
- Garlic-Butter Sautéed Broccoli
- Creamy Potato Salad
- Steamed or grilled veggies: Peppers, green beans, or asparagus
Can I make Lemon and Thyme Schnitzel ahead of time?▼
I’ve seen other recipes that say that you can. I personally would not fry chicken (or most things!) and save it for later. No matter how carefully you reheat it, it just won’t be as crunchy and fresh as when you’re enjoying it right after frying!
However, if you do want to get ahead for prepping, you can bread the chicken and keep the coated chicken in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap. All you have to do is heat the oil and fry when you’re ready to eat! I do this quite often so I’ve got prepped breaded chicken.
You can even freeze your breaded chicken in a freezer-friendly ziploc bag so it doesn’t get freezer-burned. You can keep frozen breaded cutlets for 3 to 4 months. Also, you don’t have to defrost your breaded schnitzel overnight. While it’s best to do it, you don’t have to because if you’re cooking the chicken from frozen, that means the breadcrumbs will cook faster than the frozen chicken inside. To prevent the chicken from staying raw and to prevent the breadcrumbs from becoming too brown, you’ll have to play with the heat of your oil. If you want to avoid this headache, defrosting for a couple of hours in the fridge should do the trick!
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