Chicken Fried Steak is a traditional Southern dinner, but I've taken this classic dish, and cooked it in my Air Fryer! I love having a comforting meal without all the extra calories from the deep fryer, and less of a mess (and grease smell!) in my kitchen.
Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steaks
The ease of cooking this Chicken Fried Steak in your Air Fryer may be your new favorite way to indulge in comfort food. You can add it to your favorite Air Fryer Chicken Recipes. You will not miss the deep fried calories when you taste the crispiness of the breading.
The beauty of this recipe, is the biggest mess you will make in the kitchen is the dredging station. There are no grease splatters on the stove, no grease smell permeating your house for 2 days, and there is no lingering burnt smell because you have cooked the steak too long or your grease is cooking at too high a temperature.
What I have done, is taken the same concept, and cooked it in the Air Fryer so you can have dinner on the table in less time. While the steaks are cooking in the Air Fryer, you can be making the gravy. Only one saucepan is on your stove!
What is Country Fried Steak?
Country Fried Steak is an American dish, very familiar in Southern cooking. Simply, it is a breaded piece of meat, usually cube steak, that is dredged in a flour mixture with spices and then traditionally pan fried.
Cube steak is a cut of beef that has been flattened and tenderized leaving little indentations in the meat. It is easily available in the grocery store and is very affordable.
If you prefer chicken fried chicken, you can still use this base recipe but use chicken breast. Take the chicken breast and slice it in half lengthwise to get two long chicken breast pieces. Put that breast between two slices of plastic wrap and beat the heck out of it with a meat mallet or a rolling pin (my favorite method). Be careful not to whack so hard that you take a piece of your countertop out with it. Once you've got a thin piece of chicken breast, you can follow the directions as written.
Watch How To Make Chicken Fried Steak:
How do you Keep Breading on Chicken Fried Steak?
- Dip the cutlet into dry ingredients, then the liquid mixture of buttermilk, hot sauce, and egg. Repeat those steps once more, dry ingredients, and then liquid again.
- Make sure to shake off the excess flour and buttermilk between dunkings.
- As long as you spray the steaks with cooking spray liberally on both sides, this will taste as good as deep fried chicken fried steak.
What Should I Serve with this Air Fryer Recipe?
Serve the classics! Gravy to cover the delicious fried cube steaks, roasted potatoes, and my Pressure Cooker Green Beans. Make double duty out of your Air Fryer and make Rosemary Roasted Potatoes before you fry the steaks that way the breading stays nice and crisp when you are ready to eat. You can dip the crispy Rosemary Roasted Potatoes in your gravy!
Baking Chicken Fried Steak in the Oven
You could bake this recipe if you don't want to fry your dinner, and don't have an air fryer. It will be harder to get the crispy breading that chicken fried steak is known for having. Take a cooling rack, and invert it into a baking sheet, lay your breaded steaks on it, spray with cooking spray, and make sure to flip and respray halfway through cooking time. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 F. ( I have not tested this method! Use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through.) Baking it on a cooling rack will allow the heat to circulate all around the meat.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steak:
Step 1: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, pepper, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and sage.
Step 2: Whisk together buttermilk, hot sauce, and egg.
Step 3: Season steaks and pat dry. Let stand for 5 minutes before dredging.
Step 4: Dredge the steaks, twice. Flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk. Make sure to shake off the excess in between dredges. After the double dredge, press any remaining flour into the steaks, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Place the steaks in the Air Fryer and spray with cooking spray. Cook 400 degrees for 8 minutes.
Step 6: Make the gravy! Combine the melted butter and flour for the roux over low heat. Then add the seasonings. Turn heat up to medium-low, and add milk and whipping cream until thick, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Step 7: Use a meat thermometer to make sure the steak is cooked at 145 degrees.
Step 8: Pour that flavorful country gravy over the finished Air Fried Chicken Fried Steak.
After you make this recipe, tag me on Instagram and use the hashtag #TrustUrvashi so I can see what you've made!
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to let the steaks sit for 5 minutes after seasoning and patting dry, and before dredging.
- Flip steaks over at 4 minutes of fry time and lightly spray the other side for even crispiness!
- Can use chicken instead of cube steak, and make chicken fried chicken. Use chicken breast, butterfly them, use plastic wrap and a mallet to make them into thin cutlets and follow the recipe.
- If you want a lower carb version of this recipe, you could use a combination of almond flour and grated Parmesan cheese. I have not tested this recipe using those ingredients.
LOOKING FOR MORE GREAT AIR FRYER RECIPES?
- These juicy, flavorful Air Fryer Pork Chops use Porchetta seasonings to create a tasty fennel-spiced pork chop in just a few minutes.
- These Keto Chicken Tenders are the absolute best low carb breaded chicken tenders out there! They're so good and so easy to make in your air fryer.
- My Air Fryer Cheese Biscuits are the perfect little scrumptious morsels for parties. They make a great appetizer, as well as wonderful vegetarian side dishes.
- Philly Cheesesteak - Made fast and easy in your air fryer.
Looking for more great steak recipes? Check out my Perfect Sous Vide Steak Recipe!
And if you're looking for more great comfort food recipes, check out my Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, my Keto Meatloaf or my Air Fryer Toad in the Hole!
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below! Just click on the stars in the recipe card to rate.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Steaks
- 2 cube steaks, 5-6 ounces each
- 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 2 teaspoons crumbled dried sage
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 Eggs
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
For the Gravy
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
Instructions
Steaks
- For the flour dredge, mix together in a shallow bowl, whisk the flour, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and sage.
- In a separate shallow bowl, whisk the buttermilk, hot pepper sauce, and egg.
- Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, than pat dry again with a paper towel.
- Dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then dredge in the buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge in the flour mixture again, shaking off excess. Place the breaded steaks on a sheet pan and press any remaining flour mixture onto the steaks, making sure that each steak is completely coated. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Place steaks in the air fryer basket. Lightly coat with vegetable oil spray. Set the air fryer to 400°F for 8 minutes, carefully turning steaks and coating other side with vegetable oil spray halfway through the cooking time.
Gravy
- Meanwhile, for the gravy: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour, pepper, salt, and garlic salt, continually whisking.
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Turn the heat to medium and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the steaks have reached an internal temperature of 145°F. Serve the steaks topped with the gravy.
Watch The Video
- Let the steaks sit for 5 minutes after seasoning and patting dry, and before dredging.
- Flip steaks over at 4 minutes of fry time and lightly spray the other side for even crispiness!
- Can use chicken instead of cube steak. Use chicken breast, butterfly them, use plastic wrap and a mallet to make them into thin cutlets and follow the recipe.
- If you want a lower carb version of this recipe, you could use a combination of almond flour and grated Parmesan cheese.
Allie
I cannot get the flour to stick. I dip in dry the liquid then dry again. Spray the air fryer a couple times and throw in my steaks. Then I spray the tops of them a few times. Am I getting something wrong. The flour just flakes off after cooking, like it's got no form or hold.
URVASHI PITRE
Perhaps make sure the egg really really covers the meat and then do the same thing with the flour? Sounds like not enough breading to me.
Nancy A Walter
This was my first meal using an air fryer and it was spot on with everything. I used chicken instead of steak and the spices were perfect for it. I followed the recipe to a T waiting the appropriate times in between breading and cooking. I didn’t get to make the gravy because I ran out of milk but will definitely next time.
Kim
Amazing! Growing up in the south, fried cube steak was regularly on the menu and one of my favorite meals. This is wayyyy between than fried, It was full flavored and crispy. Don’t skip the gravy!
William
Made for family and the loved it.
URVASHI PITRE
Glad to hear this!
Rae
I made this tonight and it was very good but like an earlier post, a bit too salty. The flour stayed on and our steaks were crispy. Will definitely make again.
Anita
I made it exactly as written but it did not turn out well!! After 8 minutes at 400 degrees, it did not brown at all. I ended up putting it in a fry pan to brown. Perhaps I should have pre-heated the air fryer first. I was very disappointed.
URVASHI PITRE
that doesn't make sense to me. You see the video and the photos? Those were from my making them on two separate occasions and it worked well for me each time. What was the issue? Just not cooked enough? did you beat your steak down into a thin steak as directed?
Kevin
Excellent steak and gravy. The batter stayed on well. The only negative is that it was too salty. We will probably cut the salt by 1/3 or 1/2 next time.
Lisa
Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! A definite do again. Another reason to keep using my air fryer. Thanks for the recipe. I made it exactly as it is written.
URVASHI PITRE
So Glad to hear it!