These fried chicken breasts take just minutes of hands-on prep time, and they fry up crispy and delicious. The chicken breasts are marinated in buttermilk, making them extra moist and tender. Serve them with French fries or roasted potatoes or sandwich them in buns with lettuce and sliced tomato.
The chicken breasts are thinly sliced to make cutlets, but feel free to cut them into strips if you like. You might also find pre-sliced chicken cutlets in your local supermarket.
How to Slice chicken Breasts Into Thin Cutlets
You might find pre-sliced cutlets in the supermarket, but it’s just as easy—and probably more economical—to slice your own. Here’s how:
- Place a chicken breast on a cutting board, with the smooth surface facing up.
- Use a sharp knife to carefully slice the chicken breast in half horizontally, cutting through the center of the breast to create two thin, uniform pieces.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- If desired, place a sheet of plastic wrap on the cutlets and pound them gently with a meat mallet to an even thickness of about 1/4-inch. This will help them cook evenly and more quickly.
- Remember to always handle raw chicken with care and wash your hands and cutting board thoroughly after handling it to prevent foodborne illness.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Breast Cutlets
Enjoy a delicious everyday dinner with these quick buttermilk fried chicken breast cutlets.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken, Chicken Breasts
- Method: Fry
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast (or thinly sliced cutlets)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I like Texas Pete’s)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Optional Garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast horizontally to create two thin cutlets. Put the chicken in a food storage bag.
- Add the buttermilk and hot sauce to the chicken; seal the bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
- Put the flour in a wide, shallow bowl; add the paprika and stir to blend.
- Remove the chicken cutlets from the buttermilk marinade and shake off excess. Sprinkle the chicken pieces lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat about 1 inch of oil to 325 F in a deep skillet or Dutch oven.
- Dredge the seasoned chicken pieces in the flour and then fry them—in batches—in the hot oil for a total of about 5 to 6 minutes, or until they are thoroughly cooked. Turn them halfway through the cooking time.
- Transfer the fried chicken cutlets to a paper towel-lined pan to drain while frying the remaining pieces.
