Seeded chicken schnitzel is a wonderfully delicious and easy recipe made with boneless chicken breast. This crispy chicken schnitzel has the perfect crunchy coating on the outside and juicy tender chicken on the inside. It also makes great leftovers so you may want to make a double batch.
About this Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
Crusted Seeded chicken schnitzel is the stuff that dreams are made of and it is on a constant rotation in our house! It is one of my favorite chicken recipes .
If you are not familiar with schnitzel, it is less fancy than it sounds and is basically a cut of meat pounded thin, breaded and then pan fried.
Traditionally you will see pork schnitzel but chicken schnitzel is also common. If you are looking for a new chicken breast recipe that is not boring then this it!
Why this is the best chicken schnitzel recipe
This Ottolenghi schnitzel recipe has so much flavor thanks to all the amazing ingredients. Unlike regular breaded chicken schnitzel that is made with bread crumbs only, this chicken has bread crumbs, spices (that are amazing and add so much flavor) and seeds to give it the ultimate crunch.
If you are not familiar with Chef Ottolenghi, he is a wonderful chef that has also published many cookbooks that showcase his really creative and flavorful recipes. There is more about him below!
Ingredients you will need to make this seeded chicken schnitzel
- Chicken breast
- Panko bread crumbs
- eggs and flour (for coating the chicken)
- black and white sesame seeds
- sunflower seeds
- turmeric
- salt and pepper
- cayenne pepper
- oil for cooking
Some of these ingredients might not be what you have in your pantry but it is worth it to purchase them and make this. I did just that and used all of the ingredients when I made a large batch to have for meals later on.
How to make chicken schnitzel ahead of time
Aside from this chicken being amazing in flavor, the real winner for me is that it is so easy to re-heat in the oven. It tastes like it was made fresh that day.
I also tried it out in a big batch to freeze some for quick meal nights and you know what, it tastes just as amazing and crisp as if it were made that day. That makes this is a recipe keeper for me.
I am always looking for more quick meals to add to my cooking routine!
Who is Chef Ottolenghi
As the name of the recipe suggests, this is a recipe by Chef Ottolenghi and it comes from his cookbook, Ottolenghi Simple. I'm sure you guessed by the name why I bought it.
I have made almost all the recipes in this book already and they are all brilliant and delicious. Ottolenghi takes familiar flavors and not so familiar ones and transforms them into dishes that you may already know but changes the flavor profile.
This Ottolenghi schnitzel is a great example of that. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I am sharing this recipe to not only showcase its amazing flavor but to show you what an amazing make ahead meal this is.
What to serve with chicken schnitzel
If you are wondering what to serve with schnitzel, I love to serve this with a simple sauce made of mayonnaise, soy sauce, chili paste and sesame oil. I still need to write up a recipe for this but it is used all the time at our house.
We love to serve it with a side of fluffy rice and miso roasted broccolini. Sometimes we swap out the broccolini for turmeric potatoes and it is equally as delicious. I also love making a gochujang mayo or creamy sriracha mayo, both of them are so amazing with this schnitzel.
You don't really need a sauce for this schnitzel because it is so full of flavor but hey, I like sauce!
I will also like to re-heat some of this crispy chicken schnitzel that I made ahead of time and slice it up and serve it over some ramen for a quick weeknight dinner.
This makes the best ramen topping when it sliced up into thin strips! You can also serve this sliced up on top of a salad for the most wonderful chicken salad.
Anyway this chicken is served up, it will be delicious. I guarantee it!
Some helpful tips when making this seeded chicken schnitzel
How to keep the breading from sliding off of the chicken.
Many people have issues with breaded chicken recipes not holding the breading on the meat. One way I was always taught to deal with this is to bread your meat then store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
This gives the breading time to stick to the meat so that when you are ready to cook it, the breading will stay on.
The best way to freeze chicken schnitzel
You will want to make the entire recipe start to finish first. Next when your chicken is done cooking, place on a wire baking rack (with paper towels underneath to catch any oil) and allow to cool.
Once completely cool, grab a large freezer proof container or bag and place the schnitzel in that making sure not to stack them together. Freeze for up to 2 months.
To thaw, just remove from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight.
To re-heat, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the schnitzel in some aluminum foil and seal it.
Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until hot. Open up the aluminum foil and cook for another couple minutes to crisp it up.
For More Chicken Recipes
- Easy Blackened Chicken
- Chicken with Tarragon
- Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken
- Crispy Coconut Chicken with Hot Honey
- Chacarero - A Chilean Chicken Sandwich
- Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Southwest Chicken Bowl
- Chicken Saltimbocca
- Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
Ottolenghi's Seeded Chicken Schnitzel
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
Seeded Coating
- 6 tablespoon salted sunflower seeds
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups plain panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ tablespoon pepper
Other ingredients Needed
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts butterflied and pounded thin to about ¼ inch thick
- 2 eggs beaten in a medium shallow bowl
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅛ cup vegetable oil You can start with less and add more as needed
Instructions
- In a large shallow baking dish, mix all of the ingredients for the seeded crust (above).
- In another large shallow baking dish add your flour
- In a third large shallow baking dish add your beaten eggs
- Now line up all of your baking dishes in a row next to each other starting with the flour then the egg then the seeded crust mix so you have a nice assembly lije ready for the chicken.
- Once you have done this, take the chicken breasts that you have pounded thin with a rolling pin or similar and dip it into the flour making sure to coat both sides well.
- Now remove the chicken from the flour and give it a light shake to remove any excess flour and then place it in the egg mixture.
- Coat the chicken front and back in the egg and then place it into the seeded crust mixture.
- Make sure to press the chicken down well in the seeded crust mixture so there is some of the mixture on all of it.
- Once the chicken is completely coated with the seed mixture, place it on a plate and continue to coat the remaining chicken following the steps above.
Cooking the chicken
- Pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add you oil to the pan and let it get nice and hot.
- Once the oil is heated, begin adding your chicken.
- Cook for about 4 minutes or until you see a nice golden color.
- Turn the chicken over and cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes until golden in color.
- Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
If you are making a large batch for meal prep or freezing
- After you are done cooking your chicken, place on to cooling racks to allow the chicken to cool and dry evenly on both sides.
Freezing
- Once cool, if freezing, place on a large sheet pan making sure they do not overlap and place in the freezer until completely frozen. Once frozen, remove from the sheet pan and place the frozen chicken in a freezer proof bag until ready to use. To thaw:Remove the chicken from the freezer and place in the refrigerator over night to thaw. You can also thaw the same day by placing it in the refrigerator at least 4 hours in advance of cooking it.
- To re-heat:Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place your chicken on top of the aluminum foil and fold the aluminum foil over the top of the chicken to prevent the crust from browning too much.Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you see the juices bubbling from the crust.
For meal prep
- Follow the instructions above for cooling down the chicken. Once cool you can individually wrap the chicken in containers.To re-heat:Place chicken in aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.Chicken can also be eaten cold cut into strips (it is great over a salad!)
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Meg says
This is delicious! I am going to check out the cookbook too. Thanks for the recommendation