Homemade chicken escalope, turning the humble chicken breast into something special
Written by Martin Seymour | Editor, The Mayfair Foodie | About Me
Homemade chicken escalope is a breaded, pan-fried chicken dish that serves 2 and takes 10–15 minutes to cook, depending on thickness. This recipe by Martin Seymour of The Mayfair Foodie uses 2 butterflied and flattened chicken breasts coated in seasoned flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, then shallow-fried over medium heat until golden and cooked through to an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F). Martin’s Spanish twist adds smoked paprika, pimento and crushed fennel seeds to the breadcrumb coating, though the recipe adapts easily to Italian herbs, Indian spices or plain seasoning. Breadcrumbs can be homemade — blitzed from air-fried bread crusts — or shop-bought. Serve with new potatoes and coleslaw for a classic combination, or rice and a mild curry sauce for the spiced version. The same technique works equally well with white fish or pork.
Updated April 2026
Without fail when cooking chicken escalopes for family or friends, when I tell them what I’m cooking, I can see the disappointment in their faces. However, once they have eaten the breaded chicken, it’s a different story, their early disappointment has turned into grunts of approval. So please give my Chicken escalope recipe a try, as I’m sure it will be a regular in your household.
I should say I’m not bigging up my cooking; it is more to do with the fact that most people have chicken escalopes bought from the supermarket. While they provide a cheap and easy meal, they can be tastless and uninspiring. Processed chicken, dry with breadcrumbs, is cloggy (is this word).
The homemade ones might look similar, but the taste is different from the shop-bought ones. As a lot of people have asked me for the recipe, I thought it was time to put the recipe on the website.
The other good thing is you can pimp up the basic recipe to whatever you fancy. I’ve added a Spanish twist to these by adding pimento and fennel seeds to the flour and breadcrumbs but you can be as adventurous as you want, how about adding Origano or dried basil for an Italian twist, or cumin, chill and garam masala for the taste of India, you get the idea. Simply cooked without spices they are delicious. If you prefer you can marinade the chicken, try both ways and see what you prefer.
I usually butterfly my chicken breasts to make them easy to flatten out, but if you are not sure about butterflying, you can bash out the chicken without butterflying. Below is a description of how to butterfly a chicken breast, but if you are like me and prefer visual images to learn a technique, go on YouTube, as there are plenty of good videos out there.
First off, you want take your chicken breast and lay it out on a cutting board. Then, with a good grip, take a sharp knife and slice into one side of the breast from the thicker end to the thinner point; just don’t slice all the way through.
Next, open it up so it’s like a butterfly.
After that, cover it with cling film and give it a good whack with a rolling pin until it’s all even. I usually want my escalope to be about 2cm thick.
For this recipe I made my own breadcrumbs by putting crusts of bread in the air fryer on the reheat setting for 4 minutes and then blended to breadcrumb consistency. You can do the same by toasting the bread or quite simply leaving the bread out for a day. Alternatively you can buy breadcrumbs in the supermarket. I have heard of people blending crackers or corn flakes blended for their breadcrumbs but I have not tried either.
So before we head to the recipe, once you have mastered it, you can try it with white fish, pork, or whatever you fancy. Be adventurous and have fun.
Don’t forget to check out our recipes page for more delicious meals you can create in your own kitchen.
Chicken Escalope
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- Breadcrumbs
- 1 Egg
- Flour
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika (optional) or choose your own seasoning
- 1Tsp Fennel seeds crushed (Optional)
Instructions
To prepare the escalope, either butterfly each chicken breast (see details in the introduction) or cover the chicken breast with cling film and bash out with a rolling pin until flat. We are looking for a thickness of about 2cm all over. If you are able to butterfly, still bash out further.
Beat an egg in a bowl. Add flour to another bowl and breadcrumbs to a third bowl. Season the flour with salt, pepper, and any additional spices.
Take the escalope and place it in the bowl with the flour. Lightly coat the chicken on both sides, then add the beaten egg and breadcrumbs. You want the chicken to be completely coated with breadcrumbs.
Heat some oil in a large frying pan. When hot, place your chicken in the pan. Turn down to medium heat so the breadcrumbs don’t burn. After about five minutes, turn over the escalope and continue to fry until the chicken is cooked through. If you have a meat thermometer, you are looking for 165 F or 74 C.
Serve immediately. I like to serve with new potatoes, homemade coleslaw, and salad; however, depending on the seasoning, I might use Indian spices and serve with rice and a mild curry sauce.
