Crispy Caprese Chicken

overhead shot of crispy caprese chicken on small white plate

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

This crispy caprese chicken is loaded with so much flavour and couldn't be easier to make!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £5 / $6

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Cling Film & Rolling Pin or Mallet (for pounding chicken)
3 Small Curved Trays or Large Dishes (for dredging chicken)
Large Pan & Tongs (for frying chicken)
Wire Rack (for resting chicken)
Small Bowl & Whisk (for caprese salad)

Ingredients

Chicken

2x 200g/7oz Chicken Breasts
35g / 1/4 cup Plain Flour
2x Eggs, beaten
75g / 1 1/4 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper
120ml / 1/2 cup Olive Oil, or as needed
Flaky Sea Salt, to serve (optional - can sub regular salt)

Caprese Salad

200g / 7oz Baby Plum Tomatoes, quartered (smaller ones halved)
200g / 7oz Mini Mozzarella Pearls (see notes)
1/2 small bunch Fresh Basil, roughly torn/sliced (plus some extra leaves to garnish if desired)
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar (see notes)
1/2 small clove of Garlic, very finely grated (optional)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
Balsamic Glaze, to serve (homemade or store bought)

Instructions

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss in the tomatoes and leave to marinate as you continue the recipe.
One by one, lay a chicken breast on a sheet of cling film, then place another sheet on top. Use a rolling pin or mallet to pound the chicken. You want to get it nice and thin (or at least level thickness), but don't go overboard to the point it breaks apart. If you look at the video below, you'll see I took it right to the point it nearly broke apart, so just use that for reference.
In a small pot or bowl, combine Italian seasoning, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper.
Line up 3 small trays or large shallow dishes: the first with the flour + half of the seasoning mixed in, the second with the beaten eggs, then the third with the Panko + the rest of the seasoning mixed in. One by one, take the chicken and carefully coat it in the flour, then the egg and finish in the Panko. Make sure you thoroughly coat the chicken at each stage, namely the Panko.
Comfortably fill the base of a large pan with the oil, then heat over medium-high heat until a crumb rapidly sizzles (I recommend using a thermometer and getting it to 180C/350F). One by one, fry the chicken for around 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Timings will depend on how thick the chicken is (safe internal temp is 74C/165F for reference). Place on a wire rack and finish with a pinch of salt.
Toss the basil and mozzarella through the marinated tomatoes until everything is evenly distributed. To serve, spoon the salad over the chicken and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze (work to preference). Enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Tomatoes - the longer they marinate, the better they'll be. You can tightly cover them and store in the fridge, then bring to room temp before serving if you'd like! 15-20 minutes works just fine though.

b) Vinegar - I like to use red wine vinegar in the salad, just as a slight contrast to the balsamic glaze. You can however use balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar if you'd prefer.

c) Mozzarella - I found a pot of mini mozzarella pearls in Tesco which are the perfect size! You can use bocconcini and halve them if needed, or even larger balls of mozzarella and just tear/slice it into smaller pieces.

d) Calories - Slight overestimate as it assumes all the flour, egg and Panko is used, which is rarely the case.

Nutrition