These crispy garlic chicken breasts are a true highlight of chicken dishes that can be made in less than 20 minutes. Golden brown homemade crust enhanced with garlic makes this chicken special and incredibly delicious. Paired with soft lamb lettuce and garnished with a simple squeeze of lemon, it forms a healthy combination on the plate.
It’s been a while since I made or ate fried crispy chicken. Now that I think about it, it’s been years. Oh my. Why!? I still remember that my mum always prepared crispy chicken wings together with creamy mashed potatoes and some green peas or spinach. Ohhh, yummy!
And she always used (I am pretty sure she still does today) the same, let’s say universal, method. Flour, eggs and breadcrumbs are the three steps we all know. Right? Well, I made my own breadcrumbs by simply blitzing some bread a couple of times in a food processor. More, I enhanced them with fresh garlic. Delicious! The smell is just amazing.
Instead of garlic, you can also use different spices or herbs, such as sweet paprika, black pepper, rosemary, chili flakes, parmesan cheese, ginger or thyme. In addition, this is also a perfect recipe if you have some stale bread to get rid off.
Besides making my own breadcrumbs, I also skipped using flour and eggs. But still, the chicken turned out perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Also, instead of the usual chicken wings and chicken drums, I picked chicken breasts.
In order to fry the chicken breasts evenly quick, I flattened them. How to flatten chicken breasts? Firstly, you have to perform a butterfly cut. Oh, that sounds like you are about to perform a surgery. Wink. Don’t worry, it is simple. Make a cut parallel to the cutting board (trying to stay in the middle) almost all the way through.
Secondly, place the chicken breasts between two parchment papers or in a plastic zip bag and pound it into an evenly thin piece. You can use a meat mallet or anything else heavy. For instance, you can use a skillet or a rolling pin.
Thirdly, pound the chicken breasts (one at a time) to your desired thickness. You’ll love this step. In fact, it’s a great way to release the mid-week tension. Wink. As a result, the chicken will need only a couple of minutes in the pan to be ready.
Lovely. I love chicken. And you? Here are some more of my chicken recipes: rosemary peach chicken skillet, a healthy protein chicken rice soup, a rich peanut butter crust chicken, exotic chili lime chicken and a warming Cape chicken curry.
Ingredients for two portions of crispy garlic chicken breasts:
- 400 g (equals two pieces) chicken breasts
- 150 g bread
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon (wedges)
- salt
- 2-3 handfuls of lamb lettuce
- olive oil
To begin, prepare the breadcrumbs. In a food processor, tear the bread apart and add the roughly chopped garlic. Give them a blitz or two until small crumbs appear. Keep aside. Wash the lamb lettuce and let it drain.
Furthermore, butterfly the chicken breasts (you can find quick tips just above the ingredients). Then, place one chicken breast, wide open, between two parchment papers and, using a meat mallet or a heavy skillet, pound it until flat and about 1 cm or thinner. Remove and do the same with the second piece of chicken.
Moreover, on the same piece of parchment paper add around two spoons of the garlic crumbs, lay one of the flattened chicken breasts on it and roughly pat it. Top with some more crumbs, cover with the second parchment paper and pound again.
Once the crumbs are sticking, almost pressed in the meat, gently place aside and repeat the same steps with the piece you have left.
At this point, drizzle some olive oil in a large non-sticking pan and heat it up. When the oil is hot, gently place the chicken breasts in it (you can fry both at once or one at a time). Fry them 3-5 minutes on each side or until lovely golden brown.
In the meantime, wash the lemon and cut into wedges. You can use lime as well.
Finally, nicely arrange the lamb lettuce on two plates, drizzle with some olive oil, squeeze some lemon and add a pinch of salt. Top it with the crispy garlic chicken. You can serve it either whole or sliced in strips with a lemon wedge on the side.
Enjoy!
