Thin and tender chicken cutlets are coated in seasoned chunky pretzel crumbs and fried to crisp, goldeny goodness. This hearty Pretzel Crusted Chicken Schnitzel is the perfect way to celebrate Fest season!
I originally had this idea after freelance writing an article that involved taste testing and ranking as many different pretzel brands as I could get my hands on.
Tough job, I know 😎
But seriously, it left us with a ton of open bags of pretzels all at once, forcing me to get creative with how else to use them.
Was Pretzel Crusted Chicken Schnitzel possible? Oh yes. Not just possible, but amazing.
I first made it for my boyfriends birthday dinner a few years ago (he is a pretzel fiend) but I recently jazzed it up a bit for Oktoberfest by serving it with German-Style Sautéed Red Cabbage and my saucy Oktoberfest Beer Cheese.
ingredients for pretzel crusted chicken schnitzel
ingredient notes & swaps
- You can use any type of pretzels you like to make this schnitzel, though I do find that sourdough pretzels don’t turn into crumbs as easily as regular so I would avoid those if possible.
- Coarse or whole grain mustard are usually my go-to options as I love their strong flavor. Spicy brown or dijon mustard would work well here too!
- You’ll need about 2 pounds of chicken breast that are pounded to a ¼ inch thickness. I usually buy whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, slice them in half horizontally, then cover with plastic wrap and pound thin using a mallet or other heavy object like a small skillet. Honestly, I usually use a heavy ice cream scoop for pounding 💁♀️ If you want to trade some coin for your time, most stores sell thinly sliced or pre-pounded chicken. They’ll be a bit more expensive but are a good time saver.
top tips for successfully fried chicken cutlets
A few important things I have learned from years of dredging and frying chicken as a professional chef:
- Flour, Egg, Crumbs. Always. Yes, all three steps of the dredging process are important. This means flour, egg, and pretzel crumbs–in that order–are vital for getting the crust to stick. Without it, the pretzel crumbs will fall off into the oil during cooking and start to burn and just–ugh, what a mess! So yes. You need to do all 3.
- Seasoned flour? Pah. I don’t bother seasoning the flour anymore. Culinary school taught me that seasoning the flour (and not the protein) was important for any good dredging process. In practice though, I found that you have to add a LOT of seasoning to the flour to actually get that flavor into the chicken itself. More often than not, my proteins were coming out bland simply because I was trying to rely solely on seasoned flour to do the job. So now I season the chicken first with salt and pepper, and then go with plain flour during the dredge. Less wasteful, more delicious!
- Fry briefly, then bake. Lots of schnitzel recipes call for cooking the chicken completely in the skillet, but I’m a fry first, bake later kind of girl. By frying the chicken hot and fast, then finishing in the oven, we ensure the coating gets crisp as opposed to oily. Also this empowers us to let the chicken continue cooking internally without having to worry about burning our carefully crafted pretzel crust.
pretzel crusted chicken schnitzel
Thin and tender chicken cutlets are coated in seasoned chunky pretzel crumbs and fried to crisp, goldeny goodness. This hearty Pretzel Crusted Chicken Schnitzel is the perfect way to celebrate Fest season!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the Pretzel Crusted Schnitzel:
- 6 ounces pretzels (about 3 cups classic twists)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, split and pounded 1/4 inch thick)
- Salt, to taste
- Cooking oil, as needed (I used around 2/3 cup)
For Serving:
- Fresh chives, minced
- Fresh lemon wedges
- Oktoberfest Beer Cheese, for dipping and drizzling
- German-Style Sautéed Red Cabbage, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Place the pretzels in a food processor. I usually give them a head start by breaking them up with my hands as I load them in. Secure the lid and pulse until you have coarse pretzel crumbs.
- Add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne. Blitz for another second or two just to mix in the spices.
- Dump the mixture onto a plate or shallow dish.
- Beat the eggs and mustard together until well mixed.
- Then pour onto a second plate.
- Scatter the plain flour on a third plate.
- Season the chicken with salt and black pepper as desired and arrange your 3 plates plus a baking sheet or platter on a work surface.
- Grab a chicken cutlet and coat both sides in flour, shaking off the excess.
- Next, dip both sides of the floured chicken in the egg mixture.
- Finally, place the egg-coated chicken in the crushed pretzels, rotating it to make sure all sides are covered. Use your hands to press the pretzel crumbs onto any wet spots of the chicken if needed.
- Continue dredging until all of the chicken cutlets are coated in pretzel crust.
- Heat the cooking oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat to about 350℉. Test for readiness by dropping a pretzel crumb into the oil. If it sizzles and bubbles nicely, it’s ready! Fry each piece of pretzel coated chicken until crisp and golden all-around, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the chicken is crisped.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and let the chicken finish cooking for about 5-7 minutes, until an instant read thermometer registers 165℉. The cooking time will depend on the size of your cutlets.
- Remove from the oven and garnish your pretzel crusted chicken cutlets with minced chives and lemon wedges, then serve alongside a pile of German-Style Sautéed Red Cabbage and Oktoberfest Beer Cheese for dipping and drizzling.
Notes
- There are 2 considerations to make for the cooking oil you use to make your schnitzel. 1. Make sure to choose a neutral (lightly flavored) oil with a high smoke point (doesn’t burn easily) for frying. Options like canola, sunflower, peanut, avocado, or very light olive oil are good picks. 2. The amount of oil you need will depend on the size of your skillet. The most important thing is to achieve a uniform depth of about ½ inch all around the pan. For me using my large enamel cast iron skillet, this was about ⅔ cup oil.
- Once you add your chicken to the hot oil, the temperature will drop quickly, so it’s important not to add too much at once. You will likely need to cook your chicken in batches in order to help keep the oil temperature more consistent. Usually you can cook 2 smaller-sized pretzel chicken cutlets at a time, or 1 large.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: main course
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: German
FAQs
can you prepare chicken schnitzel in advance?
Yes! This is a great meal to prepare in advance. Just cook your pretzel chicken schnitzel as directed above, then drain on paper towels and cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use, then reheat in a 375℉ oven until hot. Keep in mind that, as with all fried foods, the crisp exterior will always be the most crisp immediately after frying, so by making it ahead you will lose a bit of that texture unfortunately.
what’s the difference between breaded chicken and schnitzel?
Breaded chicken can take any form, such as tenders or nuggets–while the term schnitzel specifically implies that the chicken has been pounded until very thin, then dipped in its breadcrumb (or in our case, pretzel-crumb!) coating.
dig in!
Enjoy & let me know what you think 🌙 💛
Super delicious! Kinda obsessed with the saltiness that the pretzels bring to the chicken.
Me too! 😀 I love the salty super-crunch effect the pretzels deliver. I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kristin, thanks for taking the time to leave a note!