Air Fryer Chicken Katsu is a delicious twist on the classic Japanese dish – and with our easy-to-follow recipe, you’ll be able to recreate it in no time! Perfectly golden and crunchy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.
Why You'll Love Our Chicken Katsu Recipe
Chicken Katsu air fryer style combines crunchy fried chicken cutlets with a crispy Panko crumb coating. Perfect for adding to a homemade Bento box, chicken Katsu is super easy to make, ready in about 25 minutes, and there's not oil frying splatters to clean up!
I've included a recipe for Katsu sauce also, but out Chick Fil A Sauce and Big Mac Sauce recipe are also similar to the seasoned Japanese mayonnaise that it very popular for dipping chicken Katsu in!
What Is Chicken Katsu?
Chicken Katsu is a Japanese breaded chicken breast cutlet. Kind of like a Japanese version of Shake n Bake! You will also see the term Tonkatsu, which is Japanese breaded, boneless pork cutlets. Katsu is the breaded cutlet designator.
When you make air fryer chicken Katsu or pork Tonkatsu, you can achieve that same crisp and juicy cutlet without even a drop of oil!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Our Chicken Katsu Recipe
- What Is Chicken Katsu?
- Ingredients For Making Chicken Katsu
- How To Make Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- How To Serve Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions
- Variations
- Equipment
- Storage Options
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Delish Ideas
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredients For Making Chicken Katsu
With just a few simple ingredients you too can take pleasure in this special treat from Eastern culture anytime at all. Read on for easy instructions to make air fryer chicken Katsu.
For The Chicken Katsu
- Chicken breasts - Sliced horizontally to make thinner. Or smaller raw chicken tenderloins, pounded flat.
- Flour - Or cornstarch, spread out in a shallow dish or plate.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Egg - beaten and set in a shallow dish.
- Panko bread crumbs - Spread out in a shallow dish or plate.
Katsu Sauce Ingredients
- Catsup
- Soy Sauce - or Teriyaki sauce.
- Brown sugar
- Mirin - or dry white wine.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Garlic - minced.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- Prepare the Katsu sauce by whisking together the catsup, soy sauce, brown sugar, Mirin, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic together in a small bowl until sugar has dissolved. Set katsu sauce aside.
- Slice thick chicken breasts in half horizontally so you get thinner chicken cutlets. You can also use chicken tenders and pound them thinner.
Flour The Chicken
- Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together, and place on a plate or shallow dish. Coat each piece of flattened or thin sliced chicken breast with the flour.
Dip Chicken In Egg
- Dip the flour coated chicken breast into a shallow dish of beaten egg, coating on both sides.
Coat Chicken In Panko Crumbs
- Next, coat each piece of egg dipped chicken breast in a shallow bowl of Panko bread crumbs.
Air Fry Chicken Katsu
- Set pieces of Panko coated chicken inside your air fryer basket with just enough room to not touch.
- Set the air fryer temperature to 400 F, and the timer to 14 minutes.
Check For Doneness
- Remove the air fryer basket at 14 minutes. Check to see if the chicken is done by using a ThermoPro thermometer. If not evenly browning, turn and return to air fryer for another 3 to 6 minutes. Remove and enjoy!
PRO TIP: Internal chicken temperature should read 165 F for chicken to be cooked properly, but you can remove at 160 - 163F because the chicken will continue to cook after removal. This will prevent your air fryer chicken katsu from being dry.
How To Serve Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
Air Fryer Chicken Katsu goes perfectly with a California Roll, or any package of ready made sushi you can grab on the way home from a busy day at work. Add a few Air Fryer Spring Rolls, and you have your very own Bento box!
Air fried katsu is often dipped in a seasoned mayonnaise based sauce, similar to our Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce or our Big Mace Sauce recipe, as well as the Katsu Sauce recipe in the recipe card.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions
I usually use thin sliced chicken breast, however, you can make air fryer chicken katsu with boneless chicken thighs also! There is less worry about over cooking and having dry chicken katsu when using chicken thigh meat also!
No Panko bread crumbs? Well, if you have some Shake N Bake on hand, you can also coat your chicken cutlets with that also.
No Air Fryer? No problem. Simply heat up about ¼" of oil in a skillet and pan fry the Panko coated chicken until golden brown on each side. Set on some paper towels to absorb excess oil, and serve just like our air fryer chicken katsu.
Variations
Here are a few scrumptious variations using this chicken katsu air fryer recipe:
- Air Fryer Pork Katsu - Use boneless slices of pork tenderloin to make Pork Katsu, also known as Tonkatsu. You can make Air fryer Tonkatsu using our Air Fryer Chicken Katsu recipe also!
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making air fryer chicken katsu.
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- ThermoPro Thermometer - great to have, just jab the meat to see temperature!
- Nuwave Brio Air Fryer - Rotisserie - Grill - This 15 quart countertop Smart Oven has three slide in trays, that all can be used at the same time. You can air fry rotisserie chickens, an SO mush more!
- Nuwave Air Fryer 15 quart - This large family size basket air fryer has room to air fry enough for a large family!
- Gourmia Digital Air Fryer 6 quart - This basket style air fryer will handle four frozen waffles in the air fryer.
- Ninja Foodie Pro Air Fryer - Folds up out of the way on your counter.
- Nuwave Air Fryer 3 quart - This compact basket air fryer is perfect for singles or a small family of 2 or 3. You can air fry two frozen waffles in 4 minutes.
- Oil Sprayer - This is a perfect sprayer for spritzing a light coating of oil on vegetables, meats, and other prepared frozen foods before air frying. The tiny amount of oil ensures you get as amazing results as deep frying and roasting, with a fraction of the calories and splatter!
Storage Options
- Store leftover chicken katsu in the refrigerator, covered for up to 3 days.
- You can reheat it in your air fryer to re-crisp the Panko crust also.
- Place back in the air fryer at 300 F for about 5 minutes.
Tips for Success
- Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise so the meat is not so thick.:
- You can use chicken tenders and pound them thinnner.
- Don't over cook chicken breast, as it gets tough and dry.
- Don't use non stick cooking spray in your air fryer, it damages it.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don't! Your air fryer chicken katsu will turn out perfectly golden brown without a drop of any oil! Amazing huh??
Yes, but Panko crumbs make a crispier and more authentic chicken katsu in your air fryer.
Only if you don't slice it thinner horizontally or use chicken tenders and need to flatten them.
No, please don't use non stick cooking spray! The propellants in it will damage the air fryer coating and cooking elements.
You will air fry chicken katsu for about 14 minutes at 400F.
No the forced hot convection air heats so rapidly in the smaller air fryer space that preheating has a negligible effect to cooking times.
Yes, you can! Simply cover it or store in freezer save containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in your air fryer frozen at 350F for about 5 to 8 minutes.
More Delish Ideas
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
Equipment
Ingredients
For Chicken Katsu
- 2 6 oz chicken breasts or equal weight in chicken tenders
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cup Panko
Chicken Katsu Sauce
- ⅔ catsup
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 teaspoon brown sugar or honey
- 1½ tablespoon Mirin
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
Instructions
Prepare Katsu Sauce
- Prepare the Katsu sauce by whisking together the catsup, soy sauce, brown sugar, Mirin, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic together in a small bowl until sugar has dissolved. Set katsu sauce aside.⅔ catsup, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 3 teaspoon brown sugar, 1½ tablespoon Mirin, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic
Prepare Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- Slice thick chicken breasts in half horizontally so you get thinner chicken cutlets. You can also use chicken tenders and pound them thinner.2 6 oz chicken breasts
- Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together, and place on a plate or shallow dish. Coat each piece of flattened or thin sliced chicken breast with the flour.¼ cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Dip the flour coated chicken breast into a shallow dish of beaten egg, coating on both sides.1 large egg
- Next, coat each piece of egg dipped chicken breast in a shallow bowl of Panko bread crumbs.1½ cup Panko
- Set pieces of Panko coated chicken inside your air fryer basket with just enough room to not touch.
- Set the air fryer temperature to 400 F, and the timer to 14 minutes.
- Remove the air fryer basket at 14 minutes. Check to see if the chicken is done by using a ThermoPro thermometer. If not evenly browning, turn and return to air fryer for another 3 to 6 minutes. Remove and enjoy!PRO TIP: Internal chicken temperature should read 165 F for chicken to be cooked properly, but you can remove at 160 - 163F because the chicken will continue to cook after removal. This will prevent your air fryer chicken katsu from being dry.
Notes
- Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise so the meat is not so thick.:
- You can use chicken tenders and pound them thinnner.
- Don't over cook chicken breast, as it gets tough and dry.
- Don't use non stick cooking spray in your air fryer, it damages it.
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