Crispy Chicken Milanese complete with a simple, fresh arugula salad, ready in just 25 minutes. Juicy chicken breasts are breaded, perfectly seasoned, then fried to golden brown, crispy perfection and served with fresh lemon wedges.
You’re going to love this Chicken Milanese! Juicy chicken breasts are hammered flat, dredged in crispy panko breadcrumbs, seasoned to perfection, and fried to a beautiful golden brown.
I can’t forget to mention the lemon! It wouldn’t be chicken Milanese without a squeeze of bright, citrusy lemon. As an added bonus, I’ve also included a simple and fresh salad made with baby arugula, parmesan, and a light oil & lemon dressing to compliment the chicken and complete the dish.
Chicken Milanese Please
If I haven’t already convinced you by just saying crispy, golden brown chicken, let me give you a list of why you’ll love this recipe!
- It’s SO Easy To Make
- Requires Simple Ingredients
- Delicious Crispy Chicken, Complete With Salad
- Foolproof, Straightforward Recipe
- Can Be Made In Advance
And that’s just a few reasons! This chicken is easy to make, and the end result is always delicious. You’re going to want to add this recipe to your weekly dinner rotation, no question about it.
Ingredient Notes
For the Chicken:
- Chicken – You can either use 2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally or 4 smaller breasts. You want to make sure that after you pound them they’re nice and thin, about ¼ inch in thickness.
- Flour – I used trusty all-purpose flour.
- Eggs – Large eggs for our breading.
- Milk – Any type of milk will do, dairy or non dairy.
- Breadcrumbs – I used Panko breadcrumbs, use your favorite.
- Parmesan Cheese – I always recommend using fresh grated parm!
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Olive Oil – To fry the chicken.
For the Salad:
- Olive Oil – Substitute sunflower, safflower or avocado oil.
- Lemon Juice – I prefer freshly squeezed.
- Greens – I used baby arugula, feel free to use your preference of greens.
- Parmesan Cheese – Again, I used fresh parm, shaved with a vegetable peeler.
- Lemons – Cut into wedges.
How To Make Chicken Milanese
- Prep Chicken: Place each piece of chicken between 2 pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken until it’s about ¼ inch in thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.
- Prep Dredge: In a shallow plate, whisk the eggs with the milk. In another plate combine the breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese, and in the 3rd plate place the flour.
- Dredge Chicken: Working with a piece of chicken at a time, dredge it through flour, shake off the excess. Dip it in the egg mixture and finally dredge it through the Panko mixture. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
- Cook: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook 2 pieces of breaded chicken at once, or only one at a time if that’s all you can fit, for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy.
- Make Salad: In another large bowl whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice and add a bit of salt and pepper. Add the arugula and toss so that it’s well coated.
- Finish & Serve: To serve, place a portion of the salad on a plate, garnish with shaved parmesan cheese, then place the chicken breast either on top of the salad or next to it. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
Chicken Milanese is simply breaded chicken in egg, flour, and breadcrumbs, fried, then served with lemon wedges. It could be called chicken Milanese because it came from Milan, but who knows for sure. One thing I do know, is that it’s utterly delicious!
Just swap in gluten free breadcrumbs and gluten free flour in place of the regular stuff we have going on here. If you can’t find gluten free breadcrumbs, just pick up some gluten free bread and follow my directions below detailing how to make your own breadcrumbs!
You can also make your own breadcrumbs! All you need are 10 slices of bread, ground down in a food processor.
1. Spread the breadcrumbs on a baking tray and place in your preheated oven.
2. Bake at 300 F degrees for 10 minutes or until the crumbs are golden and completely dry, stir occasionally.
3. Cool completely on the baking sheet before using.
Regardless of how you serve your chicken, you MUST add a squeeze of fresh lemon over top, it’s what makes the dish. You can either serve your chicken on top of the salad, or serve your greens on the side. Alternatively, you can nix the salad all together and serve this with your choice of side dish! Mashed potatoes are always a great option.
Tips
- If you want crispier chicken Milanese, you can use Corn Flake crumbs instead of Panko!
- If you want to go the healthier route you can definitely bake this chicken and it will still be crispy! I’ve made similar chicken like this before in the oven and you truly cannot tell the difference.
- This chicken actually freezes pretty well, meaning you can make these in advance for future meals! Scroll down to “freezing/make ahead” section below for full instructions.
Leftovers
You can store your chicken Milanese fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them back up in the oven rather than the microwave when ready to feast and enjoy!
Freezing
You can store your leftover chicken in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Make Ahead Instructions
If you’d like to prepare these in advance, just prep the chicken as instructed and then lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them, uncooked. Seal in an airtight container. Once frozen and bake at 425 F degrees for 20 – 25 minutes from frozen when ready to eat.
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Chicken Milanese
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup olive oil
For the salad:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 4 cups baby arugula
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shaved with a vegetable peeler
- 2 lemons cut into lemon wedges
Instructions
- Prep Chicken: Place each piece of chicken between 2 pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken until it's about ¼ inch in thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.
- Prep Dredge: In a shallow plate, whisk the eggs with the milk. In another plate combine the breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese, and in the 3rd plate place the flour.
- Dredge Chicken: Working with a piece of chicken at a time, dredge it through flour, shake off the excess. Dip it in the egg mixture and finally dredge it through the Panko mixture. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
- Cook: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook 2 pieces of breaded chicken at once, or only one at a time if that's all you can fit, for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy.
- Make Salad: In another large bowl whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice and add a bit of salt and pepper. Add the arugula and toss so that it's well coated.
- Finish & Serve: To serve, place a portion of the salad on a plate, garnish with shaved parmesan cheese, then place the chicken breast either on top of the salad or next to it. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- If you want crispier chicken Milanese, you can use Corn Flake crumbs instead of Panko!
- If you want to go the healthier route you can definitely bake this chicken and it will still be crispy! I’ve made similar chicken like this before in the oven and you truly cannot tell the difference.
- You can store your chicken Milanese fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them back up in the oven rather than the microwave when ready to feast and enjoy!
- To freeze, place leftover chicken in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Make Ahead: If you’d like to prepare these in advance, just prep the chicken as instructed and then lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them, uncooked. Seal in an airtight container. Once frozen and bake at 425 F degrees for 20 – 25 minutes from frozen when ready to eat.
Ena says
Hi, is there a sub for the parmesan cheese?
Joanna Cismaru says
There are lots of subs, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, or if you can’t have cheese, just skip it.