In this post, I share the secrets of How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast like a pro. Through both a video and a detailed step-by-step guide with photos, you’ll see how easy it is to perfect this basic culinary technique.
What Does It Mean to Butterfly a Chicken Breast?
To butterfly a chicken breast means slicing it horizontally almost all the way through and then opening it like a book. (The resulting shape resembles a butterfly, hence the name for this technique.) If you then cut the butterflied piece through the middle, you have now split the breast and have 2 pieces – called chicken cutlets.
Why Butterfly a Chicken Breast?
Butterflying a chicken breast ensures even cooking, allows for quicker preparation, and creates a more uniform thickness that’s perfect for a chicken breast recipe that calls for stuffing or filling. This technique also makes the portion size more manageable. Have you noticed how chicken breasts seem to be getting larger these days? Most of the time, I find that one breast half is plenty to serve two people.
Chicken Breast vs a Chicken Breast Halve
A whole chicken breast, also known as a double lobe chicken breast, refers to the entire underside portion of a chicken when it is standing upright. When a recipe mentions a chicken breast, it typically refers to just one side of this portion—a single lobe, or half-breast. These instructions explain how to butterfly or halve this single lobe for even cooking and easier preparation.
How to Butterfly A Chicken Breast
Here are step-by-step instructions on how I butterfly and halve fresh chicken breasts – first, a nifty video that shows you how in 15 seconds, which is followed by written instructions and photos.
Time needed: 3 minutes
Here are the simple steps to follow to butterfly and halve a boneless, skinless chicken breast:
- Position chicken breast.
Place one chicken breast half on a cutting board with the flat/smooth side down.
- Position your non-cutting hand.
Put the palm of your non-cutting hand on the top of the chicken breast, with the thick part of the breast toward end ends of your fingers and the thin point toward your wrist.
- Carefully slice the breast.
Continuing to hold onto the breast meat with the palm of your hand, use a very sharp knife (see below for knife recommendations) to slowly cut horizontally through the breast in a straight line, starting with cutting into the long, thicker end of the breast. Cut the entire length of the breast, from one side to the other, leaving the side of the breast opposite of where you started (the thinner side) intact.
- Open breast up.
Open it up and lay flat, and you now have a butterflied chicken breast.
- Halve butterflied breast.
Cut the butterflied breast in half down the middle – and voila, you have 2 chicken cutlets that are a more even thickness.
How to Store Split Chicken Breasts
Place butterflied breasts in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last 1 to 2 days. Can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
Butterflied Chicken Breast FAQs
Most often, a recipe will direct you to butterfly or split the breasts. If the recipe says to pound the breasts to a more even thickness or until they are thin, you can split them instead. In general, it’s a good idea to butterfly chicken breasts when they are very large or much thicker on one end than the other.
First, whatever knife you use, it needs to be very sharp! My two favorite knives for splitting boneless chicken breasts are a boning knife and a chef’s knife. A boning knife has a long, skinny blade; a chef’s knife is anywhere from 6 to 14 inches long, and is around 1 1/2 inches wide close to the handle, and tapers to a point.
Frankly, you can just leave the tendons if you want, but sometimes they can be a bit chewy. If you want to remove them, follow the quick and easy kitchen trick from Tik Tok star Raising Krasies.
Again, it depends on the recipe. They are now fairly thin, so they will cook quickly – typically in less than 20 minutes.
Chicken Dishes Prepared with Split Chicken Breasts
- Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Olive Sauce
- Air Fryer Fried Chicken
- Rosemary-Dijon Chicken Breasts
- Grilled Tarragon Chicken with Pasta, Pecans and Mixed Greens
- Sheet Pan Chicken and Mushrooms
- Crispy Baked Panko Chicken
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Grilled Chicken with Caramelized Red Onions
Note: This post was originally shared in 2015, then updated in 2023, and again in 2025, adding in more detail to the directions as well as more content each time.
I made this last night and it was quite the hit. I love capers, my husband not so much, but even he enjoyed them in this recipe.