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chicken schnitzel sandwiches on pretzel bun with green lettuce red onion kettle chips pickles and glass of beer

Air Fryer Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches on Pretzel Buns with Lemon Herb Mayo

Shanna
My new favorite sandwich. Crispy air fried chicken schnitzel sandwiches with a tangy lemon herb mayo sauce and of course pretzel buns. Do't forget the pickles, kettle chips and a cold German beer.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4 -6 sandwiches

Ingredients
  

For the chicken:

  • 1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts

Flour mix:

  • 1 cup 4.5 ounces all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Egg mix:

  • 1 cup Milk
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1 tablespoon dijon Mustard

Breadcrumb mix:

  • 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground onion

For the mayo sauce:

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise I use Sir. Kensington’s
  • 2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2-3 lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon diced fresh Italian parsley

For the Sandwiches:

  • Pretzel buns split
  • Lettuce leaves I used green
  • Thinly sliced red onion
  • German mustard or Dijon mustard

Instructions
 

1. Prepare the chicken:

  • Place one chicken breast a time between plastic wrap and gently pound with a meat mallet until its an even ¼” thickness. Cut each breast into 2-3 ounce portions. 
  • Get three, wide shallow bowls and combine the flour mixture in one, egg mixture in another and the breadcrumb mixture in the third. Set out a baking tray and line with parchment paper. Have a second sheet of parchment paper ready in case you need to make a second layer of prepped chicken on the tray.
  • Working quickly dip the chicken one at a time in the flour, shaking off excess, dip in egg mixture to fully coat the chicken and cover all the flour,  then dip into the breadcrumbs, carefully pressing into the chicken on all sides, carefully shake off excess. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet then repeat with the rest of the chicken. Once it is done, chill in the refrigerator for an hour. If the chicken fills the pan and you need to chill more, just lay another sheet of parchment on top of the already prepare chicken and make another layer. 
  • 2. Mayo Sauce
  • While the chicken is chilling, make the mayo sauce. Combine everything into a bowl then mix well. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired,  or more mayo for a thicker sauce. Chill until ready to use. 
  • 3. Fry the chicken
  • Preheat your air fryer to 400 Deg F for 5 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200 Deg F. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and set inside your oven. This is to keep the chicken warm while you air fry other batches. Spray the basket of your fryer with oil ( I like using Chosen Foods Avocado oil) then spray the tops of the chicken. Working in batches, fry a few pieces of chicken at a time at 400 Deg F for 14 minutes, flipping the chicken once at 7 minutes. Remove the chicken and place on the prepared baking sheet in the oven and repeat with remaining chicken, spraying the fryer basket before frying each new batch of chicken. 
  • Once all the chicken is fried, assemble the sandwiches. You can heat up the pretzel buns in the oven if you like. 
  • 4. Assemble the sandwiches
  • Spread mustard on the bottom half of the bun, top with lettuce, one piece of the chicken, spoon some of the lemon mayo sauce on the top of that piece, then top with a second piece of chicken. Spread more mayo sauce on top of that. Top with a few red onion slices, spread some more mayo sauce on the top bun then put the sandwich together. Serve with kettle chips and pickles. Don’t forget the ice, cold, German beer! Prost! 

Notes

Make sure you saw the notes in the post before the recipe card for tips on making this recipe
You don’t have to have an air fryer to make these. You can pan fry. I suggest using a cast iron skillet, get it hot, add in a little oil and a little butter, one tablespoon of each is good,  then fry the chicken pieces only flipping once, after 7-8 min, with thin spatula to make sure the breading doesn’t fall off. Fry another 7-8 minutes until done.
To oven fry/bake heat oven to 400/425, bake on a rack on a baking sheet, spray both sides of chicken with oil. Bake 7-8 min a side, flipping once. Oven baking will take a little longer than air frying.