Weeknight Cutlets & Alfredo

Ready to eat!

Chicken cutlets and pasta; always a classic! I live on the West Coast, so it is harder to find chicken already pounded thin into cutlets. I always have to cut the breasts lengthwise, then pound them thinner with a meat mallet. Because they are thin and cooked quickly, the chicken will stay super tender. And, leftover cutlets make for great sandwiches!

I didn’t have any gluten-free breadcrumbs or Panko, so I ended up tossing our favorite Simple Mills crackers into the Cuisinart to make breading. Process the crackers until you get the consistency you want.

I set up a station with seasoned gluten-free flour, egg, and my cracker crumbs (which I also seasoned). Once the cutlets were mostly done, I started the pasta and placed them in a 175-degree oven to keep them warm and crispy. It is important to season each layer; the chicken, the flour, the egg, and the breadcrumb mixture should all be seasoned.

I keep a shared home, meaning we have gluten in our home. I made two types of pasta last night, with gluten and gluten-free. To keep myself organized, I had all the sauce ingredients ready to go to make both simultaneously. Alfredo is quick & simple, but I did not want to get anything mixed up!

Ingredients for the Cutlets:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise and pounded to 1/4 inch (8 pieces), or buy cutlets

3/4-1 C gluten-free flour

4 eggs, beaten

1 C gluten-free breadcrumbs, panko, or blitzed crackers

1 C vegetable oil for frying

Ingredients for the Pasta Alfredo:

12 oz pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 C heavy cream

1 C freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 C (one stick) butter, I use salted

Salt & pepper

Method:
Season the flour & breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, 1 tsp each garlic powder & Italian seasoning

Season the egg with salt & pepper

Set up your dredging station: use three casserole dishes or quarter sheet pans, one each for the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs

Heat a large pan with 1/2 C vegetable oil and pre-heat the oven to 175

Next to your frying pan, place a sheet pan with a wire rack. This will be your landing spot for the cutlets, and then it will go into the pre-heated oven

Season each piece of chicken with salt & pepper on both sides (I had to do this as I went)

Dip one cutlet into the flour, coating it completely. Shake off any excess, then dip into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess

Place it gently into the oil and repeat. The oil should make the pieces bubbly but not a roiling boil

The size of your pan will dictate how many pieces you can fry at a time. I had a 14” pan and could fry two pieces at a time

Fry each piece for about three minutes per side, until they are golden and crispy

If you need to add more oil (generally about halfway through your chicken), make sure you let the new oil warm up

Place each cutlet on the sheet pan. Once they’re all done place them in the oven

Alfredo Sauce:

Cook your pasta according to package directions

Once cooked, drain the pasta

In the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking time, add the butter, Parmesan, and heavy cream to a large pan (enough to hold your pasta). Stir to combine

Once the butter is melted completely, add your pasta

Season with salt & pepper

Serve the pasta with a sliced chicken cutlet and veggie of choice (we did broccoli)

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