My Chicken Milanese recipe tastes just like the one at Carrabba’s Italian Grill but at a fraction of the cost. In this homemade version of the dish, crispy “Pecorino Romano”-crusted, breaded chicken cutlets rest on a bed of arugula and grape tomatoes tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
If you enjoy Carrabba’s Italian Grill as I do, you already have an image in your mind when I say Chicken Milanese—the Pecorino Romano, the crunchy arugula salad, the juicy chicken cutlets…I’m sure your mouth is watering just thinking about it.
If you enjoy Carrabba’s Italian Grill as I do, you already have an image in your mind when I say Chicken Milanese—the Pecorino Romano, the crunchy arugula salad, the juicy chicken cutlets…I’m sure your mouth is watering just thinking about it.
But if you’re new to Chicken Milanese, I can explain it very simply. Chicken Milanese is a breaded chicken cutlet dish generally served on top of a salad. The breading is usually (but not always) made of cheese.That’s it! Nothing fancy, although it’ll certainly spice up your chicken dinners if your loved ones are feeling bored with the same-old-same-old.
And the taste? The taste and texture definitely feel fancy…you’ll see what I mean.
As always, I made sure this recipe was quick and simple for those of us short on time or energy. You can prep and cook this lesser-known chicken dish in about a half-hour. Not bad when you want to introduce something new to your family!
🥘 Chicken Milanese: Ingredients & Tools
This recipe has two parts: the chicken and the arugula tomato salad.
Chicken Cutlet ingredients:
- Chicken cutlets: Buy chicken breasts and slice them lengthwise, or purchase them pre-cut.
- Italian bread crumbs & Pecorino Romano cheese: The stars of the show. These will form your chicken breading.
- Lemon juice & olive oil: So the breading sticks to the chicken, of course!
- Salt & pepper: For seasoning.
Arugula tomato salad ingredients:
These are all self-explanatory, I think! I made sure to come as close as I could to the salad they serve with Chicken Milanese at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The salad honestly lends another layer of flavor to this dish and brings it close to the authentic Carrabba’s meal.
Tools Needed:
For tools/appliances in this recipe, you’ll only need your standard oven. Making Chicken Milanese really is that easy. A sturdy sheet pan is also needed since it needs to preheat prior to the chicken baking.
🔪 Directions For Chicken Milanese
To make the chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the baking sheet in the oven as it preheats.
- In two shallow dishes, add Italian bread crumbs and Pecorino Romano cheese. Mix well.
- In the second shallow dish add the lemon juice and olive. Mix well.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pat cutlets dry. Season with salt and pepper. One at a time, place the cutlets in the lemon juice mixture. Coat both sides, then move to the breadcrumb mixture. Coat both sides again. Then place on the preheated baking sheet. Repeat until all cutlets have been coated.
- Bake for 15 minutes, flipping each cutlet halfway through.
- While the cutlets cook, make the salad (below).
To make the arugula salad:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place the halved grape tomatoes in the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the arugula to the bowl. Toss. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on top.
- Once the chicken cutlets are done, divide the arugula tomato salad among four plates. Then place a chicken cutlet on top.
- Enjoy!
Air Fryer Chicken Milanese
If you own an Air Fryer and would rather cook the chicken cutlets that way I can share with you just how to do this.
- Preheat the Air Fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Follow the breading steps.
- Spray the basket with olive oil and place the cutlets in the Air Fryer basket. Spray the tops of the cutlets with olive oil spray and cook for 12 minutes. Flip half way through and spray again with olive oil spray.
- The cutlets are done once they are golden outside and internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
FAQs
Here I’ve compiled a few questions I’ve gotten when sharing this recipe for Chicken Milanese. Take a look.
Enough for a family of 4.
No, it is neither gluten-free nor dairy-free. The Italian bread crumbs and Pecorino Romano cheese will cause issues here. I’m sure there are substitutes out there, but I’ve never cooked this with a dietary restriction in mind, so I’m not an expert! Please leave me a comment below if you throw this recipe together with alternative ingredients…I’d love to hear about it.
432kcal the way I make it give or take a few. Remember to follow the recipe precisely for similar results.
About 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook. Less than a half-hour overall.
Milanese simply means it is a breaded chicken breast and typically served by itself or with a red sauce. Piccata is a lemon butter caper sauce that chicken breast typically cook in toward the end of the cooking process. Piccata milanese can be a a breaded chicken breast with red sauce or with the lemon butter caper sauce. It just depends on what region of Italy you visit.
Chicken Milanese: Tips & Tricks
- Flattening the cutlets: You can use a meat mallet to really thin out your chicken slices, although this is not required.
- Serving time: I highly recommend serving this dish immediately. Don’t put it in the fridge for later or else it’ll lose its crispy texture, and that texture is a big part of Chicken Milanese.
- The arugula salad: If you don’t mind deviating from the Carrabba’s Italian Grill recipe, you can leave the salad out. In fact, this tastes wonderful with pasta, too! As I said, though, the salad brings a lot to the dish.
- Breadcrumbs: Regular breadcrumbs also work well in this recipe, but it may not taste quite like Carrabba’s.
📋 Chicken Recipes
If you liked this Chicken Milanese recipe, you’ll love my other recipes. Discover new ways to love a chicken dish…
Carrabba’s Copycat Recipes
Here are my other Carrabba’s Italian Grill copycat recipes:
- Carrabba’s Minestrone Soup
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- Slow Cooker Sicilian Chicken Soup
- Cavatapi Amatriciana
- Sausage Lentil Soup
If you make this recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a ⭐ star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Chicken Milanese Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- ½ cup Italian Bread Crumbs
- ⅓ cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- salt and pepper
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
- 4 Chicken Cutlets
For the Argula Tomato Salad
- 2 tablespoon Olive OIl
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 cup Grape Tomatoes sliced in half
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 oz. Arugula
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the baking sheet in the oven as it preheats.
- In two shallow dishes; add Italian Bread Crumbs and Pecorrino Romano Cheese. Mix well. In the second shallow dish add the lemon juice and olive. Mix well.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pat cutlets dry. Season with salt and pepper. One at a time, place the cutlets in the lemon juice mixture. Coat both sides, then move the the breadcrumb mixture. Coat both sides. Then place on the preheated baking sheet. Repeat until all cutlets have been coated.
- Bake for 15 minutes, flipping each cutlet halfway through.
For the Arugula Tomato Salad
- While the cutlets cook, make the salad. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place the halved grape tomatoes in the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the arugula to the bowl. Toss, and squeeze fresh lemon juice on top.
- Once the chicken cutlets are done. Divide the arugula tomato salad among four plates. Then place a chicken cutlet on top. Enjoy.
Notes
- Flattening the cutlets: You can use a meat mallet to really thin out your chicken slices, although this is not required.
- Serving time: I highly recommend serving this dish immediately. Don’t put it in the fridge for later or else it’ll lose its crispy texture, and that texture is a big part of Chicken Milanese.
- The arugula salad: If you don’t mind deviating from the Carrabba’s Italian Grill recipe, you can leave the salad out. In fact, this tastes wonderful with pasta, too! As I said, though, the salad brings a lot to the dish.
- Breadcrumbs: Regular breadcrumbs also work well in this recipe, but it may not taste quite like Carrabba’s.
Nutrition
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