Get ready to pack your bento with this easy air fryer chicken katsu recipe! Chicken katsu can be baked, but doesn’t crisp up very well and can get dried out. This air fryer katsu stays super moist on the inside and has a perfect, thick, crunchy crust. It’s just like deep frying, but without the mess!

What is Chicken Katsu?

Chicken katsu is deep fried, panko crusted chicken breast. The chicken is usually thinly sliced and tenderized before breading in Japanese breadcrumbs (panko) and frying. You usually see chicken katsu sliced into strips and served with rice in a bento. In America, it’s most common to find katsu at teriyaki joints.

You can have katsu made from other meats as well! Have you heard of tonkatsu? That’s a katsu that is made from pork.

You can also bread and deep fry shrimp in the same way, but for some reason we never call it a shrimp katsu. We call it ebi fry.

It seems like many cultures have a version of breaded, deep fried meat. I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t learn what a schnitzel was until after I graduated college. When I first found out, the first thing I thought was, “Wait… So schnitzel is just a German katsu??”

Before your slice your chicken katsu, it basically looks like a schnitzel, right?

All those years of singing about “schnitzel with noodles” and I never even bothered to learn what it was. Oops. Hehe.

What Cut of Chicken for Katsu?

I like to buy thin sliced chicken breast at the market because it’s convenient. However, I guess more “traditionally,” you would buy regular chicken breast, butterfly slice them thin yourself, and tenderize them. But if you’re going to do things the hard way, why are you here reading an air fryer recipe? Right?

Thin sliced chicken breast is the perfect size for this chicken katsu.

The Secret to Getting the Thickest Panko Crust

I don’t know about you, but I like my katsu to be CRISPY. That panko crust better be THICK and CRUNCHY with NO bald spots. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to actually mix your eggs and flour prior to dredging! Coat your meat really well in the resulting thick batter, press the panko FIRMLY into it, and you’re golden.

Making Chicken Katsu in the Air Fryer vs. Deep Frying

The great thing about this recipe is that if you want to make chicken katsu the typical way with deep frying, you don’t need to change anything! Just heat up your oil and fry!

But I’m guessing you’re here for the convenience of air frying. So here’s the only little tip you need to know: before you air fry your katsu, you might want to toast your panko. Without deep frying, your panko won’t turn brown. If the color bothers you, you can toast your panko beforehand. Put the panko in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until it turns golden brown. The pictures in this blog post reflect what the panko looks like if you DON’T toast it. It doesn’t change the taste at all; only the color, so this step is completely optional.

Serving Chicken Katsu

It’s most common to cut your katsu crosswise into 1-2 inch strips after it’s done cooking and serve it over rice with katsu sauce. A common side dish for katsu is shredded cabbage salad, which I find really delicious with Japanese sesame salad dressing. However, chicken katsu saves really well in the fridge and can be eaten room temperature as well, which makes it a great food to pack for bento. Or you could get creative and serve it in a Japanese sandwich or even wrap it into a musubi!

Basically, chicken katsu is delicious however you want to eat it.

More Japanese Air Fryer Recipes

If you enjoyed this air fryer chicken katsu recipe, you might want to check out some of my other Japanese air fryer recipes: