I Cooked Chicken Cutlets in an Air Fryer and Compared Them to Cutlets Fried in a Pan
There’s nothing quite like sinking your teeth into a crispy fried chicken cutlet. In fact, it’s so satisfying that reaching for each one gets easier and easier—at least for me. The cruel joke is that I can’t eat as much fried food as I want. Too much fatty food can lead to some pretty nasty gastrointestinal (GI? We’re all related here, right?) upset. While it doesn’t eliminate oil entirely, I have to get creative to use less of it. That’s where the air fryer comes in. I can still make crispy chicken cutlets without a puddle of oil.
To make these chicken cutlets, I use an air fryer with a basket, specifically the Instant Vortex , which is one of my top air fryers of 2025 . It’s easy to use and heats food quickly and evenly; you can read more about the Instant Vortex in my review . Here’s how I cook chicken cutlets in an air fryer using less oil than a frying pan.
How to Cook Chicken Cutlets in an Air Fryer
Whether you fry in a pan or in an air fryer, the cooking method is the same. First, you need to create a crust that will stick well.
1. Toss chicken cutlets in sauce.
If you bought thinly sliced patties, you’re ready to bread. If you bought whole breasts, cut them in half or into thirds crosswise to make wide, flat patties.
Prepare your breading area: Set out a bowl with one or two raw eggs, a bowl of seasoned flour (I usually just salt and pepper the flour), and a plate of bread crumbs. Today I used seasoned panko bread crumbs. Set a cooling rack on a baking sheet next to it. Shaking off any excess, coat each cutlet first in flour, then in egg, then coat the chicken in panko. Place the breaded chicken on the rack and repeat with the remaining cutlets. Let the chicken sit for about 15 minutes. This will help the bread crumbs stay in place.
2. Preheat the deep fryer.
Unlike a puddle of oil in a pan, air fryers typically take less than three minutes to preheat, so you don’t have to preheat ahead of time, just turn it on when you’re ready to cook. Today, I used the Instant Vortex Air Fryer, setting it to 200°C. Since the patties are thin, my main goal is to get the breading browned and crispy, because I know the higher temperature will cook the chicken faster.
3. Brush the chicken with oil.
Air frying is not without oil. At least, I don’t recommend avoiding it. The idea is to get a result similar to pan frying, but without the oil. Without oil, the chicken will be dry and the breading will not brown or develop a rich flavor. However, even a thin layer of oil will make all the difference, resulting in more even browning and a crispy crust.
I use a non-aerosol oil sprayer and spray the oil in a zig-zag pattern to coat most of one side of each chop. I place the chicken oil-side down in the fryer and spray the top side with oil. If you don’t have an oil sprayer, you can use a pastry brush and simply brush the chicken with oil. It’s okay if you miss a few spots—the oil will spread out on its own as it heats.
4. Fry the cutlets in a frying pan.
I air fry the chicken for a total of 10-12 minutes at 200°C, depending on the thickness of the piece. Keep in mind that air fryers only heat from the bottom, underneath, so you will probably need to flip the chicken halfway through cooking to brown the other side.
5. Cool
Cooling is critical for most meats, but especially for crispy foods. The last thing you want is to leave fried patties in the slow cooker with the fan off. The fan creates a stream of hot air, but it also draws moisture out of the pot. Once the motor is off, all that moisture collects in the basket or oven, softening the crispy coating.
Immediately after cooking, remove the chicken from the oven and let it cool on a rack for at least five minutes. This will help the cutlets retain their crispy crust.
Air frying can actually reduce the amount of oil
When you spray the cutlets with oil, you might momentarily think, “Isn’t this the same as frying them in a pan?” Nope. I’ve cooked chicken cutlets using the air fryer method above, as well as the pan frying method, using a half-inch layer of oil so I could see and taste the results at the same time. I used over a cup of vegetable oil in the pan, and by the end of cooking, the breading had soaked up about half of it. My air fryer cutlets used about two tablespoons of oil, and some of it ended up in the bottom of the air fryer basket.
Keep in mind that simply putting something in an air fryer does not automatically make it “healthier.” Healthier is a different thing for everyone, but if you want to reduce the amount of oil and still get a delicious, crispy patty, this is definitely one way to achieve that.
Disadvantages of Air-Fried Chicken Cutlets
Were both results identical in taste and appearance? No. The breaded chicken cutlets are undoubtedly better. They are juicier, more flavorful, and have a more uniform color.
However, air fryer chicken cutlets come out just as crispy, especially if you follow my chilling instructions. For better air fryer chicken cutlets, try using chicken thighs. I know that a chicken thigh is thin and flat to begin with, but the air fryer runs a higher risk of drying it out due to convection. Start with a juicier piece of chicken to get a juicier result, and you’ll avoid excess oil.