Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Butter Sauce
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This elegant Crispy Chicken Cutlets recipe might be my favorite way to eat chicken breasts. The vibrant, silky Lemon Butter Sauce gets drizzled over the top of the crispy cutlets along with fresh chopped parsley for an absolutely divine meal.
Why We Love This Recipe
When you want a dinner that’s a little extra, like for a birthday dinner, Christmas, or Valentine’s Day, this luxurious recipe does the trick.
With each bite, you get crunchy breading and tender chicken plus a burst of citrus flavor and buttery richness from the sauce. It’s beautiful when plated, especially when drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley.
While there are several steps to this recipe, it’s definitely worth the work for a special weeknight meal or special occasion!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Butter Sauce:
Ingredient Notes:
- Chicken Breasts: It’s imperative to either cut the chicken in half lengthwise into cutlets or pound out the boneless, skinless chicken to an even thickness, so it cooks quickly and evenly. Tip: Place the chicken in a gallon sized storage bag when pounding out, to contain the mess.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for a lighter crust or whole wheat flour for a bit more nutrition. Substitute this for gluten-free flour, if desired.
- Breadcrumbs: I’ve tested this with regular dry breadcrumbs (and gluten-free breadcrumbs), Panko breadcrumbs, and a combo of the two. All variations work, but the best was using half regular and half Panko.
- Dry white wine – I recommend using a Pinot Grigio that you wouldn’t mind drinking. Remember, the wine will reduce down and the flavor will concentrate, so you want one that tastes good. You can sub in unsalted chicken broth for the wine, if desired. If doing that, I’d recommend an extra squeeze of lemon for a bit more acid.
Find the full ingredient list and instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this article.
How to Make Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Butter Sauce
Prep
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Set Up Breading Stations: Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon of water together. Pour out the bread crumbs onto a third plate.
Pound Chicken
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Dredge Chicken
Dip each chicken breast in the flour, then shake off the excess. Then dip in the egg and breadcrumb mixtures, making sure all sides are coated. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
Saute Chicken
Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with a thin layer of oil (about 2 tablespoons) and heat over medium to medium-high heat until shimmery. Add two of the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan. Wipe out the pan and add more olive oil to coat the bottom. Saute the remaining two chicken breasts for 2 minutes on each side. Place on the sheet pan with the others.
Bake Chicken
Bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce. This steps helps the chicken finish cooking internally without getting too brown on the outside. Chicken is done when it registers 165°F internally or there’s no pink in the middle.
Make Lemon Butter Sauce
While the chicken bakes, wipe out the saute pan with a paper towel. Over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter until bubbly and hot. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Then add the lemon juice, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, and swirl to combine.
Serve
Place a chicken breast on each plate. Spoon some sauce over it, top with a little fresh parsley, and serve with a lemon slice on the side.
I usually serve this over angel hair pasta with a simple side salad and one of our homemade salad dressings.
Make It a Freezer Meal
Use your time on this recipe efficiently by doubling and freezing a batch for later. Trust me, you’ll be so happy to have this one later again.
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 2-4. Place breaded chicken in a flat freezer bag in single layers divided by parchment paper. Prepare sauce in Step 7, cool, and place in freezer safe container. Freeze chicken and sauce together as a meal kit.
Prepare From Frozen: Let chicken and sauce thaw in refrigerator. Follow Steps 5, 6, and 8. Warm up the sauce in a pot over low heat or in a bowl in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
I like boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but boneless skinless chicken thighs can also work if you trim them of excess fat.
We found the key to the crispy exterior (without burning it before the inside is done) required two things: 1) using a combo of Panko breadcrumbs and regular breadcrumbs, and 2) making sure the oil is hot enough (but not too hot). It is ready when it’s shimmery but not smoking.
Yes, use 1:1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs for the recipe.
Yes, you can freeze leftover chicken cutlets. Allow them to cool, then store in an airtight container or freezer bag. Reheat in the oven or air fryer for best results.
I’ve tested this recipe with both kinds of breadcrumbs. Panko led to maximum crispiness, but the breading got a little too brown on the outside in some spots before the chicken was done on the inside. So, after multiple tests, our team found that using a combo of half Panko and half regular breadcrumbs yields the very best results.
More Super Flavorful Dinners
If you love the fresh flavors of lemon and fresh herbs, give a few of these recipes a try. They are some of our favorites!
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Butter Sauce
This elegant Crispy Chicken Cutlets recipe might be my favorite way to eat chicken breasts. The vibrant, silky Lemon Butter Sauce gets drizzled over the top of the crispy cutlets along with fresh chopped parsley for an absolutely divine meal.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour (sub: gluten-free flour)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs (sub: gluten-free bread crumbs)*
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 3/4 cup dry white wine (I like Pinot Grigio; sub unsalted chicken broth)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving
- Sliced lemon, for serving
*We found that the very best results were when we used half regular and half Panko bread crumbs.
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Set Up Breading Stations: Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon of water together. Pour out the bread crumbs onto a third plate.
- Pound Chicken: Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap (or in a plastic storage bag) and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Dredge Chicken: Dip each chicken breast in the flour, then shake off the excess. Then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures, making sure all sides are coated.
- Saute Chicken: Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with a thin layer of oil (about 2 tablespoons) and heat over medium to medium-high heat until shimmery. Add two of the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan. Wipe out the pan and add more olive oil to coat the bottom. Saute the remaining two chicken breasts for 2 minutes on each side. Place on the sheet pan with the others.
- Bake Chicken: Bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce. Chicken is done when it registers 165°F internally or there’s no pink in the middle.
- Make Sauce: Wipe out the saute pan with a paper towel. Over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter until bubbly and hot. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add the lemon juice, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine.
- Serve: Place a chicken breast on each plate. Spoon some sauce over it, top with a little fresh parsley, and serve with a lemon slice on the side.
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 2-4. Place breaded chicken in a flat freezer bag in single layers divided by parchment paper. Prepare sauce in Step 7, cool, and place in freezer safe container. Freeze chicken and sauce together as a meal kit.
Prepare From Frozen: Let chicken and sauce thaw in refrigerator. Follow Steps 5, 6, and 8. Warm up the sauce in a pot over low heat or in a bowl in the microwave.
Notes/Tips
- Gluten-Free Version: Use 1:1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs for the recipe.
- Recipe update on 3/20/23: I added garlic, reduced white wine by 1/4 cup, and removed the instruction to include the lemon halves while cooking the sauce to knock back some of the lemon flavor.
- We found the key to the perfect crispy exterior (without burning it before the inside is done) required three things: 1) using a half and half combo of Panko breadcrumbs and regular breadcrumbs, 2) making sure the oil is hot enough (should be shimmery but not smoking), and 3) baking it to finish it off.
- If you love capers, toss some into the sauce for a briny flavor pop.
Photos and video by Whitney Reist of Sweet Cayenne.
Just made this and it was a 100% HIT with my family – I’ve been making a parmesan version for years but absolutely LOVED the brightness of the lemon and the crispness of the panko crust. It will absolutely become one of our faves in rotation – Made orzo and zested the lemons that I used for the juice into the orzo to keep the flavor consistent. Sautéed some quick snap peas and the dinner was complete in well under 30 minutes. THANK YOU for a perfect inspiration. Wow!
Yum! I want to come to your house Renee! Thanks for much for sharing details on what you served with this recipe. Glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic. I’ve been looking for a home-made version of the Chicken Milanese served at Ristorante Machiavelli in Seattle and this the closest I’ve found. I ate one and froze 4 more for – one of which will be part of my “freezer meals” Christmas gift for my mom.
Tonight I served with steamed broccoli and new potato…. but now that I know it can fill in for my favorite restaurant fare, now that I’m no longer in Seattle, I’ll whip up some garlic spinach and roasted vegetables to serve like they do!
Thanks so much for this recipe!
How fun Allison! So glad that this recipe is so close to a restaurant favorite that you can’t get anymore. This is one of my favorite recipes… it always feels like a fancy dinner when I make it. I may have to look up a recipe for garlic spinach – that sounds yummy! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Just made the crispy chicken with lemon sauce for my family. It was a huge hit. I forgot to take a picture – next time. It looked like a restaurant dish served next to a side of broccoli. Thank you for sharing these recipes with the freezer directions. I take meals to my 93 year-old mom, who still lives in her home, and these recipes are very helpful. Do you have any suggestions on small lightweight coolers for transporting meals? Again, thank you and happy holidays !!
Hi Patti! Thank you for the wonderful review. This is one of my all-time favorites. Rachel and I used to make this with our original freezer club 10+ years ago! What a wonderful daughter you are to take meals to your mom. I bet she really appreciates the home-cooked meals! Unfortunately, we don’t have a recommendation for lightweight coolers. I hope you find something that works for you!
Made this last night for dinner and my husband and I really liked it. I used regular seasoned panko crumbs instead of the whole wheat ones and chicken broth instead of wine. Nice and crispy. Overall, the breading remained on the chicken. My husband liked it better without the sauce and I liked it either way.
Thanks so much for the review Jennifer. Good to know how your substitutions tuned out!
This looks like it would be a tasty dish. However, it is not Chicken Piccata. Your recipe is caught somewhere between Piccata and Francese. In Piccata the chicken is merely dredged lightly in the flour. No egg nor panko/bread crumbs. Also at the end when finishing the sauce with more butter you add capers as well.
Yes, not traditional for sure. Maybe a name more like Lemony Crispy Chicken would work better.
Why would you give a recipe only three stars when you haven’t even made it?
How is it that the breaded chicken isn’t soggy when you defrost it?
If you freeze it between layers of parchment paper, it really does well after you saute it. I’ve made breaded chicken many times and frozen it. Just don’t stack them on one another. Hope that helps!
This was very good. I don’t love the whole chicken pounding, dredging experience so i did a bunch up tonight and put it in the freezer. We ate a third of it tonight and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. PLUS enough for two more meals in the freezer. That makes me very happy! I wasn’t sure about the sauce so I used less lemon than called for. It was great and would have been totally fine with all the lemon.
This recipe looks like a keeper! Do you ever use chicken broth or another substitute instead of the wine?
Hi Andrea,
I have only used white wine, but I’ve subbed chicken broth for white wine in other recipes and think it would be a good alternative. This is an awesome recipe for sure!
Rachel