Crisp, golden, delicious Air Fryer Chicken Milanese with Baby Arugula and lemon wedges is one of my favorite dinner recipes!
Air Fryer Chicken Milanese
Chicken cutlets have always been a way of life growing up. I learned how to make them right about the same time I learned how to boil pasta. As an adult, I swapped my frying pan for lighter methods such as baking. Now that I have an air-fryer, this is hands down my favorite way to make them for crisp golden chicken without all the oil! Here’s a few more Air Fryer Recipes you may also enjoy and more air fryer recipes from my latest cookbook, Skinnytaste Air Fryer Dinners!.
Whether the breaded chicken cutlets get smothered with sauce and cheese for Chicken Parmesan, cut up for salads or sandwiches, or eaten cold, straight out of the fridge this simple Milanese topped served with arugula and lots of fresh lemon juice is the way I eat them most. In fact, if I go out to eat and don’t like anything on the menu, I usually get the restaurant to make me this.
Chicken cutlets are basically thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts which usually come pre-sliced thin. Cutting them yourself is simple to do, once you slice them simply pound them with a mallet to an even 1/4-inch thickness. If you prefer to use pre-cut chicken, you make still have to pound them depending on the thickness.
Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets Variations
- Add some shaved Parmesan cheese on top.
- If you don’t like the peppery taste of arugula, you can use mixed baby greens.
- Add tomatoes and balsamic like I did on this recipe.
I’m so excited to announce the Skinnytaste by Vremi Air Fryer is finally on sale on Amazon (US only). This is the air fryer I used to create all my air fryer recipes!
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
- Whole Chicken in the Air Fryer
- AF Asian Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Chimichangas in the Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chicken Milanese with Arugula
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 16 oz total
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat or gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- olive oil spray
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 3 lemons, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Cut chicken into 4 cutlets, then place cutlets between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick.
- Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow plate, beat the egg and 1 teaspoon of water together.
- Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl.
- Dip the chicken into the egg, then the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a work surface and spray both sides with olive oil.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400F.
- In batches transfer to the air fryer basket and cook 7 minutes, turning halfway until golden and cooked through.
- Serve chicken with 1 1/2 cups arugula and top with a generous amount of lemon juice.
Oven Directions:
- Bake in a preheated oven 425F 425F for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway until golden.
Such an easy and delicious dish. I’ve now made this twice! The lemon is a must have addition. Served with a big salad and puple sweet this time. A keeper.
Overall solid recipe. I think the chicken breading could use a little bit more seasoning. I added Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan and I thought it was still bland. I baked mine in the oven. After seven minutes baking on each side I’m recommend broiling for 2 to 3 minutes to get a nice crisp on the breading. Finally, I know this adds points, but I added thin pieces of Parmesan cheese to my arugula salad. This was a quick recipe to prepare.
So easy and delicious. My first recipe with a new air fryer—didn’t disappoint and husband asked if there was more!
So delicious and Easy. Thank you!!
I have made this twice now and it’s always perfect! I follow the recipe to a tee and love it. Thanks for the simple and delicious recipe!
very good and super easy
Hood texture but chicken had no flavor
Sooooooo good! Just like a good restaurant meal. Yum! Thank you 😊
Very good and very easy! My favorite type of recipe!
I used half plain Panko and half Italian flavored bread crumbs as that was what I had on hand. I used Perdue thin cut chicken breasts. I didn’t have to cut or pound them at all.
Unfortunately, my breaded chicken never gets as dark in the air fryer as I would like, even though I heavily sprayed it.
But it was still so good and healthier than frying.
I decided it would be good to have a few of these in my refrigerator at all times. So versatile. I can do anything with them.
This is a great recipe that I make on a regular basis, serving it with mixed greens instead of arugula which is not my favorite. My husband and son like it too, so it’s a win-win! I’ll add that I have made quite a few Skinnytaste recipes and have found all of them winners. So, thank you Gina!
This is a company worthy recipe! I have prepared it 3 times for my family and they have raved about it each time. And, so quick and easy to prepare.
It turned out perfect. I make this often and fry it. Not doing that again. Air fryer is so much healthier and no messy stovetop to clean. Thanks
Absolutely delicous and easy!
This Chicken Milanese is delicious, and oh so easy! It’s a dish good enough to serve to company. We try to limit sodium, so I skipped salting the chicken before breading. Between the parmesan and lemon, we didn’t miss it. I wasn’t sure if it might dry out with reheating, but it crisped back up and was still juicy in the air fryer. Thanks Gina, this will be going into my regular rotation.
This is my perfect meal! I could eat this over and over again! Perfection!
I had completely forgotten about this recipe! I just added this to my meal planner for next week! When I entered it into “create recipe”, it came out to 2sp on blue and not 4? That’s even better for me!
I love your recipes a d use them all the time.
I made this for a small dinner party (4 of us). It was absolutely delicious and easy, and every plate was clean. I pounded four chicken breasts, did a combo of Panko and regular bread crumbs. Cooked using the oven method but with convection setting, flipped over after 7 minutes, then cooked another 6. Husband enjoys a little sauce, so I whisked up a lemon-butter sauce to drizzle. Another bullseye from Gina!
This was delicious! I did dress up the arugula a bit because I’m not huge on the taste. I tossed it in a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, a good amount of lemon juice, and grated parmesan. It was great with the chicken. Even better with a little hot sauce added to the chicken.
I know this is an older recipe but can you explain the point breakdown for blue plan? As I see it, the breadcrumbs and cheese are the only ingredients that have points, adding up to approximately 2pts per piece of chicken (total of 4). Am I forgetting something?
I made this, and my whole family loved it! My daughter doesn’t usually like chicken, but she devoured this, and asked for seconds!
AMAZING….I’ve made these twice in one week!!!!!!!!!
Made this tonight and love it! To those saying the chicken needed to be cooked longer, I think it might depend on the air fryer brand and whether or not you pre heat. I have an air fryer that advertises as “not needing to pre heat”, and normally don’t, but did for this recipe and think it made a difference in temperature consistency. I air fried 7 minutes on one side, flipped, then finished it off for 4 more minutes. Hit it with some lemon and PARSLEY and it is absolutely divine. Tastes like the real thing without the traditional fryer method (I can attest to this because I made this the old fashioned way, fried in oil, just a month ago). Love this! Thank you Gina!
Super easy and the family loved it! Used thinly sliced chicken cutlets; did need to cook the chicken a little longer.
This didn’t translate to the air fryer for me at all. I make chicken milanese all the time and it’s a simple recipe but so delicious. The needed much more than 7 minutes and even though the chicken was 160 degrees out had the texture of raw meat. If consider trying it with sour cream or mayo instead of egg dip bit not sure I’m willing to ruin more chicken.
Made this last night. Used chicken cutlets, but still pounded just a little bit. It was a hit with the whole family!
Did anyone try this with chicken thighs and/or legs?
Delicious! I don’t have an air fryer, so I baked the cutlets in my convection oven at 425. I placed them on a baking rack set inside of a baking sheet, and it worked perfectly. Not soggy, perfectly cooked!
Fabulous. So easy and juicy. Chicken breast are my favorite. Thanks Gina
I just got my air fryer and this was the first recipe that I christened it with. Wow….wow…wow!!! The cutlets came out crispy yet most. So delicious! My husband can’t stop raving about them. I’m trying the pork chops tonight! Thanks for all the great recipes, Gina!
As with many air fryer recipes here this turned out great but looked NOTHING like the pictures lol. I’ll try a different bread crumb next time. We always find air fryer chicken to not have a ton of flavor after coming out so we sprinkled our cutlets with pepper, salt AND lemon pepper. Incredibly moist and delicious. We too love the simple arugula salad (we add toasted pine nuts to ours) but this will be in the rotation forever. As always, thanks Gina!
Family all loved this! My 10 year-old said it tasted like Outback lol Quick and easy, we’ll definitely be making this often. Thanks!
Awesome!
I like to lightly brush the chicken with olive oil if I don’t have eggs, and the bread crumbs stick right on.
Thanks for this tip! I hate ‘wasting’ an egg on chicken when I’m just cooking for myself so this worked perfectly!
Try full fat Mayo too.
Hi, I have a convection oven, should I follow the air fryer or oven directions?
Thanks
Is there something other than egg that can be used to make the bread crumbs stick to the chicken?
Mayo
So easy and SO quick. Perfect weeknight meal for everyone
Why does the cholesterol say 131.5? I’m going to assume it’s the same as your air fry pork chops which is sooo delicious 😋
I made this for lunch today, and it was the biggest hit with my husband and our 2 daughters that are 4 and 6 years old. The chicken was cooked perfectly and my little girls loved the lemon they got to squeeze on it. My 4 year old daughter has never had arugala, but says it is her favorite vegetable now. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Awesome!! Glad you all enjoyed it!
Do you know if they would dry out if I made these ahead of time and kept warm in the oven? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!
Can an actifry work for this?
Made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. Great taste, chicken was not dried and cooks in 7 minutes!
Thanks Gina for sharing your recipes with us and open our horizons with new and fresh ideas.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m a little confused about the points or the recipe amounts (?). I get 2 points for one piece…
I also calculated two points! Better for us. Great recipe!
Are you cooking for 7 minutes flipping then cooking another 7 minutes? Or cooking 3 1/2 minutes flipping 3 1/2 minutes?
Made this easy, yummy dish tonight…..huge success! Hubby liked it ALMOST as much as I did.
I rate this one a 5 star. Unfortunately, the stars below won’t light up
I added crabmeat and pine nuts on top- similar to a meal I order at a local restaurant. Really good!
OMG, so good and super easy. This is my new favorite recipe!
We loved it! Had it with a baby green salad and roasted beets, turnips and radish from our CSA! Perfect!
Would you recommend brining the chicken before hand like in your “perfect air fryer chicken” recipe?
You can but doesn’t need it since its so thin.
We made the chicken cutlets tonight for dinner with a fresh garden salad from our CSA share. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you!!
foolproof! This is a winner recipe!
Gina, what size air fryer do you use for your recipes? Apologies if I missed it.
I don’t have an air fryer, but have 2 convection ovens. Could this be made in a convection oven?
Sure
Gina,
How many egg whites?
Sorry no egg whites.
I made this tonight and it was very good! The only thing I did different is use panko breadcrumbs because that’s what I had in hand the chicken was very juicy and it was very flavourful, I will be making this again.
Great!