Consider this your intro to frying at home. Shallow-frying breaded chicken cutlets in a large Dutch oven—instead of a lower-profile skillet—significantly cuts down on messy splattering oil. The most important thing to remember when frying is to lower the food into the hot fat slowly, carefully, and away from you; as freaky as it might be to get close to the oil, it's way more dangerous to toss something in from a distance and end up getting splashed. Fortune favors the brave: After one bite of crunchy, juicy chicken with a good swipe of spicy Dijon, and we guarantee this won't be your last time frying at home.
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What you’ll need
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Measuring Cups
$28 At Bon Appétit Market
Large Bowl
$18 At Amazon
Whisk
$10 At Amazon
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks
Medium Bowl
$17 At Amazon
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$26 At Amazon
Tongs
$21 At Amazon
Paper Towels
$13.45 At Amazon
Wire Rack
$23 At BA Market
Ingredients
4 servings
2
1
1
3
½
2
5
8
2
10
8
Preparation
Step 1
Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into a large bowl and pick out any seeds.
Step 2
Whisk 1 Tbsp. honey into lemon juice.
Step 3
Peel and thinly slice 1 large shallot into rings. Add to bowl with lemon juice mixture, season with 1 tsp. salt, and let sit, stirring occasionally with a spoon, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Step 4
Meanwhile, pour neutral oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of about 1" (4–6 cups oil) and heat over medium-high. If you have a deep fry thermometer (also known as a candy thermometer), clip it on to the side of the pot and keep an eye on it; if not, use an instant-read thermometer to check the oil temperature every few minutes. You want it right around 350° (this will take about 10 minutes total). As it surpasses the 300° mark, reduce heat to low so you get to your target temperature gradually. Maintaining the oil temperature requires some finesse, but it gets easier with practice! It's always okay to stop, adjust the heat, and wait for it to get to where you want it.
Step 5
While you're waiting for the oil to heat up, prep your chicken for frying: Whisk ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, 3 tsp. mustard, 2 tsp. salt, and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl.
Step 6
Working in batches, add 8 chicken cutlets to bowl and toss until coated.
Step 7
Pour 2 cups plain breadcrumbs onto a rimmed baking sheet. (You can use panko here if you want, but you'll want to grind them in a food processor first—we want fine crumbs here for maximum coverage.) Dredge cutlets one at a time, pressing down so an even layer of crumbs adheres to each one. Transfer chicken to a plate as you go; set aside.
Step 8
Whisk remaining 2 tsp. mustard into bowl with pickled shallots. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in 3 Tbsp. neutral oil to create an emulsified vinaigrette. Season with salt and lots of pepper.
Step 9
Thinly slice 10 celery stalks with leaves on a bias and add to bowl with vinaigrette.
Step 10
Trim and thinly slice 8 radishes. Add to salad bowl and give everything a good toss.
Step 11
Check oil and adjust temperature so thermometer registers around 350°. Working with 2 cutlets at a time and using tongs, carefully slide chicken into hot oil and cook, turning once, until crispy and browned, 1–2 minutes per side. Keep an eye on the oil temperature, which will drop when you add the chicken; increase heat if needed to maintain 350°. Transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack. Season with a little bit of salt and repeat with remaining cutlets.
Step 12
Slice 1 lemon into wedges for serving
Step 13
Divide salad and schnitzel among plates. Top with a few grinds of pepper and serve with mustard and lemon wedges for squeezing over.
How would you rate Chicken Schnitzel With Crunchy Salad?
Leave a Review
Reviews (46)
Back to TopThis recipe is phenomenal. It did take longer than I would have liked for a “simple weeknight meal”, but I’m definitely an amateur so take that with a grain of salt. I subbed cucumbers for the celery in the salad (can’t stand celery), shallow-fried the chicken (can’t stand throwing out so much oil) and made a side of saffron rice steamed in chicken stock. All together, this was the best meal I’ve had in a year. Seriously.
Anonymous
New York, NY
8/16/2023
This recipe is great! We pounded some pork chops instead of using chicken and mixed bread crumbs with panko, processed as directed in the recipe. We made a regular salad with celery, butter lettuce, cucumbers and avocado. Wish we would have had radishes. The dressing is really yummy. My only minor complaint was that the breading was nice and crunchy but not super flavourful. Will definitely make again and again!
Lisa T
Calgary, AB
11/15/2022
Really yummy! I loved the technique for breading the cutlets - worked so well! I made a keto version of this using almond flour and ground pork rinds and it turned out light and flavorful without all the carbs. The crunchy salad went well with the schnitzel, but when I make again, I will probably tweak the salad - it was a little heavy on the celery.
Natcookie67
Denver, CO
9/8/2022
Tried this recipe, this is super simple & quick to make and the best part is tastes delicious ! Only difference is I seasoned the chicken with salt, red paprika before coating it with flour & egg paste & pounded the chicken to make it thin.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
5/12/2022
Tried this recipe, this is super simple & quick to make and the best part is tastes delicious ! Only difference is I seasoned the chicken with salt, red paprika before coating it with flour paste & pounded the chicken to make it thin. Tastes best when it's hot !
Anonymous
5/12/2022
Easy to make. The salad in particular is delicious. Chicken needs to be thinly sliced to cook well in 1-2 minutes.
Michael
Liberty Lake, WA
2/6/2022
My girlfriend is very picky.. I followed this recipe and it was a hit!! Honey, radish work really well. The chicken was the star, with everything else creating the tail!! She, thinks I'm a chef!!
Lar
Amarillo, TX
8/31/2021
This recipe was a great inspiration for me. I am alone so have to cook dinners for one. I was able to adjust the recipe to suit my situation so I only used one chicken breast. I used a brine on the chicken before hand. I sliced it so I had 2 1/2 nice pieces. As I did not have honey on hand I used a good quality maple syrup. I also was using up an egg white so that worked just fine with the batter. I also used the Panko crumbs and they made for a really nice crisp coating that was soft and juicy inside. I also loved the salad. It was a nice addition to the chicken. Although I did not have any radish on hand and I used a small onion instead. I will do this again as I loved the flavors. Thanks for the indpiration!
LG
Ontario, Canada
3/25/2021
In our family we love pork schnitzel; it is one of our favorite dishes ever. This chicken schnitzel recipe was definitely good, but it’s not quite as tasty as the pork version. I really like the salad, though! Normally we serve schnitzel with plain rice and a simple arugula salad. This salad was very flavorful and went very nicely with the chicken.
Allison Hamff
Texas
1/25/2021
Best Schnitzel I've been able to make yet! I think it came down to the egg / flour / mustard mixture that allowed a super robust and even coating but regardless it came out perfectly!
Ralph
60657
12/13/2020
This chicken was so delicious!! The coating was crispy and flavorful and the chicken was moist. I had some leftover in the fridge and cut it up and added to salad the next day. It really takes nothing to put this together and is a nice recipe to add to your arsenal of weeknight meals. I may try it next with truffle mustard to see how that tastes. Haha...as for the salad my husband is a ranch purist so I went that route instead.
Kmask1964
Washington State
6/25/2020
I didn't make the salad part of the recipe (I ate mashed potatoes instead) but I liked the chicken schnitzel very much. I did end up pounding the chicken flat, and I think that was the right choice. You can leave the chicken cutlet as is, but a thinner chicken cutlet just enhances the crispiness of the whole experience. It cooked quickly and the coating was wonderfully crunchy. The mustard in the egg wash definitely added flavor. I will definitely make this recipe again. It has a few steps but they're all simple and easy.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
5/15/2020
Really good. A hit with the whole family! I loved the mix of crunchy chicken goodness with the acidity of the salad.
Sarah Hunter
Raleigh, NC
4/16/2020
As a husband that's home during the pandemic and my wife is working healthcare, I've decided to step it up and show my appreciation. I took out frozen boneless chicken breasts this morning and started looking for a recipe. Well, this Schnitzel recipe hit it out of the park and the salad was the absolute perfect side for it, although I was skeptical during the prep. The videos allowed me to roll things out comfortably without the stress (remember I'm usually at work everyday!). My advice - roll with it, don't change a thing and you'll be a hero....thanks Bon Apetit!
Eastcoast Paddy
Newfoundland
3/31/2020
This is a great schnitzel and salad meal. I really enjoyed the salad, and the dressing gets even better 24hrs later. My grandmother taught me to make schnitzel, and I thought this method of combining the dry and wet coating was a great idea. The addition of the mustard is delicious and the coating was nice and crunchy. Sorry grandma, but this recipe tops yours!
heather eats
Montreal
10/31/2019