This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.

30-minute chicken Milanese is a delicious chicken dish that’s a little cheesy and full of flavor. It’s breaded and then pan-fried for an incomparable crisp, all while the chicken stays perfectly juicy on the inside. Served with a fresh arugula salad, shaved parmesan cheese, and a squeeze of bright lemon juice for a simple yet elegant meal everyone will love.

Top-down look at chicken milanese, sliced and served on a plate with a green arugula salad, lemon wedges, and parmesan slivers.

🍗 What Make This Recipe So Good

  • Italian breadcrumbs surrounding a thin chicken cutlet make for an incredibly crispy chicken Milanese. It’s like one big grown-up chicken tender, but better!
  • It’s loaded with flavor! There are spices at every turn – in the flour coating, breadcrumbs, and in the vinaigrette that gets drizzled on top.
  • Makes for a great light, yet filling lunch. It would also make an amazing dinner, paired with a side of crispy potatoes or cheesy risotto – YUM!

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

  • When dredging your cutlets in the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs use one hand for the flour and breadcrumbs, and your other hand for the egg mixture. This will help keep things tidy while you prep your chicken.
  • If you have a cast iron skillet, use it! Cast iron does an incredible job of distributing the heat and evenly cooking your cutlets.
  • Use an oven rather than a microwave to heat up any leftover chicken Milanese. Set your oven to 350° Fahrenheit, place the chicken on a wire rack and reheat for 10-15 minutes.
Top-down look at chicken milanese, sliced and served on a plate with a green arugula salad, lemon wedges, and parmesan slivers.

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

Chicken Milanese

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Breaded, pan-fried chicken cutlets, deliciously seasoned and cooked until crispy. An easy 30-minute entrée the whole family will enjoy.
4 cutlets with salad

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • parchment paper if needed, see instructions
  • rolling pin if needed, see instructions
  • 3 medium-sized shallow bowls
  • 3 whisks or 2 whisks and 1 fork
  • Large plate
  • baking sheet
  • Paper towels
  • wire cooling rack
  • Large cast-iron skillet or other large heavy-bottomed skillet
  • Tongs
  • internal meat thermometer

Ingredients

For the Chicken Milanese

  • 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 1 pound total
  • salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour see Notes
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs see Notes
  • ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more if needed

To Serve

  • fresh baby arugula
  • fresh parmesan shavings
  • lemon wedges
  • olive oil
  • sea salt

Instructions

  • Place chicken breasts on cutting board. Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to create 4 equally-sized cutlets. If cutlets are uneven or are more than ½-inch thick, place cutlets between 2 sheets parchment paper and pound chicken until cutlets are roughly ¼-inch thick.
  • Liberally season chicken cutlets on all sides with salt and fresh pepper. Set cutlets aside.
  • Place flour in shallow bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated. Set flour mixture aside.
  • Crack eggs directly into second shallow bowl. Beat eggs with whisk or fork until eggs are fully combined. Mixture should be pale in color and no longer streaky. Set egg mixture aside.
  • Add breadcrumbs and grated parmesan to third shallow bowl. Mix ingredients together until fully incorporated, then set breadcrumbs mixture aside.
  • One by one, place chicken cutlets in flour mixture, dredging both sides through flour completely. Shake any excess flour back into bowl, then transfer floured chicken to egg mixture.
  • Dip cutlet into egg mixture until submerged, then hold cutlet over bowl and allow excess egg to drip back into bowl.
  • Place cutlet in breadcrumb mixture and coat both sides completely, pressing cutlet into breadcrumbs lightly to ensure breadcrumbs stick.
  • Shake any excess breadcrumb mixture back into bowl, then transfer cutlet to large plate. Repeat until all cutlets have been completely breaded in flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs. Set cutlets aside.
    Breaded chicken milanese cutlets on a baking sheet.
  • Line baking sheet with layers of paper towels. Place wire cooling rack over paper towels and set baking sheet aside.
  • Heat cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Swirl pan to fully distribute oil, then continue heating skillet until oil is hot and shimmery.
  • When oil is ready, place cutlets in skillet, working in batches as needed to avoid overcrowding. Pan-fry cutlets 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown, then flip cutlets over and fry another 2 to 3 minutes. When cutlets are golden brown on both sides and reach 160° Fahrenheit internally, transfer cutlets from skillet to wire cooling rack. Repeat with any remaining cutlets.
  • Allow chicken cutlets to rest on cooling rack 3 to 5 minutes. While chicken rests, plate fresh arugula and garnish with parmesan shavings, olive oil, and sprinkle of sea salt.
  • Once chicken has rested for desired length of time, divide chicken between serving plates with arugula salads. Garnish with additional lemon wedges and sea salt if desired and serve warm.
  • Wire Cooling Rack: For really crispy breading, use a wire cooling rack to hold the fried chicken off the paper towels catching the excess oil. If you don’t have a wire cooling rack, you can place the fried chicken cutlets directly on the paper towels – they’ll just rest in the excess oil, which can make the breading soggy.
  • Make it Dairy Free: Omit the parmesan cheese.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free flour.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1cutlet with saladCalories: 330calProtein: 33gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 2278mgPotassium: 526mgTotal Carbs: 24gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gNet Carbs: 22gVitamin A: 283IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 197mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!

Leave A Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Where To Next?