Chicken Kiev is making a comeback! This irresistible garlic butter-stuffed chicken breast is breaded and pan-fried. It’s crunchy with juicy chicken breast, and you’ll love the spurt of hot butter in the center. With my simplified method, it’s easier than ever to pull this off. You’ll enjoy one of the best chicken recipes of your life.
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Helpful Reader Review
“For 39 years, I’ve been making Chicken Kiev for my husband’s birthday dinner. I found this one today and made it. Super easy and with his first bite, my husband said, “This is the best ever”. Thank you!” – Barbara Martin ★★★★★
Chicken Kiev
Chicken Kiev (a.k.a. “Chicken Supreme”) is a classic Eastern European recipe from the early 1900’s. It’s been a popular dish for a century, and for good reason! You will savor every bite.
I used to make the traditional Chicken ala Kiev recipe that I learned from my old The Russian Tea Room Cookbook, where you pound the chicken flat before stuff it, roll it up, and refrigerating it before deep frying it for a while, then finishing it off in the oven to ensure your big ball of chicken cooks through. It was quite a process, and I needed to make it easier without losing any of the flavor and crunch – I present to you this Easy Chicken Kiev!
Watch Easy Chicken Kiev Video
I’m sharing all of my tips for making the best Chicken Kiev. My favorite part is slicing through the crisp exterior and seeing that stream of hot lemon-herb and garlic butter that makes the chicken incredibly moist and flavorful – ah, it gets me every time!
That butter is so simple to make, and it is the secret weapon for some of our MOST popular recipes like One-Pan Salmon and Asparagus, Lobster Tails, and Roast Turkey! It’s a truly amazing mix of fresh flavors.
Ingredients for Chicken Kiev
The ingredients for this Chicken Kiev are simple and straightforward, but the finished product is anything but ordinary.
- Chicken – You’ll need three 12oz chicken breasts. Once you cut them in half, you’ll end up with 6 cutlets. You can use precut chicken cutlets and skip the first step of slicing the breasts in half.
- Breading – All-purpose flour, beaten eggs, and Panko bread crumbs. Panko is the best breading for crunchiness, but you can substitute it with regular breadcrumbs in a pinch.
- Extra light olive oil, or Canola oil – both of these neutral, high-smoke point oils are best for frying/sauteeing. Don’t use butter or extra virgin olive oil since they can burn while frying.
- Unsalted Butter – The key is to be sure the butter is at room temperature before mixing.
- Flavors – minced garlic, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper
- Lemon juice – adds bright flavor to the chicken. Be sure to save some lemon wedges to drizzle over the finished chicken
How To Make Chicken Kiev
This simplified Chicken Kiev Recipe comes together in no time! It’s easy, but so delicious.
- Make the Flavored Butter – Mash the butter ingredients together in a medium bowl with a fork. It will take a few minutes to mix, but don’t give up! I’ve had a reader say they used a food processor with good results.
- Prepare the chicken – Cut the chicken breasts in equal halves longways using a thin utility knife. Without cutting through each piece, cut a pocket as widely as you can. Stuff the pocket with the butter mixture and press on the top to spread the butter. Pinch to close the pocket and season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Pro Tip:
If you do accidentally slice through while making the pocket, turn the chicken over and cut a small flap to fold over and seal the hole from the outside. Watch my video above to see this tip in action.
- Make your breading station – Put the breading ingredients into separate shallow bowls or plates. Bread the prepared chicken one by one by dredging in flour, then egg, and then finally Panko, being sure to let excess drip off before moving to the next ingredient.
- Fry Chicken ala Kiev – In a large deep skillet over medium heat, heat a 1/3″ of oil. Add the prepared stuffed chicken breasts in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. Fry 4 minutes per side until golden brown and then remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- To Serve – Season hot chicken cutlets with salt. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges to squeeze on top.
Pro Tip:
To be sure the oil is ready, drop a breadcrumb into the oil. It should sizzle immediately. You can also use an instant-read thermometer to see when the oil is 350-375°F.
How to Know When Chicken Kiev is Done?
The chicken will cook quickly since it’s thinly cut. Once the breading is browned and crispy, you can test the chicken with an instant-read thermometer to read 165°F and the juices run clear instead of pink.
Can I Make Chicken Kiev in the Air Fryer?
For a lighter version of the dish, swap pan-frying for air frying. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes. Spray the breaded and stuffed chicken lightly with oil (optional) and place in the basket. Cook for 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Helpful Reader Review
“This was soooo good. I was actually surprised how flavorful the butter mix inside made the crispy chicken. Only change I made was used part dried parsley and small amount of dried basil (had no fresh parsley) and loved them. I’ve been cooking/baking almost 50 yrs but had never made chicken Kiev and this recipe was great.” – Brenda ★★★★★
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
This simplified Chicken Kiev recipe can be a great dish for dinner parties since it’s simple but impressive. Make the chicken ahead of time and fry when ready to serve.
- Make-ahead: after breading the chicken in step 3, cover with plastic wrap or place into an airtight container. Store in the fridge until ready to fry in step 4. You may have to add a minute to the cooking time.
- To Refrigerate: allow leftovers to cool completely, and then store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: once leftovers are cool, wrap each breast individually in plastic wrap or freezer paper. Flash freeze and then place wrapped breasts in an airtight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight
- To Reheat: Saute chicken in a tablespoon of oil or air fry until warm.
What to Serve with Chicken Kiev
I have to warn you, this will smell so good you’ll want to dive right in, dipping each bite of chicken into the melted seasoned butter. So delicious!! Chicken Kiev is a versatile protein dish that is complimented by so many sides:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Focaccia Bread
- Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
- Roasted Broccoli
- Risotto
- Baked Sweet Potato
- Green Beans Almondine
- German Potato Salad
- Caesar Salad or Maroulosalata
My simplified Chicken Kiev recipe makes this traditional dish easy to make without sacrificing any of the juicy flavors or crunchy texture. The garlic butter-stuffed chicken is quickly pan-fried in just a few minutes and can be served with your favorite sides for a yummy and satisfying meal. Tell me in the comments how you like my version of Chicken Kiev!
Chicken Kiev Recipe
Ingredients
For the Lemon-Herb Garlic Butter:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, plus more lemon wedges to squeeze over the finished chicken
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
- 1/2 tsp salt, we use sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For the Chicken Kiev:
- 3 large chicken breasts, 12 oz each breast*
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp Salt and Pepper, or added to taste
- Extra light olive oil , or Canola oil, to sauté
Instructions
- Make the Flavored Butter – In a medium bowl, mash together all Kiev butter ingredients with a fork, just until lemon juice is incorporated into the butter. It takes a couple of minutes but it does come together.
- Prepare Chicken – Using a sharp slim knife, cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise, keeping both halves equal in size and thickness. Carefully cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast as deep and wide as you can go without cutting through the chicken breast* (about a 2"wide x3" long pocket). Stuff each chicken breast with 1 Tbsp of Kiev butter then close the pocket and push over the top of the chicken breast to disperse the butter. Pinch the opening to seal. Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and pepper.
- Make your breading stations – Set up 3 plates for breading: In the first plate, pour 1/2 cup flour. In the second large bowl, beat together 2 eggs. In the third large bowl, pour 2 cups panko crumbs. Dredge chicken in flour, dusting off excess then dip in eggs making sure to get a good egg coating all around and letting any excess egg drip off. Finally, dip into the bread crumbs. Transfer to a platter while forming the remaining chicken Kievs.
- Fry Chicken Kiev – Add 1/4" of oil to a large deep skillet and place over medium heat. Once the oil is hot (350˚F or if you add a bread crumb, it should sizzle), add chicken in a single layer and fry until golden brown (4 min per side- if it browns too quickly, reduce the heat). It's done when it reaches 165˚F on an instant-read thermometer. Repeat cooking the second batch.
- To Serve – Season hot fried chicken with a sprinkle of salt, garnish with fresh parsley, and squeeze lemon wedges over the top, then serve. Be careful of the first spurt of hot butter when you cut the chicken.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Tasty Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Marsala
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Chimichurri Chicken
- Sticky Korean Chicken
- Easy Popcorn Chicken
- Chicken Pesto Rollups
Correct to Anonymous…anyway this was delicious. I didn’t cut the chicken in half very well. I think I’ll just leave it whole next time. It was delicious though.
Great recipe. Chives will work as well. Please spell Kyiv correctly though.
Vera, that is literally how ALL Chicken Kiev recipes are spelt.
Love your technique. Makes it so much easier. Only change I made was that I always make it with fresh tarragon as the herb for filling. (I love tarragon with chicken)
I can’t wait to make these!! This is one of my very favorite ways to eat chicken!
Yummy!!
Can’t wait to make this. I have made a few of your recipes…..they are all very good.
Really like you website. Enjoy getting my recipes and tips from you.
Can these be baked vs frying? Due to health issues we need to stay away from fried foods.
Hi Annie! It would work well in the air fryer – I have air fryer instructions in the post above.
Hi Natasha, Would you air fry or bake and for how long and at what temperature ?
I only see reheating instructions in your post
Hi Janine! It would work well in the air fryer – I have air fryer instructions in the post.
Can this be frozen after baking?
Accidentally thawed too much chicken and now need to bake things I can freeze
Hi Chris! I have not tried freezing these but because of the butter, I would think it’s best to freeze these before cooking them, but I just haven’t tested that to say for sure.
I just saw this recipe for chicken Kiev. I have always loved this and I like the idea about having the chicken thinner. I have printed your recipe and look forward to trying it. Thank you Natasha.
You’re welcome! I hope it becomes your new favorite.