Easy Cornflake-Crusted Chicken Cutlets are tender chicken breasts coated in egg and crunchy cornflake crumbs, made without buttermilk, and fried until golden brown.
This simple, dairy-free, 4-ingredient recipe offers a delicious and unique alternative to traditional breading.
They are simple and quick to prepare, making them a perfect, family-friendly dinner for any night of the week.
And you can make them into chicken fingers or nuggets with no effort at all!
Cornflake chicken cutlets are a flavorful, high-protein meal made without buttermilk, so they’re dairy-free.
Perfect for busy weeknight dinners or a weekend lunch, they’re versatile—have them with sides on a plate, tuck them into a pita with fillers, or have them with lettuce on a roll.
Enjoy them plain, with ketchup, or with your favorite dipping sauce.
These cutlets are kid-friendly and can easily become chicken fingers by slicing the breast into strips before coating and frying.
Or cut them into smaller pieces to make homemade nuggets (see below).
And they’re delicious with French fries.
And you can grind the cornflakes into any size you like.
Plus, chicken has health benefits.
Or make a sandwich!
Another name for chicken cutlets is chicken schnitzels, a name used in Germany, Austria, and Israel.
What is a schnitzel?
The word “schnitzel” comes from German, meaning “cutlet,” and is prepared from fried or baked tenderized slices of meat coated with egg and flour or breadcrumbs.
The story goes that schnitzel was brought to the Austro-Hungarian Empire from Italy in the middle of the 19th century.
Ever heard of the term “Wiener schnitzel” (the “w” being pronounced like a “v”)? Well, apparently, the schnitzel dish of veal coated in breadcrumbs and fried in butter or lard was named after the Austrian city of Vienna somewhere around the turn of the 20th century, and the wienerschnitzel was born!
Then, like today, the dish was often served with fries or mashed potatoes.
Before coating, the meat is either tenderized—using a meat-tenderizing hammer—or just cut into thin slices.
Today, this original dish is prepared and served throughout the world in a variety of ways, using veal, lamb, beef, pork, turkey, or chicken, and may be known by different names (such as breaded veal cutlet, breaded pork chop, or chicken-fried steak).
Schnitzels in Israel
I learned to cook schnitzels in Israel, where they are a very popular dish.
Fast food stalls in Israel serve schnitzel in a pita or on a French baguette, accompanied by veggies or French fries, and there are eateries entirely dedicated to serving schnitzel in a variety of ways.
At home, people also serve schnitzel in a pita with vegetables and hummus or tahini or on a plate with sides. Israeli salad of diced cucumber and tomato is a common pita filler or side.
The Israeli version of schnitzel is made from chicken or turkey breast, but the name “schnitzel” is used also for other breaded foods, such as fish (fish schnitzel) or the vegetarian packaged version made with corn (corn schnitzel).
Most of the popular food in Israeli cuisine is from Mizrachi Jews (Jews that immigrated to Israel from Arab countries, mostly when they were expelled from there after the establishment of the State of Israel).
However, schnitzel is one of the few foods in popular Israeli cuisine that were brought to Israel by Ashkenazi Jews (Jews from Eastern European descent).
Today, most Israelis make schnitzel by coating it with egg and then breadcrumbs, but back when I was taught to make them, the coating was eggs, breadcrumbs, or flour, and then another coating of eggs before placing it in the hot oil to fry.
Also, some people will coat with flour before the egg because a dry piece of chicken or turkey may hold the egg better. Personally, I haven’t found any difference.
While frying is the usual way Israelis make their schnitzels, baking them will reduce fat and thus reduce calories. Note that they might be a little less favorable.
Before frying, spices can be added to the dry coating, such as salt, paprika, or grill powder (as in this recipe), and, unless someone doesn’t keep kosher and intentionally adds milk to the eggs, schnitzels in Israel are traditionally made dairy-free.
In my home, we make schnitzels with a variety of dry coatings—instant potato flakes, flour, breadcrumbs, and…cornflakes!
Some useful cooking terms:
What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?
When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).
The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it.
Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.
Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.
What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?
If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor-related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance-related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.
What does “savory” mean?
“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
What cooking measurement expressions mean:
Drop – ¹/₆₄ teaspoon (or less—it’s however a literal drop comes out)
Smidgen – ¹/₃₂ teaspoon
Pinch – ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon (what you can grab between your finger and thumb)
Dash – ⅛ teaspoon (what comes out when you shake out of a shaker or bottle)
Tad – ¼ teaspoon
Dollop—a glob on a spoon (like with mayonnaise or ice cream)
Scant—a scant cup is almost a cup, just below the line.
Heaping—above the line of the spoon (teaspoon, tablespoon)
Everyday pantry essentials to keep in your kitchen (suggested)
I have found that this list of “essentials” is great to always have on hand in my kitchen and has saved me numerous sudden trips to the store or having to borrow from a neighbor.
Seasoning and flavoring:
- salt (my recipes use regular table salt)
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder (I prefer granulated)
- onion powder
- sweet paprika and/or sweet pepper flakes (paprika is ground dried red pepper, pepper flakes are crushed dried red pepper)
- hot paprika, hot pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper (moderately spicy dried ground chili pepper) for those occasional spicy dishes
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves (for pumpkin flavors)
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder / beef bouillon powder (regular or vegetarian)
- onion soup mix
- onion flakes (substitute for fresh onion—3 tablespoons for 1 medium onion).
- various herbs
- additional spices to adapt taste to preference
Misc:
- oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
- coconut cream as a dairy-free cream substitute
- flavorless milk substitute as a dairy-free milk alternative
- cornstarch as a thickening agent
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (you can make these with your blender or food processor) for coating
- condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce
- tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce
- soy sauce (makes a great flavoring for savory foods)
We always have eggs in the fridge and onions, rice, and potatoes on our shelves, as well as pasta.
In addition, having some fresh vegetables in the fridge, such as carrots, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers (various colors), etc., can be very useful when putting together a quick but delicious meal.
It is also a good idea to have some ground meat or chicken (breast, ground, or in parts) in the freezer to be able to make dinner in a snap.
So, what is needed to make easy cornflake-crusted chicken cutlets?
Even if you don’t want to keep a pantry full of just-in-case ingredients, these are all you need to have on hand to make this recipe!
raw boneless chicken breast
egg
flour
Cornflakes
oil for frying
Want to make cornflake chicken nuggets?
Ingredients:
24 ounces boneless chicken breast cut into chunks of approximately 1″ x 1 1/2″
1 egg, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup of ground Cornflakes
oil for frying
Instructions:
- Place the flour and ground cornflakes in two separate bowls.
- Then, place the beaten eggs in another bowl (make sure both bowls are large enough to easily accommodate the raw chicken pieces).
- Pour oil into a frying pan so it reaches approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch high and heat it on medium. (You will know it’s hot enough when you can toss a little bit of Cornflakes in and it sizzles.)
- Take a piece of the raw chicken and dip in the flour and then in the egg, coating well. Let the excess egg drip off a bit and then coat well with cornflakes on both sides.
- Gently place in the hot oil.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken chunks. Make sure to leave a little room between the pieces.
- Fry on one side until golden brown, then gently turn and fry on the other. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil and cool.
Not only are cornflakes terrific for coating, but Kelloggs® Cornflakes have a history!
Easy Cornflake-Crusted Chicken Cutlets
Easy, delicious, and dairy-free cornflake-coated chicken cutlets.
Ingredients
- Approximately 1 1/2 pounds raw boneless chicken breast sliced into cutlets
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup of ground Cornflakes or 2 cups of crumbled cornflakes *
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Place the flour and ground/crushed Cornflakes in two separate bowls. Then, place the beaten eggs in another bowl (make sure both bowls are large enough to easily accommodate the raw chicken slices).
- Pour oil into a frying pan so it reaches approximately 1/8 - 1/4 inch high and heat on medium. (You will know it's hot enough when you can toss a little bit of Cornflakes in and it sizzles.)
- Take a piece of the raw chicken, dip it in the flour, then dip in the egg, coating well. Let the excess egg drip off a bit and then coat well with Cornflakes on both sides.
- Gently place in the hot oil.
- Repeat with the remaining cutlets. Make sure to leave a little room between the pieces.
- Fry on one side until golden brown, then gently turn and fry on the other.
- Remove from oil and place on paper towel lined plate too absorb excess oil and cool.
Notes
* the bigger the crumbs, the more you will need.
RECOMMENDATION: Have extra extra flour, cornflakes, and an egg aside in case you need more.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 207mgSodium: 295mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 49g