These heart shaped chicken schnitzels are crispy and delicious – better still, they’re so simple to make!
This is essentially butterfly chicken breast, just tweaked a little to make a heart shape. You know, just to share the love and all. Anywho, let’s see just how easy this is to make! Follow me…
Butterfly Chicken Breast
Butterflying chicken breasts isn’t just a novelty, it’s actually a really efficient way to cook chicken. By butterflying the chicken you not only ensure the meat will cook quicker, but most importantly that it’ll cook more evenly.
To butterfly a chicken breast, you’re essentially horizontally slicing it in half, but ensuring you keep it attached in the middle. I’ve found it doesn’t really matter which side you start from, so long as you slice very carefully and ensure you don’t go right through the meat. I usually just look at the breast and envision it folding out to see which way would make the best heart shape.
Heart Shaped Chicken Breast
To turn the butterflied breast into a heart you really just need to slice the very top, to form the curves of the heart. You can just trim around the edges if you need to. And that’s it!
Process shots: lay chicken breast on chopping board (photo 1), horizontally slice open, making sure it stays attached (photo 2), slice down the centre to open up then slice the very top (photo 3), lay over cling film (photo 4), gently pound until even thickness (photo 5), trim if needed then season with s&p (photo 6).
Chicken Schnitzel
Now you could just fry the chicken as it is, but we’re gonna coat it in a really easy breading. Just for extra crispiness 😛
Panko Breadcrumbs
Panko breadcrumbs are great because they’re big and airy. As such, once they’re baked they come out nice and crispy. You’ll find these in the Asian section of most supermarkets.
Process shots: mix seasoning into flour (photo 1), coat chicken (photo 2), coat chicken in beaten eggs (photo 3), add seasoning to Panko (photos 4&5), coat chicken (photo 6).
Shallow Frying
The quickest and easiest way to cook the schnitzel is to shallow fry. You don’t need a huge amount of oil, we’re not deep frying. Just enough to comfortably coat the bottom of the pan. I recommend using an oil with a high smoking point like vegetable oil.
Can I bake these instead?
You can, and I’ve added a section on this in the recipe card notes section 🙂
Serving Heart Shaped Chicken Schnitzel
I typically serve the schnitzel with Fries or Wedges and lemon wedges. Mustard Mash is also awesome. Check out all my Sides though for inspiration!
You could also turn it into a Chicken Parmesan if you’re really feeling the love! (photo below)
Love a good schnitzel? Check out my Pork Schnitzels with Bonus Sauce or Chicken Schnitzels with Mushroom Gravy!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these heart shaped chicken schnitzels shall we?!
How to make Heart Shaped Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
Heart Shaped Chicken Schnitzel
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Clingfilm & Rolling Pin or Mallet (for pounding)
- 3 Large Shallow Dishes (for dredging)
- Large Pan & Tongs (for frying)
- Wire Rack & Paper Towels
Ingredients
- 4x 200-250g/7-9oz Chicken Breasts
- 1 tsp EACH: Paprika, Garlic Powder, Salt plus more as needed
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper plus more as needed
- 1/3 cup / 50g Plain/All Purpose Flour
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups / 100g Panko Breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 1 cup / 250ml Vegetable Oil, or as needed
- Lemon Wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Horizontally slice a chicken breast through the centre as if you were to butterfly it. I recommend slicing through the shorter side, but it doesn't make a huge difference. When you get about halfway through, open up the chicken and carefully slice down the middle to open it up. Be careful not to slice all the way through. Make a slice at the top to create the two curves of the heart (see video below for guidance).
- Lay over clingfilm and gently pound to even thickness, but not so much that the meat starts tearing apart. Trim around the edges to clean up the heart shape if you need to. Season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper, then repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Set up 3 large shallow dishes: the first with flour, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, paprika & salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper, the second with beaten eggs and the third with Panko breadcrumbs and the rest of the seasoning. One by one dredge the chicken through the flour, into the eggs then finish in the breadcrumbs. Ensure you thoroughly coat the chicken at each stage, namely the breadcrumbs.
- Add enough oil to comfortably fill the bottom of a large heavy-based pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot (around 3-5 minutes - a breadcrumb should rapidly sizzle) take 1 piece of chicken and gently lower it into the oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown with the centre piping hot, then remove and rest on a wire rack with paper towels underneath. Bring the oil back up to temp and top up if needed, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Serve with lemon wedges and side of choice or turn into a chicken parma (see notes).
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
We baked ours and it came out great!
Thanks so much for the review, Susan 🙂 C.