These Caesar Chicken Cutlets Are Our New Favorite Weeknight Dinner (2024)

Is there anything better than a chicken Caesar salad? At Allrecipes, we think there are few lunches as perfect as a Caesar salad and a side of fries. But even the best things in life can be made better, and that's certainly the case with this recipe. We took the best parts of a chicken Caesar salad—crunchy croutons, juicy chicken, and creamy, tangy dressing—and left behind the lettuce in pursuit of a perfect weeknight-friendly chicken recipe. And we can safely say we found it. These Crispy Caesar Chicken Cutlets are the crowd-pleasing, recipe rut-ending dinner you've been searching for.

Why We Love Caesar Chicken Cutlets

This is one of those recipes that will make you wonder, "How did I never think of this before?" It plays on a hack that trended on social media last year where people were making 3-ingredient cutlets with just chicken breasts, Caesar dressing as a binder, and croutons as a breading. Our recipe takes that genius method and amps up the flavor with a few worthy additions.

Our test kitchen notes, "Using prepared Caesar dressing as a wet dredge is a clever way to punch up the flavor and make a wonderful adhesive for the breadcrumb mixture." We opted for air frying to make these more approachable and clean-up easier (because who wants to deal with fryer oil on a weeknight?), but these taste even better shallow-fried if you don't have an air fryer or are willing to make the effort.

But what makes this recipe stand apart from the thousands of other chicken recipes we have on Allrecipes? It delivers a familiar, comforting flavor profile in a brand-new way. As one recipe tester writes, "The breading tastes almost exactly like a Caesar salad." The seasoned breadcrumbs-crouton-parmesan mix are the star here; Once you try crushed croutons as a coating, you may never make chicken cutlets without them again. And hot tip: try adding a packet of dry Caesar dressing mix to the breadcrumb-crouton mixture to take advantage of another layer of flavor.

With this recipe, gone are the days of making multiple dinners to satisfy picky eaters. This is guaranteed to please the whole family—and don't be surprised if they ask for seconds. In fact, you can—and probably should—double the recipe.

How to Make Caesar Chicken Cutlets

Start by gathering all your ingredients. See the recipe for the full list, but here are some of key ingredients that make these cutlets so crunchy and irresistible:

• Chicken breast cutlets: This recipe calls for chicken cutlets, which are chicken breasts that have been sliced or pounded to make them even thinner. We like them because chicken breasts can easily dry out if overcooked, and cutlets cook more quickly and evenly than full chicken breasts. You can also use tenderloins.
• Caesar dressing: Caesar dressing stands in for the traditional egg or milk as the 'wet' ingredient in the dredging process. Since it has way more seasoning than egg or milk, it boosts the flavor of these cutlets from the jump. Just thin out your preferred Caesar dressing with a little milk to help easily, evenly coat the cutlets.
• Seasoned croutons: Croutons are the secret to an extra crunchy crust, even without frying. We like a thick, seasoned crouton (such as Texas Toast brand). A few pulses in a food processor are enough to break them down into a breadcrumb size, but if you don't have one, you could also use a zip-top bag and a mallet or rolling pin to crush the croutons.
  
• Spices: Lemon pepper, dried oregano, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper amp up the flavor of the breading even more.
• Parmesan cheese: Because would it even be a Caesar salad without Parmesan? We think not. Here, the cheese adds an extra salty, savory flavor to the coating.

From there, the recipe is as simple as it gets. Once you mix together the elements of the coating, it's a simple dredging process you'll recognize if you've ever made chicken cutlets or even eggplant Parmesan. Alternate between 'wet' and 'dry' stations, then pop the prepared cutlets in an air fryer for about 10 to 12 minutes.

You can also opt to shallow fry the cutlets in a large pan with oil at 350 degrees F for 3 to 4 minutes per side for an even crispier texture.Either way, what emerges are the best, most flavor-packed chicken cutlets you may ever have. Fair warning: you'll never want to top a Caesar salad (or any salad) with regular old grilled chicken again.

What Our Community Says

While this recipe is still fairly new, the early reviews are overwhelmingly positive. "This was so yummy! It was a big hit for dinner. Next time I think that I’ll marinate the chicken for a while in the Caesar dressing/milk mixture just to give it more of that Caesar taste," writes Allrecipes user febyshe.

Community member Wendy Ryan agrees; "What a wonderful, simple weeknight-approved recipe! Only changes I made were to make smaller pieces of chicken to get even more of the yummy crunchy coating per serving."

As if those weren't enough, take it from our very own Allrecipes staff; writer Bailey Fink is hooked. "So easy and delicious! An absolute keeper, I will be making this as my go-to salad topper, wrap, and sandwich add-in from now on."