Chicken Schnitzel with Garlic Butter

Perfectly juicy crispy chicken steaks with a simple garlic-caper butter. I love how flattening out the chicken breast makes it look like a giant portion (but also gives the advantage of cooking it more evenly and quickly!).

A tall, overhead shot of Chicken Schnitzel. The chicken is topped with the garlic caper butter, next to it is a serving of new potatoes, and on the same plate there is a serving of butter lettuce salad and a silver fork, this is all on a large white plate. In the top left corner of the image, there is a small white dish filled with sea salt. On the left side of the image, there is a navy blue napkin tucked beneath the plate. This is all set on a dark blue surface.

Dinner plate-sized crispy chicken steak anyone?

When they’re butterflied and bashed down to this nice thin size, these chicken schnitzel steaks only take about 6 minutes to cook.

Of course, they’re so big, I can only fit 2 in my pan at a time. So the oven comes in handy for keeping things warm while we cook in a couple of batches.

You can serve the schnitzel simply as it is, or with a wedge of lemon, but I like to serve it with a garlic-caper-butter that adds the perfect amount of saltiness and tang to complement the chicken.

📋 Ingredients

For the Chicken Schnitzel

For the Garlic Caper Butter

A wide, overhead shot of the ingredients for Garlic Caper Butter. The ingredients are laid out on a wooden cutting board. The ingredients are each labelled in white text. The ingredients are as follows: Butter, Capers, Garlic, Fresh Parsley, Salt, and Pepper.

📺 Watch how to make it

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***

First we butterfly the chicken and bash it to flatten it with a rolling pin, between two pieces of parchment paper.
Coat the chicken in seasoned flour, then egg, then panko.
Fry for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden and cooked through. I work in two batches, keeping the first one warm in the oven while I cook the second batch.
While the chicken is cooking, make the garlic-caper-butter by melting the butter in a saucepan and browning it very slightly. Then add garlic and sauté for a minute. Then turn off the heat and stir in salt, pepper, capers and fresh parsley.
Serve the chicken with your favourite sides (I like boiled potatoes and a simple butterleaf salad) and drizzle over the butter.

Pro Tip

When keeping the chicken warm in the oven, place on a wire rack over a tray. The wire rack allows air circulation and will keep the chicken nice and crispy.

Crispy chicken goodness!

A tall shot of Chicken Schnitzel. The chicken is topped with the garlic caper butter, next to it is a serving of new potatoes, and on the same plate there is a serving of butter lettuce salad and a silver fork, this is all on a large white plate. In the top left corner of the image, there is a small white dish filled with sea salt. On the left side of the image, there is a navy blue napkin tucked beneath the plate. In the top of the background, you can slightly see a second white plate of chicken schnitzel and new potatoes. This is all set on a dark blue surface.

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Butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing into each breast horizontally most of the way through, then opening up the chicken breast – so it looks like an extra-large chicken steak.

4 chicken breasts
Place one of the chicken breasts on top of a large piece of baking parchment and fold the parchment over the top of the chicken. Use a rolling pin or wooden mallet to pound the chicken breast so it’s about ¼ inch (just over half a centimetre) thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika in a large shallow bowl.

60 g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika
Break the eggs in a second large shallow bowl and whisk lightly with a fork.

2 large eggs
Add the panko breadcrumbs to a third large shallow bowl.

115 g (2 + 1/4cups) panko breadcrumbs
Dredge a chicken breast through the flour mixture, coating fully on both sides. Coat fully with the egg mixture, then finally coat well with the panko mixture. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
Place a baking tray in the oven on a low temperature – this is to keep the cooked schnitzels warm. We’ll be cooking in two batches.
Add the oil to a large frying pan and heat over a medium heat.

240 ml (1 cup) oil
Add two of the chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through (check it’s no longer pink in the middle). Carefully remove from the pan and place on the tray in the oven.
Repeat with the remaining two chicken breasts. You shouldn’t need to add more oil to the pan, but you can add an extra splash if you think it needs it. Make sure the oil is hot before adding the chicken.
To make the garlic-caper butter: Place the butter in a saucepan and heat over a low-medium heat. Continue to heat until the butter melts, starts to foam a little and turns very lightly golden brown – this should take about 3-4 minutes.

120 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
Turn the heat down to low and add the garlic. Cook for a further minute, whilst stirring, to gently saute the garlic.

3 cloves garlic
Turn the heat off, then stir in the salt, pepper, capers and parsley.

1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp capers in brine, 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Divide the chicken between plates and drizzle over the garlic butter. I like to serve mine with lemon wedges, new potatoes and a simple butter lettuce salad.

wedges of lemon, steamed new potatoes, Butter Lettuce Salad

Can I cook in the air fryer or oven?
I don’t recommend cooking this in the air fryer or oven. The chicken is so thin, it will cook before the coating has a chance to brown. Also you won’t get that lovely golden coating.

Leftovers/make ahead
You can make crispy chicken and fry it ahead of time, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days (or save leftovers in this way).
I don’t recommend refrigerating the chicken uncooked (the panko will go mushy).
Reheat the chicken uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 8-10 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Alternatively, reheat in the air fryer at 180C/350F for 4-6 minutes per schnitzel, until piping hot throughout. If air frying, check a couple of times during cooking, to ensure the coating doesn’t burn.

Freezing
Make the crispy chicken and fry it, then cool, cover and freeze in a single layer.
Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat as per the instructions above.
Alternatively reheat from frozen
Reheat the chicken uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 12-15 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Alternatively, reheat in the air fryer at 180C/350F for 6-8 minutes per schnitzel, until piping hot throughout. If air frying, check a couple of times during cooking, to ensure the coating doesn’t burn.

Nutritional information is approximate, per person (this recipe serve 4) not including potatoes and salad.

This presumes each schnitzel absorbs approx. 1 tablespoon of oil during the cooking process (this may vary).

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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