Air Fryer Chicken Katsu. Crispy panko breaded chicken that is delicious and tender made with less oil in the air fryer. Ready in 30 minutes.
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What is Air Fryer Chicken Katsu?
Air Fryer Chicken Katsu is the tender crispy chicken cutlets coated in cornstarch, eggs and in flaky Japanese panko bread crumbs air fried with some oil and not deep fried. Japanese chicken Katsu is a popular dish from Japan. This popular Japanese dish is usually served with white rice with a sweet savory sauce, cabbage slaw with tomatoes or in bento boxes at Japanese restaurants or Japanese takeout. In Japanese cuisine, the traditional chicken katsu is deep fried in large amounts of oil until golden brown with a crispy coating. This juicy chicken katsu is perfect for dinner, lunch or in a sandwich.
What sets this apart from a chicken schnitzel are the Japanese breadcrumbs. They're lighter and flakier than regular breadcrumbs giving you that crispy perfection! The panko crumbs are also not as dense as regular bread crumbs. In addition, the chicken katsu sauce is another main difference as regular chicken cutlets are usually served with gravy, lemon wedges or with mayo.
I love this easy air fryer chicken katsu because the air fryer method allows for me to enjoy Japanese fried chicken with minimal oil. Usually deep frying is required to make this dish but since the invention of the air fryer, I can now enjoy this dish more often!
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients for my airfryer chicken katsu:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs: Breast is leaner but tends to be “drier” depending on air frying time. Thigh is more forgiving and comes out juicier even if you overcook it since it's fattier. So it's a matter of personal preference, just make sure to adjust the air frying time according to the recipe card below.
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cornstarch: or potato starch
- Eggs
- Japanese style panko breadcrumbs: these are Japanese style breadcrumbs and they are lighter and flakier than the regular kind
- Neutral oil: like vegetable oil, avocado oil or any scentless oil with a high smoke point that can withstand 400 F
Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce
- Ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Oyster sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce
- White granulated sugar
Note: Your Asian grocery store will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- On a cutting board, butterfly your chicken breasts or thighs. Using the back of your knife or a meat hammer, tenderize the meat until both pieces are flattened, about ½ of an inch thick. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper.
- Prepare 3 shallow bowls. The first to contain cornstarch, the second with beaten egg and the last with panko breadcrumbs. Generously coat each piece in cornstarch, egg and panko. Make sure each piece is coated well.
- Depending on the size of your air fryer, place one or both pieces of the chicken in the air fryer so it lays in one single layer. Do not over crowd the air fryer and ensure there is enough air space surrounding the chicken or it will not be crispy.
- Spray or drizzle enough oil over top of each piece, about 1 tablespoon of oil on the first side.
- Air fry at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes on one side. Important: If the chicken is smaller in size (about 6 x 3 inches in dimension) only air fry for 6-7 minutes on each side.
- Remove basket from air fryer. Flip the chicken over and spray another tablespoon of oil over top. Air fry at the same temperature for another 9 minutes or 6-7 minutes if the pieces are smaller. Remove from air fryer and slice into strips.
- In a small bowl, combine homemade katsu sauce ingredients. Serve with chicken.
Storage & Reheating
This dish will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat until hot.
Expert Tips
- Use quality fresh chicken breast or chicken thighs for best results. For tastier juicy air fried chicken katsu, use large chicken thighs as this meat tends to be very forgiving thanks to the fat, even if you overcook it.
- Tenderize this meat with the back of your knife or a meat mallet into thin cutlets. This is how they traditionally make it in Japanese cuisine as the meat is hammered out to a thin layer out prior to coating and cooking.
- Generously coat each piece of chicken in starch, egg, and panko ensuring no bald spots.
- Generously spray or brush enough oil over the chicken. Spraying is much easier and will ensure that the panko does not fall off. If you do not have a spray bottle be gentle when brushing the oil over your chicken or the panko will scatter.
- If you have smaller pieces of chicken about 6 inches by 3 inches in dimension, only air fry for 7 minutes on each side or you will over cook it.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about my air fry katsu chicken:
Can you use breading in an air fryer?
Breading can be used in an airfryer as long as it adheres to the main component like in this chicken katsu. Using sufficient cornstarch and egg will help the breadcrumbs stick so they don't fly around in the air fryer.
Are air fryer chicken katsu thighs more delicious than air fryer chicken breast?
In my opinion, yes thigh is much tastier because it has more fat running through it, so it tends to be much juicier. But if you want a leaner chicken katsu, use chicken breast and if you want to go for the good stuff, use thigh meat.
Can I use store bought tonkatsu sauce?
Chicken katsu can be served with store bought tonkatsu sauce. You can easily find tonkatsu sauce at many Asian markets or at select online retailers.
Other recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this air fryer chicken katsu recipe, you may enjoy these other recipes:
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breast or thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt or as needed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or as needed
- ½ cup cornstarch or as needed
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs Japanese style breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Optional Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 2.5 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 tsp oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- On a cutting board, butterfly your chicken breasts or thighs. Using the back of your knife or a meat hammer, tenderize the meat until both pieces are flattened, about ½ of an inch thick. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper.
- Prepare 3 shallow bowls. The first to contain cornstarch, the second with beaten egg and the last with panko breadcrumbs. Generously coat each piece in cornstarch, egg and panko. Make sure each piece is coated well.
- Depending on the size of your air fryer, place one or both pieces of the chicken in the air fryer so it lays in one single layer. Do not over crowd the air fryer and ensure there is enough air space surrounding the chicken or it will not be crispy.
- Spray or drizzle enough oil over top of each piece, about 1 tablespoon of oil on the first side.
- Air fry at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes on one side. Important: If the chicken is smaller in size (about 6 x 3 inches in dimension) only air fry for 6-7 minutes on each side.
- Remove basket from air fryer. Flip the chicken over and spray another tablespoon of oil over top. Air fry at the same temperature for another 9 minutes or 6-7 minutes if the pieces are smaller. Remove from air fryer and slice into strips.
- In a small bowl, combine homemade katsu sauce ingredients. Serve with chicken.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I really like how you've made this healthier by using the air fryer and also with items I usually always have on hand! Perfect!!
Rosemary
I am OBSESSED with air fryer chicken!! I love how crispy your breaded chicken came out-- and it cooks so fast in the air fryer!
Jennifer
Hi Christie! I tried this air fryer chicken katsu recipe and it turned out great! I ended up making two batches - the second batch I forgot to flip and it still turned out crispy and delicious! Thanks for sharing this gem!
christieathome
Hey Jennifer!!! Thanks so much for making my recipe and for leaving this kind comment. So glad you enjoyed it and happy it worked out without having to flip it too. Hope you're keeping well 🙂
ken
So simple to make and so tasty. Never made it before but this will become part of the regular rotation for us. My only issue is the plain cabbage as a side. Pretty tasteless for an American palate. We put some salad dressing on it (Trader Joe's Toasted Sesame) and that complemented the katsu sauce really well. I think a sweeter dressing, like French or Thousand Island would work well, too.
christieathome
Thanks for making my Chicken Katsu, Ken! Glad you enjoyed it.
In reference to the cabbage, I don't have a recipe for this within my blog post - did you spot this somewhere hence the complaint? I understand there's cabbage slaw in the pictures but the recipe is only for the chicken katsu, not the cabbage.
Linda Cole
Absolutely brilliant recipe, and cooking in the air fryer made it so much easier.
Thankyou
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Linda! Happy you enjoyed it 🙂