Crispy Cracker Chicken
Have leftover crackers on hand from a holiday or party? Don’t let them go to waste. Learn how to use crackers as a crispy, crunchy breading for chicken cutlets! Air fry Crispy Cracker Chicken or bake in the oven and serve with your favorite side dishes.
There’s usually always a box of crackers that sit in my pantry for months. Most of the time, they’re left over from a party, and although I use them to scoop up Crockpot Pizza Dip, Bacon Ranch Egg Salad, or Buffalo Chicken Dip, sometimes I just can’t get rid of them. One night I had thinly sliced chicken breast on hand and we were out of breadcrumbs, so I used the food processor to turn the crackers into breading and they turned out delicious!
🥖Using The Better Breader
One of the kitchen tools I used to make this easy and much less of a mess was the Better Breader Shaker Basket. This is a contraption that easily adds breading to foods allowing you to shake it up while the excess falls to the bottom. Watch how I use it in the video, or purchase the Better Breader I have!
🏃🏻♀️Quick Oven Instructions
Cut chicken breast into thin fillets. Process or crush crackers until they become a breadcrumb texture. Dredge the chicken in seasoned flour, then egg, then coat in the cracker crumbs. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or air fry for 20 minutes at 375F.
🔥Air Fryer Instructions
- Arrange the breaded chicken in the air fryer basket. Air fry chicken for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway or until the chicken is crispy and golden on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
🔥Reheating
To reheat in the oven, place chicken on a baking sheet and heat at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. To reheat in the air fryer, cook at 350F for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
👩🏻🍳Expert Tips
- How much flour or crackers you need will depend on how much chicken you’re using. For two pounds of chicken, I found that 1/2 cup of flour, 2 eggs, and 1 1/2 sleeves of crackers was enough.
- For extra crispy oven-baked chicken, bake on a wire rack and use the convection setting if you have one. You can also lightly spray the top of the chicken with avocado oil.
- Buttery crackers like Ritz or Clubhouse crackers are best because they naturally have more oil in them which will help make a crunchy crust.
Crispy Cracker Chicken
Equipment
- Better Breader, or mixing bowls and shallow baking dish
- Whisk
- baking sheet
- Wire Rack, optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chicken Breast boneless skinless, thin fillets
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1 ½ sleeves Buttery Crackers Ritz or Clubhouse or generic version
- Avocado Oil Spray optional
Instructions
Preparing the chicken
- Make cracker breadcrumbs: Add the crackers to a food processor and pulse until a breadcrumb consistency is formed. If you don't have a food processor, add the crackers to a Ziploc bag and roll them with a rolling pin to crush them.
- Prepare the chicken breast: Trim any excess fat from the chicken breast, then cut each breast into thin fillets. 2 large chicken breasts should give you 5-6 filets. Pat dry on all sides with a paper towel.
- Dredge with flour: In a shallow dish or bowl, whisk the flour with seasonings until combined. Coat each piece of chicken on all sides with a light layer of flour, shaking off any excess.
- Dip in egg: Whisk eggs into a small mixing bowl. Dip each piece of flour coated chicken in the egg making sure its coated on all sides. Shake off any excess egg mixture.
- Coat in cracker crumbs: Place the cracker crumbs in a shallow dish or in a broader and press the chicken into the crackers until it is coated. Repeat this 3-step dredging with each piece of chicken.
Oven Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Place the coated chicken breast pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment or on top of a cooking rack placed on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway or until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Arrange the breaded chicken in the air fryer basket. Air fry chicken for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway or until the chicken is crispy and golden on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Reheating: To reheat in the oven, place chicken on a baking sheet and heat at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. To reheat in the air fryer, cook at 350F for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- How much flour or crackers you need will depend on how much chicken you’re using. For two pounds of chicken, I found that 1/2 cup of flour, 2 eggs, and 1 1/2 sleeves of crackers was enough.
- For extra crispy oven-baked chicken, bake on a wire rack and use the convection setting if you have one. You can also lightly spray the top of the chicken with avocado oil.
- Buttery crackers like Ritz or Clubhouse crackers are best because they naturally have more oil in them which will help make a crunchy crust.
