Crispy air fryer panko chicken: they are delicious, tender, crunchy, and ready in about 20 minutes.
Do you like fried chicken but not so much deep-frying it? Try our air fryer panko chicken, tender, juicy filets with crispy breading, an almost oil-free recipe that your whole family will love.
Check out other ways of cooking chicken with panko:
- Crispy Fried Panko Chicken (shallow-fried)
- Breaded Chicken without Egg (baked)
- Crispy Panko Breaded Chicken (baked)
Or use the air fryer for cooking other chicken recipes, such as this fantastic Frozen Chicken Breast in the Air Fryer or the Air Fryer Chicken Legs. Or read about some air fryer beginner recipes.
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Recipe ingredients
- Chicken breast: Butterfly the breasts to get two thinner slices out of each breast.
- Tenderloin (tenders) or similar chicken cutlets are great as well.
- Panko breadcrumbs: These Japanese-style breadcrumbs are made of crustless white bread baked using an electric current. They are perfect for any fried food making the breading much crispier than it would be when regular breadcrumbs are used.
- Mayonnaise, mustard, and egg: You will need them to coat the meat; they add flavor and help keep the fried chicken wonderfully moist.
- Spices: Sweet paprika for mixing with the breadcrumbs. Garlic powder, onion powder, fine sea salt, and black pepper for mixing with the all-purpose flour needed for the flour coating.
- Cooking spray for lightly spraying the breaded meat.
Step-by-step instructions
- Butterfly the breasts (1).
Breading stations:
- Mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.
- Mix mayonnaise, mustard, egg, salt, and pepper in another bowl.
- Mix panko and paprika in a third bowl or baking dish.
Bread the slices:
- Flour: Turn the pieces in the flour until coated all over (use tongs to turn them around) (2).
- Coating: Place them in the mayo-egg mixture and turn them around to coat all over (3).
- Panko: Pick up each piece with tongs and place it into the container with the panko crumbs. Turn on both sides to coat it, and press down with your palms to adhere (4).
Air fry the chicken:
- Preheat the machine if necessary, some need it, and some don’t. Check the instructions manual to know for sure. My machine needs to be preheated for 3 minutes.
- Arrange the breaded pieces into the basket in a single layer (5).
- Cook at 190°C/ 375°F for about 5 minutes.
- Flip, spray with oil, and cook for another 5-7 minutes, depending on your machine and the thickness of the breasts.
- Check: The air fryer panko chicken should be golden brown and cooked through.
Expert tips
- Use tongs to turn the pieces in the flour, mayo mixture, and panko breading; this way, you can keep your fingers clean.
- Press the coating with your palm to ensure that the crumbs adhere properly to the meat.
- Make sure that the breast pieces are thin; I don’t recommend trying to fry whole thick breasts, they will need too long to cook, and the breading will be too dark by the time they are ready.
- You can also add 2-3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the panko mixture.
Recipe FAQ
Online and in most grocery stores. They’ll probably be with the Japanese products in the Asian section or the section storing other types of breadcrumbs.
Yes, seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, for instance, are great, but I must admit I prefer panko; the pieces will be crunchier and crispier.
With a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should be 74°C/165°F.
If you don’t have one, cut one piece in the middle; the meat should be white; no pink allowed.
Refrigerate leftovers for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Reheat in the air fryer for about 3 minutes. You can also reheat the leftovers in a skillet or the oven.
You can also serve the leftovers cold; they are the perfect cut for a delicious sandwich or a wrap.
How to serve?
They are best served immediately. If they stay too long, although delicious, they will not be very crispy anymore. Serve with oven-baked potatoes, fries, baked sweet potatoes slices, smashed or mashed potatoes, and so on.
You can also serve crusted breasts with rice dishes, for instance, Buttered Rice, Pumpkin Rice, Nando's Spicy Rice, BBQ Rice, and so on.
Serve with Yogurt Mint Sauce, marinara sauce, honey-lime or honey mustard sauce, sweet chili sauce, BBQ sauce, or any other favorite dipping sauce.
Slice the pieces, serve them on top of a crunchy salad with balsamic vinaigrette, raspberry vinaigrette, or a yogurt dressing, and make sandwiches or burgers.
More recipes using panko breadcrumbs
Air Fryer Panko Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts about 130-150 g each/ 4.5-5.5 oz
- cooking spray
Flour mix:
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Dipping mix:
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard or similar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Panko mix:
- 100 g panko about 1 ¾ cup/ 3.5 oz
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- Chicken: Butterfly the chicken to have two thinner slices from each breast. Set them aside.
- Flour mix: Mix flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Dipping mix: Lightly whisk mayonnaise, mustard, egg, salt, and pepper with a fork in another large bowl. Set aside.
- Panko mix: Mix panko and paprika in a baking dish or another large shallow container.
Bread the chicken:
- Flour: Place the chicken breasts into the flour bowl. Turn with tongs until they are nicely floured all over.
- Dip: Lift the pieces with tongs, shake them gently to remove the excess, and place them into the mayonnaise bowl. Turn to coat all over.
- Breadcrumbs: Pick up each piece with tongs, shake it gently over the bowl to remove the excess, and place it in the panko-mix container. Turn it around to coat it with the breadcrumbs and press down to help them stick better.
Cook:
- Preheat the air fryer if its instruction manual requires it; I must preheat mine for 3 minutes to 190C/375°F.
- Place the breaded pieces into the basket in a single layer. Spray them with cooking oil.
- Fry the panko chicken for 5 minutes. Flip, and spray with oil again. Cook for another 5-7 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Check the internal temperature; it should be 74°C/165°F.
Notes
- If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cut one piece in the middle; the meat should be white; no pink allowed (Amazon affiliate link).
Susan Berdeaux says
Excellent - moist and tender. I was surprised at the ingredients but they all worked very well.
Max says
Delicious! Loved the mayo mustard dip. Kept chicken breast moist and added good flavor. I did add more spices to the panko breading.
Adina says
Thank you for the comment and feedback, Max.
Adele says
This was so good! Crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Put it on top of greens with caesar dressing and it was perfect. Thank you!
Adina says
So glad to hear it, Adele. Thank you for the feedback.