Breaded turkey cutlets, pan-fried in a cast-iron skillet, make for the best crispy turkey dinner around. Seasoned with panko breadcrumbs and seared in a blend of olive oil and butter, pan-fried turkey cutlets are a quick and delicious dinner entree. Ready in just 15-minutes, these thin breaded turkey cutlets are sure to make your dinner a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
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Pan Fried Turkey Cutlets
With my husband's German heritage, at first glance, he thought I'd made breaded cutlets like pork schnitzel, which is a very popular breaded pork cutlet dish. He couldn't believe how similar the breaded turkey cutlets recipe is compared to the German style he grew up with and our pork schnitzel recipe quickly rose to his top favorite recipes of all time on our website!
Poultry cutlets make weeknight cooking a snap, plus it's a fabulous recipe for feeding a picky eater! These super thin slices of both turkey and chicken are ideal for quick dinners as they tend to cook up in just 10-12 minutes. If you enjoyed these pan fried turkey cutlets, be sure to check out our other breaded cutlet recipes including air fryer turkey cutlets and baked breaded chicken cutlets.
Whether you are keeping your breaded turkey cutlets dinner simple by serving them with just a side salad, or pairing them with a batch of air fryer baby potatoes and some steamed broccoli, either way, your turkey cutlets with panko breadcrumbs are going to be the star of your dinner plate.
Why You'll Love This!
- Our crispy breaded turkey cutlets, cooked in a cast-iron skillet, makes for a quick and easy dinner that cooks up in under 10 minutes--great for a busy cook!
- We are seasoning out thinly slicked turkey breast cutlets simply with just salt and pepper, allowing the crispy panko breadcrumbs to take center stage.
- However, feel free to customize your crispy turkey cutlets by incorporating in additional seasonings with your breadcrumbs including Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Our turkey cutlets with panko breadcrumbs are an excellent part of your healthy lifestyle! Sugar-free and packed with protein, you can also make them gluten-free and low-carb with the diet adaptions listed below.
Ingredient Notes
We are keeping things simple for our breaded turkey cutlets recipe. Panko breadcrumbs, eggs, flour, salt, and pepper, plus oil and butter for pan-frying are all you will need to make this crispy turkey cutlet.
- turkey cutlets - We purchased pre-packaged cutlets from Trader Joes that already came pounded thin, think of them like thinly sliced turkey chops. You can also take a boneless turkey breast and cut it into 4-6 very thin slices yourself and then pound them thin with a meat mallet. You could also make cutlets from thinly sliced turkey tenderloin since it comes boneless and turkey breast often does not.
- eggs - large size eggs get beaten before cooking
- flour - all-purpose was used in the recipe
- panko bread crumbs - any kind of breadcrumbs will work, panko gives a nice crunch but you can use standard breadcrumbs if that's what you already have on hand.
- salt and pepper - fine sea salt and coarse ground pepper were used for recipe testing
- olive oil- extra virgin was used in the recipe
- butter - you might be wondering why there's both olive oil and butter in the cutlet recipe, but olive oil has a higher smoking point than butter so by first adding olive oil the then pan you still get that buttery flavor without burning the butter.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Variations
- Add seasoning to the breadcrumbs like Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence.
- Use regular breadcrumbs or seasoned bread crumbs instead of panko.
- Parmesan turkey cutlets - Make a parmesan crusted turkey cutlets recipe by adding parmesan cheese to the breadcrumb mixture OR make low carb crispy cutlets as we did with our keto parmesan crusted cutlets.
Diet Adaptions
- Gluten Free - Swap the flour and breadcrumbs for gluten-free options to make this a gluten-free recipe.
- Keto/Low Carb - Use crushed pork rinds instead of breadcrumbs. Skip the flour or first dredge in almond flour.
Step by Step Instructions
Making breaded turkey cutlets with panko breadcrumbs is super simple! We are going to start by seasoning our thin-sliced turkey cutlets with salt and pepper, before running them through a typical dredging station of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. From there, it's a quick cook in a hot skillet to get your pan-fried turkey cutlets crispy and delicious.
Prep Ingredients
Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels to help make a crispy cutlet when cooking. Sprinkle the turkey cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides.
Assemble
Create a dredging station by placing your flour in one container, your beaten egg in another, and your panko bread crumbs into a third. Use a shallow bowl that is low and wide enough to fit the entire turkey cutlet.
Dredge the turkey cutlets first in flour, then transfer cutlets to the beaten eggs mixture, and then into the third bowl with the panko breadcrumb mixture. Make sure the sides of the turkey cutlets gets covered with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Bake
Heat a large skillet, we recommend cast iron, to medium-low or medium heat.
Add the olive oil and then butter. Melt the butter until golden brown and the butter stops foaming.
Turn the heat up to medium-high for 1-2 minutes.
Add the cutlets to the skillet and pan-fry them for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
Serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side while the crispy breaded turkey cutlets are hot. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- We purchased store-bought turkey breast cutlets that are already thinly sliced and pounded thin. In a 1 lb package the number of cutlets could vary between 3-5. You can also take a boneless turkey breast and cut it into thinly sliced sections lengthwise. Pound then very thin with a meat mallet.
- We used a cast iron skillet which makes the meat nice and golden brown, cast iron will give you the best results for browning turkey.
- Resist the urge to check on the turkey cutlets during cooking. When pan frying, it's best to allow the meat to cook and flip once.
- If you end up needing to make 2 batches of cutlets depending on how many come in a package, you might need to add more oil and butter to the skillet.
Common Questions
Serve your pan-fried turkey cutlets with air fryer baby potatoes and steamed broccoli for a quick and easy dinner, or with a side salad for dinner or a healthy lunch. Or get inspired by Thanksgiving dinner and serve the turkey cutlet recipe with green beans, sweet potatoes, or mashed potatoes on the side.
Yes, turkey cutlets and thinly sliced turkey breasts are the same things but different stores may call them by either name. If you can't find turkey cutlets, you can also purchase turkey breast and simply cut them thin (3-5 per breast) and pound them with a meat mallet to get them ยผ" thick.
Store any leftover breaded turkey cutlets in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze cooked cutlets for up to 3 months.
More Turkey Recipes
Looking for more turkey recipes?
- Air fryer turkey breast (bone in)
- Air fryer frozen turkey breast roast
- Air fryer turkey tenders
- Turkey thighs in air fryer
More Cutlets Recipes
Looking for more cutlet recipes?
- Breaded air fried chicken cutlets
- Baked thin chicken breasts
- Baked breaded chicken cutlets
- Air fryer turkey cutlets
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Seared Turkey Cutlets
Crispy breaded turkey cutlets in a skillet make for a quick and easy dinner that cooks in less than 10 minutes! Using thinly sliced turkey breast slices you can purchase from the store, just dip in flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs to make a thin breaded cutlet like a turkey schnitzel.
Ingredients
- 1 lb turkey cutlets (3-5 slices pounded thin)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ยฝ cup flour
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
- 1+ tablespoon olive oil
- 1+ tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Dredge the turkey cutlets first in flour, then the beaten egg, and then the panko bread crumbs.
- Heat a skillet like cast iron to medium-low heat, add the olive oil and then butter. Melt the butter until golden brown and the butter stops foaming. Turn the heat up to medium-high for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cutlets to skillet and pan fry them 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Serve immediately while they're nice and crispy. Enjoy!
Notes
We purchased store-bought turkey breast cutlets that are already thinly sliced and pounded thin. in a 1 lb package the number of cutlets could vary between 3-5. You can also take a boneless turkey breast and cut it into thinly sliced sections lengthwise. Pound then very thin with a meat mallet.
We used a cast iron skillet which makes the meat nice and golden brown, cast iron will give you the best results for browning turkey.
If you end up needing to make 2 batches of cutlets depending on how many come in a package, you might need to add more oil and butter to the skillet.
It's easy to vary the ingredients! Add seasoning to the breadcrumbs like Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence, use regular breadcrumbs or seasoned bread crumbs instead of panko. Swap the flour and breadcrumbs for gluten-free options to make this a gluten-free recipe.
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