This easy Air Fryer Japanese Chicken Cutlet recipe comes out perfectly golden crispy without all the fuss of traditional oil frying! Your whole family will love this healthier air fried chicken cutlet recipe!
Chicken cutlet or katsu in Japanese has always been a family favorite. We used to frequent a Japanese restaurant famous for their katsu which was amazingly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Sounds delicious right?
When I bought an air fryer a few months ago, I knew I wanted to try making an air fried chicken cutlet because sometimes, I just don’t want to fuss with oil frying.
And that’s exactly why we made this recipe! You get the perfect crispy panko crust in a matter of minutes with no deep frying!
What is Japanese chicken katsu cutlet?
Traditional chicken katsu is fried chicken made from panko, or bread crumbs, coated on the chicken and deep fried until golden brown. It’s popular all over the world in places like Asia, Hawaii, Australia, the UK and the US.
How do you make a low carb crispy crust breading?
Making chicken katsu low carb friendly is not any harder than making the traditional version.
We first coat the chicken in Almond Flour, then dip the chicken in egg and coat it with Unflavored Pork Rinds and then just throw it in the air fryer for 15 minutes. That’s it!
You can make your own pork rind breading by placing them in a food processor or you can buy some Pork Panko.
What are the benefits of air frying chicken katsu cutlet?
Air frying is healthier in that you’re not using heavily processed oil to deep fry. Instead, an air fryer uses the movement of very hot air to make foods crispy.
Also, oil frying in itself can sometimes be a hassle. It uses a lot of oil and the clean up can sometimes be quite messy. Not to mention, the grease left on the kitchen floors too!
What is tonkatsu sauce and how do you make it?
Traditional tonkatsu sauce actually contains a lot of sugar, so we have developed a low carb friendly version using basic ingredients you have at home. It’s super easy to make and tastes the same!
What does the optional bringing of the chicken thigh do?
We like to brine our chicken before air frying because we’ve found it gives the chicken extra flavor and tenderizes the chicken. Of course, this step is optional and not required, especially if you’re short on time. But we do think the extra step is worth it if you have the time.
To complete this low carb meal, we enjoy our air fried chicken katsu with a side of shredded cabbage and an extra drizzle of the tonkatsu sauce, but you can just enjoy it as is too!
Did you have any other Japanese kastsu recipes I could try?
- Japanese Hamburger Cutlet – Menchi Katsu
- Chaffle Katsu Sandwich
- Tonkatsu – Japanese Pork Cutlet
- Ebi Fry – Japanese Fried Shrimp
- Full Collection of Asian Recipes
Now, let’s get making this Air Fryer Japanese Chicken Cutlet recipe!
- Prepping Time 5M
- Optional Brine Time 1H
- Cooking Time 15M
- Total Time 20M
- Net Carb/Serv ~3g
- Servings 2
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3/4 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh (about 3-4 pieces)
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 3 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds (1/3 Cup if using Pork Panko)
Optional Brine
- 2 Cups of Water
- 1 tbsp Salt
Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar Free Ketchup
- 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp Monkfruit Erythritol Blend (or sweetener of choice)
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Add 2 cups of water and 1 tbsp salt into a large mixing bowl. Add chicken to start brine process and brine for 1 hour. Note – you can skip this step if desired.
3) Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Once dried, sprinkle salt & black pepper on both sides and set aside. Note – if you did the brine, omit or very lightly salt.
4) In a small mixing bowl, combine Sugar Free Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Oyster Sauce and Monkfruit Erythritol Blend. Mix well and set aside.
5) Pour Unflavored Pork Rinds into a food processor and pulse until ground into very fine. You can also use your hands to crush the pork rinds if you don’t have a food processor, but we strongly recommend using a food processor. Note – Skip this step if you are using Pork Panko.
6) Fill 1 mixing bowl with Almond Flour, 1 mixing bowl with beaten eggs, 1 mixing bowl with crushed Unflavored Pork Rinds/Pork Panko.
7) Take a piece of chicken thigh and dip in the following order: Almond Flour > eggs > Unflavored Pork Rinds/Pork Panko. Once coated, place into air fryer tray and air fry for 13-15 minutes at 390F.
8) Once air fried, slice the cutlet into 1/2 inch slices and enjoy with tonkatsu sauce from step 4)!
Hope you enjoy your Air Fryer Japanese Chicken Cutlet!
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Air Fryer Japanese Chicken Katsu Cutlet
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3/4 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh about 3-4 pieces
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 3 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds 1/3 Cup if using Pork Panko
Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar Free Ketchup
- 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp Monkfruit Erythritol Blend or sweetener of choice
Optional Brine
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 tbsp Salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Add 2 cups of water and 1 tbsp salt into a large mixing bowl. Add chicken to start brine process and brine for 1 hour. Note - you can skip this step if desired.
- Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Once dried, sprinkle salt & black pepper on both sides and set aside. Note - if you did the brine, omit or very lightly salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine Sugar Free Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Oyster Sauce and Monkfruit Erythritol Blend. Mix well and set aside.
- Pour Unflavored Pork Rinds into a food processor and pulse until ground into very fine. You can also use your hands to crush the pork rinds if you don’t have a food processor, but we strongly recommend using a food processor. Note – Skip this step if you are using Pork Panko.
- Fill 1 mixing bowl with Almond Flour, 1 mixing bowl with beaten eggs, 1 mixing bowl with crushed Unflavored Pork Rinds/Pork Panko.
- Take a piece of chicken thigh and dip in the following order: Almond Flour > eggs > Unflavored Pork Rinds/Pork Panko. Once coated, place into air fryer tray and air fry for 13-15 minutes at 390F.
- Once air fried, slice the cutlet into 1/2 inch slices and enjoy with tonkatsu sauce from step 4)!
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