Classic Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes, Parmesan, and Arugula

Chicken & Poultry Mains Mains

Who doesn’t love a classic, crispy, chicken Milanese?!?! Classics are classics for a reason, and you have to try mine!

You need to make this Chicken Milanese – one is ever able to tell that it’s gluten-free!

I like to make a large batch ahead of time, so I can keep them for when I am having a lazy day. Don’t we all have lazy days? These are wonderful hot or room temperature, you really can’t go wrong!

If you don’t want to make the chicken gluten-free, you can use regular all-purpose flour and Italian breadcrumbs. However, I love using Cup4Cup, a 1:1 gluten-free flour substitute, as well as 4C Breadcrumbs. They are hands down the absolute best breadcrumbs – I use them ALL THE TIME.

You can even prep the chicken Milanese ahead of time. It can be fried, cooled down, and kept in the fridge for 3 days. All you have to do is reheat it in the oven until nice and crispy.

Alternatively, you can bread the chicken and freeze it. Just take it out of the freezer and fry when ready to eat. You can fry from frozen, but the cooking time will have to be increased by 50%. When freezing, place pieces of chicken in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet so they do not stick together. Once completely frozen, they can be more compactly stored in a Ziplock bag.

What Should You Serve This With?

While you can certainly eat this dish by itself, you can also serve this with mashed or roasted potatoes, white rice, or roasted vegetables, like broccoli or eggplant. Drinks wise, go for dry white wine, rose, or a cold beer!

Ingredient Notes:

  • Oil for Frying – It’s great to use a neutral oil for frying that has a high smoke point, such as canola, vegetable, soybean or corn oil. This is because you do not want the oil to smoke and burn when it gets very hot and you are frying your food.
  • Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – Break out your high-quality olive oil here! I love using my highest quality olive oil for drizzling, not for cooking, so you get all the amazing flavors.

Classic Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes, Parmesan, and Arugula

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the Chicken:

Ingredients for the Salad:

  • 28-30 heirloom grape tomatoes cut in half on the diagonal
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 cups arugula packed
  • 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Freshly shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to taste
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

For the Chicken

  • Place your palm on top of the chicken breast, and cut in half horizontally, to butterfly, but not cut through. Take either two pieces of saran wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper, and place each piece of chicken between them, one at a time. Using the flat side of your mallet, pound each piece of chicken until very thin, about a quarter of an inch.
  • In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs together, along with 1 ½ tablespoons of water, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. In a shallow dish, mix together the breadcrumbs, the last ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and last ¼ teaspoon of salt.
  • Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the breadcrumb mixture, patting the breadcrumbs into the chicken, making sure the pieces are completely coated.
  • Fill a large skillet halfway up with frying oil and place over medium heat. Test the heat of the oil by sprinkling in a pinch of leftover breadcrumbs. If it sizzles, it’s hot and ready to go!
  • Carefully place the chicken into the oil with tongs, working in batches if necessary, making sure not to crowd the chicken in the skillet. Once nicely golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side, set aside on a sheet pan lined with paper towels.

For the Salad

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the tomatoes on a parchment lined sheet pan and toss with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, the red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon of salt, garlic powder, sugar, and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 17 minutes and then cool completely on the sheet pan.
  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss together the arugula, roasted grape tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil, shaved parmesan, and salt. Serve on top of the chicken with freshly ground black pepper on top.

Notes

You can also air fry your chicken instead of deep frying. Once the chicken is breaded, place it into the bowl of your air fryer, one at a time. Cook at 400°F for about 12-15 minutes, flipping the chicken once in between, until golden brown and cooked through. 
Storage: While the chicken is best fresh, you can always prepare and fry it ahead of time. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or can be frozen. Reheat in a 400°F oven set to convection bake until hot and crispy.
Roasted Tomato Storage: You can also prepare the roasted tomatoes up to 3 days ahead of time. Make sure to bring them to room temperature before using. 
Keyword arugula, chicken, crispy, milanese, salad
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