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Air-Fryer Crispy Turkey Cutlets

Airfried turkey cutlets on a cooling rack.
Photo by Eric Medsker

Breaded turkey cutlets are one of our go-to weeknight dinners from an air fryer. Super tasty and satisfying—although they always seem like a much fancier meal.

Our simple technique in this recipe can actually be tweaked in lots of ways to make other crispy turkey cutlets. Skip the stuffing mix entirely and use Italian-seasoned dried breadcrumbs (don’t grind them). Or corn flake crumbs (again, don’t grind them). Or grind Ritz crackers, Town House crackers, Wheat Thins, or bagel chips to make a crunchy coating for the meat.

This recipe was excerpted from 'The Look and Cook Air Fryer Bible' by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Buy the full book on Amazon.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (6-oz.) box of turkey stuffing mix of any flavor or variety
1 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk
4 (4-oz.) turkey breast cutlets
Nonstick spray

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    With the basket in the machine or the tray set at the center level in a toaster-oven-style model, heat an air fryer to 400°F on the air fryer setting.

    Step 2

    Pour the stuffing mix into a large food processor, cover, and pulse repeatedly until the consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Work in batches as necessary to keep from filling the canister more than half full. Pour the stuffing mix crumbs into a shallow soup plate, small pie plate, or medium food storage container.

    Step 3

    Pour the buttermilk into a shallow soup plate, small pie plate, or medium food storage container. Dip a turkey cutlet in the buttermilk and turn it to coat it on both sides. Transfer the cutlet to the stuffing crumbs and press gently, turning repeatedly to coat on all sides.

    Step 4

    Set the breaded cutlet aside on a cutting board or large piece of wax paper. Continue the buttermilk–stuffing crumb process with the remaining three cutlets. Coat them on both sides with nonstick spray.

    Step 5

    Set them in a single layer in the heated machine. They shouldn’t overlap but they can touch in spots. Work in batches as necessary. Air-fry for 4 minutes. Turn the cutlets over with nonstick-safe tongs.

    Step 6

    Continue air-frying for about 3 more minutes, or until crispy-brown and cooked through. Use clean tongs to transfer the cutlets to a wire rack and cool for a minute or two before serving warm.

Cooks' Note

Easily up the flavors of these cutlets by using an olive oil spray or even a garlic-flavored spray. Or up the flavors by adding more dried spices to the stuffing mix: up to 2 teaspoons dried basil, 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon ground sage, and/or 1 teaspoon dried parsley.

Weinstein_Look&CookAF_9780316520003_PB_F1.indd
Excerpted from The Look and Cook Air Fryer Bible by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Copyright © 2023 by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Photographs by Eric Medsker.
Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Voracious.
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