Last Updated on May 8, 2025 by Jenn Laprade
These Italian Chicken Cutlets are the ultimate family favorite recipe in our house. We love to meal prep a big batch of these on the weekends to eat throughout the week on salads, sandwiches, or for an easy chicken parm. With just 6 ingredients, they’re quick and simple to make and are always a crowd pleaser.
Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside—these Italian Chicken Cutlets are a simple classic that never goes out of style. Pounded thin, coated in Pecorino-laced breadcrumbs, and pan-fried in a buttery olive oil blend, we think they’re perfect on their own, with a pasta, or layered into a sandwich.
Growing up in an Italian household, chicken cutlets were the family staple. We had them every single week prepared in all different ways. My mom’s secret recipe seasons the Italian breadcrumbs with grated pecorino cheese for any extra salty and delicious bite. Her foolproof tips for dredging the chicken cutlets make them perfectly golden brown and crispy every single time.
These breaded chicken cutlets are a recipe I’ve now taught my kids to make, it’s truly that easy. To complete the meal, try serving them with our Pasta and Peas or Smoked Salmon Pasta.
Jenn’s Tip: Be sure to pound or cut all of the chicken breast cutlets to be 1/4-inch thick. This allows for even cooking in the pan and prevents the chicken fry drying out or overcooking.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Family favorite meal prep protein. We love to prep a large batch of these, cook them, and freeze for up to 2 months. They make the perfect lunch or dinner when we are short on time.
- Easy to customize. Add your favorite herbs or spices, swap the cheese for parmesan, or even use panko breadcrumbs for more crunch in the breading. Chicken cutlets are so versatile.
- Italian Chicken Cutlets pair with so many great dishes. You can serve them on top of pasta, a salad, top them with sauce and cheese, or even make them into a sandwich. The options are endless.
What are Chicken Cutlets?
This may sound simple, but they are thinly sliced pieces of chicken breast that are dredged in flour, then eggs, and lastly breadcrumbs. This coating is the secret to making them crispy when you shallow fry them in quickly in a skillet.
A shallow fry uses just a few tablespoons of oil rather than several inches of oil, like deep frying. It keeps the chicken crispy on the outside yet moist and tender on the inside, for a foolproof bite any beginner or expert cook can make.
Cutlets can be made with other kinds of meat as well. We also love them with pork, veal, and even sometimes steak!
Ingredients
- Chicken cutlets: You can buy chicken breasts cutlets already sliced thin at the store. Alternatively, you can also buy regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut them in half widthwise and then pound them even thinner using a meat mallet and plastic wrap.
- All-purpose flour: The first step in breading the chicken that helps to keep the breadcrumbs adhered.
- Large eggs: The essential ingredient that binds the breading to the chicken breast.
- Italian-style breadcrumbs: We opt for the already seasoned breadcrumbs that have herbs like oregano or Italian seasoning mixed in. You can also use panko breadcrumbs here as well for extra crunch.
- Freshly grated Pecorino romano cheese: Seasons the breadcrumb mixture with delicious cheesy flavor.
- Olive oil: The oil to fry the cutlets in. We don’t use a lot of oil here, it’s a shallow fry which keeps the inside of the chicken moist, but makes the breadcrumb coating extra golden brown and crispy.
- Butter: We love adding a tablespoon to the pan while the cutlets are frying for a little extra richness in flavor.
- Lemon wedges: For garnishing, the juice squeezed over to finish adds bright fresh flavor.
How to Make Italian Chicken Cutlets
1. Preheat oven to 350°F if finishing cutlets in the oven.
2. Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Set up your breading station.
4. Place flour in one shallow bowl.
5. Beat eggs in a second bowl.
6. In a third bowl, mix breadcrumbs with Pecorino Romano.
7. Dredge the chicken: Lightly coat each cutlet in flour, then dip in egg, and finally press into the breadcrumb-cheese mixture to coat both sides evenly.
8. Pan-fry: In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. When hot, add cutlets in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan). Cook 3–4 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through.
9. Optional oven finish: If cutlets are thick or need extra cook time, transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven for 5–7 minutes.
10. Serve: Let rest a few minutes. Serve as is or with a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley.
Expert Tips
- Buy pre-cut chicken cutlets for ease. They save time and effort, and if needed, lightly pound them to about ¼-inch thick for even cooking.
- Rest the breaded cutlets before frying. This helps the coating adhere better and results in a crispier crust.
- Let the chicken come to room temperature. Cold cutlets can cook unevenly and make the breading soggy.
- Cheese options. You can substitute Parmigiano Reggiano for Pecorino Romano if preferred.
- Resting after frying. Place cooked cutlets on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to rest. This keeps the bottoms from getting soggy and allows air circulation. You can place the rack in a 200°F oven to keep them warm for serving.
- Serving ideas. Delicious with a simple arugula salad, over pasta, or tucked into a sandwich with mozzarella and marinara.
Storage and Freezing
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven (or even better the air fryer) for a few minutes until warmed through and crispy again.
Italian chicken cutlets are truly the best make-ahead meal. They’re my kids favorite, so we make a lot of them! We like to set up a big dredging station on Sundays for weekly meal prepping. After all of the cutlets are cooked, we store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Freezing the cutlets makes them so easy to reheat for a quick dinner on a busy night. We love adding them to pasta or serving them with roasted veggies. Give our recipe a try and we guarantee it’ll be on your weekly dinner list.
FAQs
Yes they do! They use them as a base for chicken parmigiana, on sandwiches, or serve with salad to make the dish milanese-style.
Shallow fry them in olive oil or avocado oil with a little pat of butter for extra decadent flavor.
You want to bread in flour, egg, and then breadcrumbs. Oftentimes, it’s best to then refrigerate the chicken for 30 minutes to help the breading to adhere.
Chicken cutlets are a broader term for chicken breast that is breaded and then shallow fried. Chicken milanese is chicken breast that is pounded to 1/4-inch thickness, breaded, and then also fried.
More Delicious Italian Dinner Recipes
Italian Chicken Cutlets
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 3 Mixing bowls (for breading station)
- 1 Wire rack and baking sheet (for resting or finishing in the oven)
- 1 Meat mallet (for pounding cutlets)
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken cutlets pounded to about 1/4-inch thick
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Optional: lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F if finishing cutlets in the oven.
- Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Set up your breading station.
- Place flour in one shallow bowl.
- Beat eggs in a second bowl.
- In a third bowl, mix breadcrumbs with Pecorino Romano.
- Dredge the chicken: Lightly coat each cutlet in flour, then dip in egg, and finally press into the breadcrumb-cheese mixture to coat both sides evenly.
- Pan-fry: In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. When hot, add cutlets in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan). Cook 3–4 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through.
- Optional oven finish: If cutlets are thick or need extra cook time, transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven for 5–7 minutes.
- Serve: Let rest a few minutes. Serve as is or with a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley.
Notes
- Buy pre-cut chicken cutlets for ease — they save time and effort, and if needed, lightly pound them to about ¼-inch thick for even cooking.
- Rest the breaded cutlets before frying — this helps the coating adhere better and results in a crispier crust.
- Let the chicken come to room temperature — cold cutlets can cook unevenly and make the breading soggy.
- Cheese options: You can substitute Parmigiano Reggiano for Pecorino Romano if preferred.
- Resting after frying: Place cooked cutlets on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to rest. This keeps the bottoms from getting soggy and allows air circulation. You can place the rack in a 200°F oven to keep them warm for serving.
- Serving ideas: Delicious with a simple arugula salad, over pasta, or tucked into a sandwich with mozzarella and marinara.
Nutrition
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