These crispy air fryer turkey kotlet are a lighter twist on the classic Persian beef version. Made with lean ground turkey and cooked to golden perfection without all the oil, they’re an easy and healthier weeknight favorite.
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One of my family’s favorite recipes is Persian kotlet, which is a patty made with ground beef, potatoes and onions flattened, breaded and pan fried. It is served as a main dish, appetizer or afternoon snack, as my teenaged kids prefer.
With the new year and everyone choosing to eat lighter and healthier foods, I decided it was time to lighten up this recipe without skimping on flavor or texture. Cutlets are coated in bread crumbs and fried until crispy on the outside.
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Recipe highlights
- Healthier: Traditional kotlet is made with ground beef and fried in oil, but this version uses lean ground turkey and the air fryer for a lighter, lower-fat alternative that’s still crispy and satisfying.
- Simple: The air fryer makes cooking a breeze—no flipping, no splattering oil, and no greasy pans to scrub. Just shape, cook, and enjoy!
- Family Friendly: These crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside patties are always a hit with the kids. They’re perfect for school lunches, quick dinners, or even meal prep.
- Versatile: Serve them with flatbread and pickles, stuff them into sandwiches, or pair with rice and Shirazi salad for a full Persian-style meal. They go with just about everything!
Ingredients you need
- Potatoes: Traditional kotlet is made with potatoes, specifically russet potatoes. You want the starchy potatoes and not waxy ones. You can make the cutlets with potatoes only or a combination with cauliflower.
- Onion: Regular brown onions work perfectly in this recipe. They are grated so they melt into the meat mixture. You can get away with finely dicing the onions, but grated is preferred. Be sure to squeeze out the juice. You do not want this in the cutlet.
- Ground turkey: Traditional kotlet is made with ground beef. This recipe uses ground turkey, but you can also use ground chicken, too.
- Egg: In this recipe, the egg is used as a binder. It is even more important when using a very lean ground meat like turkey or chicken.
- Seasonings: dried turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper
- Pantry staples: baking soda, all purpose flour, bread crumbs, non-stick cooking spray
Step-by-step directions
- Cook the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain the water then mash. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Grate the onions. Grate onion by hand or use a food processor with a grating attachment. Squeeze out excess juice and place grated onions with mashed potatoes.
- Combine the kotlet mixture. Add ground turkey, baking soda, flour, egg and seasonings to the potatoes. Mix by hand until fully incorporated.
- Chill. Ground turkey does not have a lot of fat, so it is easier to form into patties and handle if chilled for a couple hours. This also helps the flavors meld together. This is optional.
- Form the kotlets. Grab a 2 inch-ball of meat mixture and flatten to an oval shape about the size of your hand up to ½-inch thick. Press both sides of cutlets into bread crumbs and reserve on a large platter or baking sheet.
- Air fry the kotlet. Generously spray both sides of the cutlet with non-stick cooking spray. Set your fryer to ‘air fry’ and for 14 minutes. Once preheated, add patties in one single layer. At the halfway mark, use a spatula to flip the cutlets over and continue air frying until done. Repeat until all of the kotlet are air fried.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Kotlet is a classic Persian comfort food. My family enjoys eating them as a meal, as well as a snack. And if you have ever hungry teenagers that never get full, 3 or 4 cutlets are a snack!
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These cutlets can be served warm or cold, alone or with dinner. I like to serve them with fresh herbs (sabzi khordan), radishes and pickles. Wrap them in pita or lavash to make cutlet sandwiches.
Want more Persian recipes prepared in the air fryer? Check out my air fryer kebab koobideh recipe.
Looking for more Persian comfort food like this one? You should try my delicious Persian meatballs, koofteh. Made with rice and yellow split peas, the large meatballs are stuffed with raisins and served in a delicious tomato broth. It can also be made with ground turkey.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover kotlet in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Persian cutlets are made with ground meat, cooked potatoes, grated onions and seasonings. Similar to a croquette, it is coated with bread crumbs and fried. Persian kotlet are shaped into flat patties, smaller than a hamburger patty. It can be made with ground beef, chicken, turkey or pork.
Once it is shaped and coated in bread crumbs, cutlet is typically pan fried in oil until the inside is cooked and the outside is crispy. It can also be baked and prepared in the air fryer, which uses less oil.
You can substitute bread crumbs with crushed saltine crackers, pretzels even panko crumbs. You can toast gluten-free or low carb bread and make your own bread crumbs, to suit your dietary restraints.
Air Fryer Turkey Cutlets (Persian Kotlet)
Ingredients
- 1 lb potatoes peeled and quartered
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon dried turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Non-stick cooking spray or spray olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, add potatoes and cover with water. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Drain water out and mash a potato masher until mixed thoroughly. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes.
- Grate onion by hand or use a food processor with a grating attachment. Squeeze out excess juice and place grated onions with mashed potatoes.
- In the same mixing bowl, add ground turkey, baking soda, flour, egg and seasonings. Mix by hand until fully incorporated.
- Ground turkey does not have a lot of fat, so it is easier to form into patties and handle if chilled for a couple hours. This also helps the flavors meld together. This is optional.
- Pour breadcrumbs on a plate. Grab a 2 inch-ball of meat mixture and flatten to an oval shape about the size of your hand up to ½-inch thick.
- Press both sides of cutlets into bread crumbs and reserve on a large platter or baking sheet.
- Generously spray both sides of the prepared cutlet with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray.
- Set your air fryer to 'air fry' and set time for 14 minutes. Once preheated, add patties in one single layer. For my fryer, this fits 5-6 pieces.
- At the halfway mark, use a spatula to flip the cutlets over and continue air frying until done.
- Repeat until all of the kotlet are air fried.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
I keep thinking about getting an air fryer, and maybe I will one day. But I have a storage problem, so I’ve resisted. But it’d be worth it to make this recipe — so, SO nice. Thanks. And Happy New Year!
Hi John-
I am still playing around with it so not sure if it is totally worth it for my family. But my kids watch a lot of TikTok food videos and want to try these weird air fryer recipes! LOL!
Laura