Panko Chicken Thighs – A Version of Healthier Shnitzels

I want to dedicate this post to two people; my daughter Shai who’s a big big fan of Shnitzels and to my brother in law, who is perhaps the biggest fan of all.
Shnitzels are traditionally made from chicken breast; they are coated in bread crumbs and fried in oil. So yes, they are not super healthy but they are so damn good.Thanks to a wonderful food blog: For the love of Cooking, I was able to make not only really tasty shnitzels, but healthier. This is a recipe for baked shnitzels coated with panko crumbs. The taste is delicate and the coating is so crunchy, you will not want to stop eating these. As opposed to the traditional fried chicken breasts, these are made of chicken thighs which are less dry and much more succulent. So I took the recipe and changed it a bit.
Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs
1/2 cup whipping cream + 3 tbsp milk (mix together in cup)
1 cup of panko crumbs
1 tbsp  Sweet Red Paprika
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Dry Basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooking spray
Directions:

***Preheat the oven to 375F (180C)***

1. Line a baking sheet with tin foil then place a cooling rack on the baking sheet. This will help the chicken thighs to cook evenly and will result in a crispy chicken on all sides.

2. Pour the whipping cream and milk mix into a deep dish. In another dish, combine the panko, paprika, garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper; mix until well combined.

3. Dip the chicken thighs in the milk and then dip in the panko crumb mix until fully coated.

4. Place the coated chicken thighs on the baking rack that’s on the lined baking sheet.

5. Right before you place into oven, spray each piece with cooking spray.

6. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and baked on the inside (I actually used a knife to be on the safe side). Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

You can also make this recipe with chicken breast. The only thing that will change is the baking time.

And as you can see, it was all gone before I noticed…