This Baked Chicken Katsu Sandwich will rival anything you can get at a fast food place! Load it up with garlic tonkatsu sauce, tomato, cucumber, and crisp lettuce for perfection. In Japan, we call this Chicken Katsu Sando.
What’s the best part about deep-fried Chicken Katsu? Of course the golden crispy katsu shell with the juicy chicken! I am getting hungry just thinking about it. When I have some leftovers, I make Chicken Katsu Sandwich (チキンカツサンド).
Have you had it before? Maybe in Japan? I look forward to eating the katsu sandwich the following day after cooking and I always make sure that we have enough leftovers so that everyone in my family gets to enjoy it. It’s so good and totally worth waiting for.
But deep frying can be totally in pain (even for me). Too much oil goes to waste, the house smells horrible, the stove top gets greasy, and I know, you want to stay healthy by avoiding as many deep-fried foods as possible. I make deep-fried foods once in a while at home because homemade ones taste much better than ones in restaurants.
No Mess and Easy Chicken Katsu Sandwich
However, remember my Baked Chicken Katsu recipe? You can actually use that recipe to make this amazing sandwich. In fact, you can go straight to make this Chicken Katsu Sandwich without eating katsu by itself because it’s so easy to make. How great is that!
Now if you are a traditionalist, Katsu Sandwich in Japan (カツサンド) uses Tonkatsu. If you prefer pork, you can use my Baked Tonkatsu recipe instead. The traditional Katsu Sandwich uses just a few shredded cabbage between the sandwich bread and some don’t even include cabbage at all. My chicken katsu sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber is starting to look like a rebel. But a pretty one!
Roasted Garlic on Chicken Katsu Sandwich
Not only that, I made Roasted Garlic Mayo Tonkatsu Sauce and spread it over the katsu instead of simple Tonkatsu Sauce. That’s the best thing about homemade. You can change it up depending on how you like it. I make regular Katsu Sandwich too, but honestly, it won’t look as pretty as this with just white bread, golden baked chicken, and a tiny bit of green color from cabbage.
If there is a Japanese or Asian bakery or grocery store, you can purchase a square Japanese milk bread or what we call shokupan (食パン), which is sliced into 2 – 2½ cm thickness. That’s typically used for Katsu Sandwich. And if you are still up for a traditional katsu sandwich, don’t toast your bread as I did.
I hope you like my rebel Katsu Sandwich. If you’re a traditionalist, again, buy thick sandwich bread, don’t toast it, spread butter and mustard on the bread, then put a tiny bit of shredded cabbage and tonkatsu on top, and spread regular tonkatsu sauce over katsu. Very simple, either way.
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Chicken Katsu Sandwich
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (2 pieces)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 Tbsp water
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ English cucumber
- 2 tomatoes
- unsalted butter
- 4 toasts (I use Japanese milk bread called shokupan)
- lettuce leaves
For the Garlic Tonkatsu Sauce
- 1 head garlic
- 1-2 Tbsp tonkatsu sauce (you can make homemade Tonkatsu Sauce)
- 1-2 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Set a rack in the middle position. Make the Garlic Tonkatsu Sauce. Using your fingers, peel away most of the loose outer layers around 1 head garlic. Trim about ¼ inch (6 mm) off the top of the head of garlic. Drizzle about 1–2 tsp of olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic and let the oil sink into the cloves.
- Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes (depending on the size of your garlic). The garlic is done when a center clove is completely soft when pierced with a paring knife. You can leave it in the oven a little longer for a more caramelized flavor. Roasted garlic can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Try not to break the panko pieces with your spatula (I know it’s hard) and try shaking the frying pan instead of overmixing.
- When the panko is nice golden brown, transfer to a bowl (or tray) to let cool.
- Butterfly 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast. Butterflying is a really useful technique to create a uniform thickness throughout a piece of meat so that it will cook more quickly and evenly. With the edge of a knife parallel to the cutting board, cut the length of the side of the breast. Carefully slice the breast in half widthwise almost to the other edge. Keep the edge intact and open the breast along the fold. Season the chicken with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Crack 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) into a medium bowl and add 1 Tbsp water. Whisk well to combine.
- Put ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) in a bowl or large tray. Dredge the chicken in flour and shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg mixture.
- Then, dredge the chicken in the toasted panko. Place it on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- If your garlic is not done yet by this time, move it to a higher rack or place it in an open space inside the oven. Bake the chicken at 400ºF (200ºC) for 30 minutes, or until it’s done.
- When the garlic is done, let it cool slightly and press on the bottom of a clove to push it out of its paper. You can use a knife to take it out as well. Put all the roasted cloves in a small bowl and mash with a fork.
- Add 1-2 Tbsp tonkatsu sauce and 1-2 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and mix all together.
- Slice ½ English cucumber with a peeler and cut 2 tomatoes into thin slices.
- Toast the sandwich bread (optional) and spread with unsalted butter. Put the lettuce leaves and the chicken katsu on top. Spread generous amount of Garlic Tonkatsu Sauce on the chicken.
- Put the cucumber, tomato slices and another toast on top. Cut the sandwich in half and serve immediately.
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for a day.
Nutrition
Why use two tomatoes for two sandwiches? In the photo you have 3 slices of tomato for each sandwich, one tomato can be cut into 6 slices!
Hello there. Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe.
Her tomatoes might be smaller, so she only got three good slices from each one. 🙂
Very tasty and healthy alternative to fried Chicken Katsu. Definitely a keeper! I loved how the cucumbers were cut for the sandwich! Will use that for other sandwiches as well. Thank you!
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe! We’re thrilled to hear you loved her tip on cutting cucumbers. 😃
Absolutely delicious.
Easy preparation and fantastic flavours.
A beautiful light crumb on the chicken.
Hi Katrina! Yay! We are so happy to hear it turned out delicious!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback.
This recipe is really good! Highly recommended!
Hi Carmen! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it!
5 stars!
I made this tonight with just regular mayo and tonkatsu sauce. topped with tomatoes.
(didnt have garlic to roast)
It was sooooo good! Chic fil a WHO? I love cooking at home. Saves a ton of money! Maybe I will melt some cheese on it next time. hmmm
Hi Danielle! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! Oh melting some cheese sounds fantastic! Thank you for trying this recipe!
I was wondering how long would the sauce last if I made more of it and is it okay to make it for bento? What I mean is that I don’t have to eat it right away but save it forn next day and so on.
Thanks!
Hi Lea! You can keep the sauce for 3-5 days as long as you keep it well in the fridge. And for bento, it won’t be as crispy as when freshly made as the chicken katsu won’t be crispy anymore. If that’s okay, then sure! Make sure to keep it cool all times before lunch time. 🙂
Can you freeze the prepared chicken katsu before baking if I want to have it fresh the next morning but don’t have time to prepare it?
Hi Angela! I recommend baking first before freezing. You can put frozen chicken katsu in the oven or oven toaster to reheat. 🙂
Hi Nami! I can’t wait to make this recipe. What brand panko and Japanese mayonnaise do you recommend? What do I look for to purchase the same bread at Mitsuwa?
Hi Sejal! I use Honey Panko (or other brands are good) and Kewpie mayonnaise. You can see the brand I use here with the pictures:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/
They are Japanese toast bread – You can find 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thickness, much thicker than American toasts. The white part is very fluffy and moist. 🙂 You should be able to find these in bread section and it’s square so you won’t miss it. 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thank you, Nami! The sandwiches were great – I especially loved the sauce. Will definitely make extra sauce next time!
So happy to hear that! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I saw your bulgogi onigirazu recipe and thought I should try making an onigirazu with this crispy chicken recipe for my kids and it was yummy! It was the fastest I ever saw my daughter finish a meal!
Thank you for always being an inspiration.
Hi Carol! Thank you so much for your kind feedback, and I’m super happy to hear your daughter enjoyed this dish! Yay!!! Thank you for your sweet comment! 🙂 xo
Can I store the toasted panko for a long time? because I might want to eat dishes with toasted panko for a week ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Sure! Keep it in an airtight container. When you use it, if you feel the panko got some moisture, re-toast it in a frying pan – it shouldn’t take too long to get crispy again. 🙂
You dont have to flip the chicken to the other side when its cooking in the oven? Will the bottom side of the chicken be crispy?
Hi Kyrama! You don’t have to, but you could. I want to keep one side (the top side) look nice. If you flipt, the panko gets crushed a little… but if you don’t care about the look of chicken, you could. And yes, it gets crispy as long as you use parchment paper. 🙂
I have a question: do I need to fry panko before coating chicken in it? On the panko package I bought it doesn’t mention any prior frying…
Thank you in advance.
Hi Bika! Well, pre-toasting panko is my original way to make panko nice golden brown. If you don’t toast panko and use spray oil and bake, it won’t turn into golden color like deep fried panko crust. So pre-toasting helps make sure to have nice color with just a small amount of oil first. It’s a trick, kind of. 🙂 If you don’t care about the color or look of it, you don’t need to. But pre-toasting definitely helps make panko crispier! 😉
Made the sando tonight with the garlic katsu sauce. I love garlic like seriously so I loved this. This is tha second night in a row I made your oven baked chicken katsu because my boys loved it last night AND I absolutely love how easy it is to make. I really enjoy your videos and I especially like the hint to brown the panko first. key!! Being from Hawaii, katsu is like a food group. I cannot wait to make it again this Friday when my daughter flies up to visit as I now reside on the east coast. Love love your website!!!
Hi Tasha! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m really happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Hope you have a wonderful time with your daughter this weekend! 🙂