The Most Crispy and Flavorful Air Fryer Chicken Patty

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 286kcal

Author: Lauren

This Air Fryer Chicken Patty is pure perfection! Golden and crispy on the outside, yet still tender and juicy on the inside. This recipe has quickly become a FAVORITE around here! It will quickly become your new favorite way to eat chicken too!

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Equipment

Air Fryer

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 4 pieces (4 oz. each)
1/2 cup pickle juice (120g)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (30g) GF if needed
2 Tbsp confectioners sugar - I used Swerve
1 tsp each: salt onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, TJ’s pickle seasoning (or Italian seasoning)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp dijon mustard (30g)
2 cups panko bread crumbs (224g)

Instructions

Marinate the Chicken:

Trim chicken and pound to an even thickness (about 1-inch thick), then cut in half down the middle (not butterflying but actually in half). I used 8-oz. chicken breasts that I cut into four 4-oz. pieces.
Add chicken to a large bowl or ziploc bag with the pickle juice. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then discard the marinade and pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.

Optional Extra Crispy Step:

Add panko breadcrumbs to a large baking sheet. Spread out in an even layer and spray with cooking spray (from a distance).
Bake for 3-4 minutes, then shake breadcrumbs around and bake for another 3-4 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Prepare the Breading Station:

Prepare three shallow bowls. In one, mix together the flour, confectioners sugar and all the seasonings. In the next, whisk together the eggs and mustard. Finally in the last bowl, add the Panko.

Bread the Chicken:

First dip the chicken in the flour mixture. Coat all sides and shake any excess off.
Then dip in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip down.
Finally, dip the chicken completely in the Panko. Press down with your fingers to help it stay on. Repeat with all the chicken.

Notes

To make gluten free: use gluten-free flour (King Arthur's or Bob's Red Mill) and gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs.

Helpful Tips for the Best Crispy Chicken:

Do not skip pounding the chicken. The chicken needs to be even and thin (¼ inch thick) to ensure the chicken cooks evenly and fast. If chicken is too thick you risk burning the breading or overcooking the chicken.
Use Panko breadcrumbs. Normal Italian breadcrumbs don’t get as crispy as Panko breadcrumbs. Make sure you’re using Panko!
Crisp the breadcrumbs up before breading. In order to get the most crispy chicken, you’ll want to get the breadcrumbs crispy BEFORE breading the chicken.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. Make sure to leave space between the chicken patties so the hot air can circulate and crisp the chicken up! So you may need to cook the chicken in batches depending on the size of your air fryer (I did two batches).
Don’t over-cook the chicken. Over-cooking can result in the chicken drying out and not being tender and juicy – which we don’t want! Check internal temperature with a thermometer to ensure chicken is cooked through (no longer pink in the middle or internal temperature reaches 165F). I actually like to remove from chicken when it reaches 155F because it will still continue to cook some even when it’s not in the air fryer basket and this way it prevents overcooking.

Nutrition