Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steak

Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steak with gravy is a Southern classic with crispy golden breading, tender steak, and a peppery gravy that gets spooned over the top. Total comfort food and the air fryer makes it easy.

We love classic Southern recipes and it doesn’t get much better than chicken fried steak, also known as country fried steak, with our pepper cream gravy! It’s classic comfort food that is prominent in the South! Don’t be scared of the gravy – even if you’ve never made gravy before, I promise you’ll knock this one out of the park.

This air fryer chicken fried steak is a bit lighter than the traditional version, but every bit as tasty. Crispy on the outside, tender steak on the inside! We love air fryer fried chicken too! The air fryer works well for both.

Now this one screams dinner to me and that’s how I always serve it, but did you know that chicken fried steak is also considered a breakfast food? Just imagine that gravy over a pile of our air fryer hash browns and some fried eggs. What a way to start the day.

What is Chicken Fried Steak?

Well for starters, there isn’t any chicken! This is all beef, but it’s breaded and fried pretty much just like you would with chicken. This looks a lot like a fried chicken breast, but once you cut into it, you’ll quickly realize it’s steak under that breading. It’s generally made with cube steak (a cheaper cut of beef that has been tenderized) and served with a cream gravy that is heavy on the cracked pepper.

Ingredient Notes:

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For the steak:

Cube Steaks – We love using cube steak because it’s a more budget-friendly cut. It looks a little funky with the little cubes or lines in the beef, but that’s from the tenderizing process.

Breading – You’ll bread the cube steak with a mixture of flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper! It’ll make for a flavorful, crunchy exterior when air fried.

Egg & Milk – Either half-and-half or milk is okay to use here. You’ll combine the egg and milk together for dipping the steak in before coating in the breading. It’ll hold the breading in place while the steak air fries.

For the cream gravy:

Dry Ingredients – To prepare the pepper cream gravy you’ll need start with all-purpose flour, butter, salt, and black pepper to taste.

Wet Ingredients – For mixing with the dry ingredients you’ll also need more of the half-and-half or milk. In our testing, we really prefer half and half for a thick, rich, decadent gravy, but we’d never turn down milk gravy. Use what you have and don’t stress too much either way.

Step by Step Instructions for Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steak:

Add the dry breading ingredients to shallow bowl and whisk together to combine. Add the egg and the half-and-half to another bowl and beat together. Dip each steak in the flour mixture. Tap off excess flour then dip into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Move back to the flour mixture and coat one more time until each steak is well coated.

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for about 5 minutes. Spray a light layer of cooking spray on the bottom of the basket. Add the steaks in an even layer leaving room for air to flow between them. Spray the top of each steak with oil. Air fry for 10-12 minutes, flipping once halfway through and spraying the bottom side with more oil.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the flour and mix continuously for about 1 minute until a roux is created. Slowly drizzle the half-and-half into the roux, whisking the whole time. Add the salt and pepper. The gravy will begin to thicken after about 3-4 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve the chicken fried steaks hot with the pepper cream gravy over the top!

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