Baked Chicken Katsu: Easy, Failproof Recipe

Oven baked chicken katsu is the healthier alternative to the traditionally fried chicken katsu. But make no mistake – it lacks nothing compared to its fried counterpart. Every bite starts with a crunch through wonderfully crispy panko crumbs on the outside and ends with mouthwateringly juicy, tender chicken on the inside.

All the satisfaction of fried chicken – without the greasiness, calories, or guilt.

It’s one of those meals that everyone in the family is going to love. Which is great because it’s very simple to make. There are no special ingredients. No marinating. No special skills. It’s an easy dish that can be quickly whipped up even on a busy weeknight. And trust me – you’ll be making this more than once.

What is Chicken Katsu?

Chicken katsu (チキンカツ) is how the Japanese do chicken cutlets. More specifically, katsu refers to meats or vegetables that are cooked by being covered in panko breadcrumbs and then deep-fried to crispy perfection.

The result is a dish that’s a little thicker than chicken schnitzel, crispier than the average chicken parmesan, and thanks to the larger, airier panko crumbs, has a crunchier texture than most other types of chicken cutlets or nuggets.

The fried meat is then cut into strips and served with a sweet-savory-sour tonkatsu sauce.

The most popular type of katsu is probably tonkatsu (豚カツ), which is pork that’s been breaded and fried. Chicken katsu is a lighter variation of the pork katsu.

And this recipe is an even lighter, healthier-for-you variation of the classic chicken katsu. It’s oven baked, not fried, but it won’t lack a thing because we will be cheating by toasting the panko breadcrumbs first!

Ingredients for Baked chicken Katsu

What you need to make chicken katsu is as straightforward as the recipe itself. Let’s go through it…

Chicken. You can use chicken breasts or even thighs. This is one recipe that I actually prefer chicken breast for, though. Because it’ll be flattened so thin, it’s just as juicy and tender as any thigh meat can be.

Milk. This is an optional but recommended ingredient. We’ll be using it to give the chicken a little milk bath while we prep other ingredients. It’s a step that doesn’t take much from you but keeps the chicken moist and juicy throughout the cooking process.

Flour. The chicken is lightly dusted in the flour before getting coated with the egg and panko breadcrumbs. It’s what will helps the egg coating adhere to the chicken so it is an essential ingredient.

Garlic and onion powder. These are optional but if you have them, use them! Specifically, add them into the flour along with a bit of salt for extra flavor.

Eggs. Eggs are what will bind the crispy panko breadcrumbs onto our chicken cutlets.

Oil. Any cooking oil will do. We’ll be using some oil to toast the panko breadcrumbs as well as to add a splash into the egg mixture. Adding that little bit of oil to the eggs helps to seal the coating onto the chicken, which prevents the batter from sliding off as well as keep the chicken moist.

Soy sauce. I also like to add a little soy sauce to the egg mixture for a bit of umami flavor.

Panko breadcrumbs. One of the defining features of Japanese katsu is that it uses panko. Made from crustless white bread and coarsely ground, panko is the lighter, airier, larger Japanese breadcrumbs that are perfect for adding more texture and crunch to the katsu!

The best thing about panko, though, is that the airy, dry flakes are a bit more resistant to absorption, which means they stay perfectly crisp and crunchy. If you need to, you can substitute regular breadcrumbs for anko but add some to your grocery list for next time. They’re easy to find (at least here in the UK) and they are definitely worth the switch. You can save the regular breadcrumbs for meatballs instead.

Tips to Make Perfect Baked Chicken Katsu

Baked chicken katsu is a very simple recipe. You bread some chicken and toss it in the oven. But these few tricks can take that dish from “meh, it’s good” to “let’s have this every week!“

Here’s what makes all the difference.

1. Thin and even chicken

Chicken that’s sliced or beaten so that it’s nice and thin – around half an inch thick – is going to cook much quicker. Not only does that mean you get to have your dinner faster, but it also means less likelihood of overcooking your chicken.

Just as important as getting it thin is evening it out. This will help all the parts of the chicken to cook evenly (and quickly!), resulting in the most tender and juicy chicken. No overcooked, dry bits here!

The best way to do this is to flatten the chicken breasts. We’re aiming for 1/2-inch thickness. Here are the best ways of doing this.

1. Butterfly it

You can easily butterfly a chicken breast like this. This is the simplest method to immediately getting a nice flat chicken.

2. Beat it

This is the method I prefer as it both tenderizes and gets the chicken breast really nice and thin. If you have a meat tenderizing mallet – that’s perfect. If not, use another blunt object like a rolling pin to pound the chicken into thin, flat, tender perfection.

Hit it like you mean it. Like it insulted your mama. Like it’s a piñata hoarding goodies. You get the idea.

3. Do both

The last option is to do both! You can butterfly the chicken and then beat it further. I don’t personally do this because it’s an extra step that I find unnecessary. I find that beating does the job perfectly on its own.

2. Toast the panko crumbs

Toasting the panko crumbs is an extra step that yes, takes a little more time, but it is highly worth it. Why? Because it’s a foolproof cheat to get all of the satisfying crunchy crispness of fried chicken – without frying the chicken.

Toasted panko crumbs are also very sog-resistant. They bake better and maintain their crunchy dignity even when coated with sauce.

3. Chicken Milk bath

This is completely optional but I always do it because it’s an extra layer of guaranteed tenderness. Plus, toasting panko crumbs takes a bit of time. While the chicken is just sitting there doing nothing anyway so might as well make it juicier.

4. Season everything

Not too much, mind you. Less is more definitely applies here – it’s Japanese food, after all. But adding a little flavor here and there makes a difference. Instead of using salt for everything, use garlic and onion powder for the flour and soy sauce for the eggs. It’s subtle but lovely.

How to Make Oven Baked Chicken Katsu

Here’s the step-by-step process from start to finish!

Preheat the Oven

The preliminary step is to get the oven fired up. The average oven takes anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to heat up fully, which is around how long everything else will take.

So preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and let’s get everything prepared to bake.

Pound the chicken

The first thing we want to do is get the chicken fillets nice and thin and most importantly – even. So pound it until it’s flat and around 1/2 inch thick. You can use a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin.

Soak the chicken

Place the chicken in a large bowl or saucer and pour in a half cup milk. Season with a generous pinch of salt and make sure all the chicken pieces are mostly submerged in the milk bath. Leave it like this on the counter while we prep everything else.

Toast the panko breadcrumbs

Heat olive oil or butter in a pan or skillet and add breadcrumbs. Gently toast on low heat. Stir or toss frequently to make sure the breadcrumbs don’t burn.

Note: You can do this on a thin pan but keep in mind that the toasting may go faster, but the panko may also burn quicker. If you use a thin pan, toss very frequently to prevent burning. If you’d like a more even, less-like-to-burn toasting session, use a heavy-bottomed pan.

Set up the breading station

Now all that’s left is to bread the chicken and pop it into the oven. To set yourself up for success, you’ll want to set up the breading station by:

Line an oven pan with parchment or foil and place a baking rack on top. Your breading station should be in a line, starting with chicken, and then the flour, egg, panko, and ending with the baking pan. Like so:

Bread the chicken

Now you’re ready to smoothly, effortlessly bread that chicken katsu!

Start breading the chicken by:

Don’t worry about any bald spots – once you’ve finished breading all the chicken, you can sprinkle any leftover panko crumbs directly onto the bald patches.

Bake

The oven should be fully heated up so just place the baking tray in the oven. The second or the third rack from the top should be perfect (aim for a little higher than the middle of the oven).

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes straight through if you’re using a baking rack that props up the chicken.

If not, bake for 12 to 15 minutes on one side and then flip the chicken cutlets over and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes. The best way to know for certain that the chicken is done is to use a thermometer. The chicken is safe when it reads 165ºF (74ºC).

Serve immediately!

What to Serve with Chicken Katsu

Chicken katsu sauce. Tonkatsu sauce is typically made with a bouquet of fruits and vegetables – celery! onions! prunes! tomatoes! – as well as soy sauce and almost a dozen spices. It’s not the sort of the thing one just casually whips up at home. But the good news is that you can make a homemade tonkatsu sauce that tastes pretty darn close to the original. Or you can buy it – Bull-Dog Vegetable & Fruit Sauce is the best one.

Rice. White rice – preferably Japanese short-grain rice – is the ideal thing to serve with chicken katsu.

Salad. At restaurants, you’ll almost always get chicken katsu with a side of shredded cabbage salad. So that’s a good option or you can serve any other sort of leafy green salad you want. I usually go with lettuce because it’s what my family prefers. Tomatoes and cucumber are welcome additions. Sauce is optional.

What to Do with Leftovers

Cool the chicken katsu to room temperature and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. When you’re ready to eat it, either heat it up on a skillet with a bit of oil to regain the crispiness or place it in the oven at 400ºF for around 5 to 10 minutes to reheat.

You can also freeze the chicken katsu. To do so, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 months. When you’re ready to eat, reheat them in the oven at 400ºF for 30 minutes.