How to Cook Thin Sliced Chicken Breast
Learn how to cook thin sliced chicken breast; you can bake it, pan-fry it, air fry it, or grill it. You can cook them as they are or you can bread them.
Servings: 4
Calories: 336kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts or 8 thin-sliced chicken breast pieces, 1 ½ lbs/ 700 g, Note 1
Unbreaded chicken:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + more as needed for each cooking method, Note 2
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt Note 3
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
Breaded chicken:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup dried breadcrumbs Note 4
- ½ cup Parmesan pressed a bit, 30 g/ 1 oz
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- cooking spray
Instructions
Slice chicken breasts:
- Place one breast on a cutting board and ensure that the board won’t slip. I usually place the board on a folded kitchen towel.
- Remove the tender if it’s still attached.
- Cut: Hold the piece flat with one hand. Using a sharp chef’s knife, slice the breast in two horizontally, cutting as evenly as possible.
- Pound: To make the pieces completely even, pound the with a meat mallet or a heavy object like a pan. Cover the slices with a piece of plastic wrap and pound them to an even thickness, about ½ - ¾ inches/ 1.2-2 cm thick. Do it gently and evenly to avoid tearing the meat.
Unbreaded thin-sliced chicken:
- Season chicken: Place the slices into a large bowl. Pour the oil on top and turn the pieces to coat them all over. Add all the spices and mix well to coat.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Bake the seasoned chicken for about 12 minutes. Check the internal temperature; it should be 165°F/74°C. If it’s not there yet, give it another 2 minutes and check again.
- Pan-fry: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil (or butter) in a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan. Cook the slices for about 3-4 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C.
- Air-fry: Preheat the air fryer and spray the basket with cooking spray. Arrange the slices in the air fryer in a single layer. Cook them for about 10-12 minutes, turning halfway through. Check the internal temperature after 10 minutes already.
- Grill: Preheat the grill to high heat and brush the grates with oil. Grill the marinated chicken with the lid on for 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked through.
Breaded thin-sliced chicken:
- Season chicken: Place the chicken slices in a large bowl. Coat with the oil, add the spices, and mix well to coat.
- Breading station: Place the flour, a pinch of salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Beat the eggs in another bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and poultry seasoning on a large plate or bowl.
- Bread chicken: Lightly coat the slices with flour (shake to remove the excess). Dredge the pieces through the beaten eggs. Mix the breadcrumbs with grated Parmesan and poultry seasoning. Press gently to help the breadcrumbs adhere to the breasts.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 400°F/200 °C. Line a baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray. Bake the slices for 10 minutes. Flip and bake them for another 5 minutes or until cooked through.
- Pan-fry: Heat about ½ cup/ 125 ml of vegetable oil in a large frying pan or skillet until hot but not smoking. Fry the breaded cutlets in 2-3 batches for about 3-5 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and place on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
- Air-fry: Preheat the air fryer to 390°F/200°C and spray the basket with cooking spray. Arrange the chicken in the basket in a single layer. Cook for 7 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Grill: Preheat the grill to medium. Brush the grates with oil. Grill covered for 4-6 minutes per side or until cooked through.
Notes
- You can cut regular chicken breasts in half or use already sliced chicken cutlets. The total weight should be about 1 ½ lbs/ 700 g.
- Substitute olive oil with another oil like canola or sunflower oil
- Substitute the spice mixture with any spices or store-bought seasonings you like. Check if the spices mixture already contains salt and adjust the salt you need accordingly.
- Regular breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs.
- Nutrition is calculated for the unbreaded chicken slices. Breaded chicken slices have about 350 calories per serving, more when they are fried in oil. All these values are approximate.
Nutrition
Serving: 2slices | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 559mg | Potassium: 864mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 328IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg