This Giant Chicken Milanese is a crispy baked ground chicken cutlet topped with a fresh lemony arugula salad.
Viral Ground Chicken Cutlet
Chicken Milanese is one of my favorite dishes to order when I go out for Italian, so I knew I had to try the viral giant chicken cutlet from Skyler Bouchard. Instead of the traditional pounding and deep-frying, we press seasoned ground chicken into a single large cutlet, coat it with panko, and bake it on a sheet pan until golden and crispy, ready to slice and share. I topped mine with lots of baby arugula, shaved parm and fresh lemon juice, my favorite way to enjoy it! More lighter versions of Chicken Milanese using chicken breast in the air fryer, try my Air Fryer Chicken Milanese with Baby Arugula and my Chicken Milanese with Mediterranean Salad, both delicious!
Why This Ground Chicken Cutlet Recipe Works
This Chicken Milanese, made with ground chicken is such a fun spin on the classic, I even ate the leftovers cold out of the fridge the next day. Here’s why it works:
- Simple: No need for cutting, pounding, or deep-frying chicken breasts.
- High protein: This meal packs 31 grams of protein.
- Meal Prep: Make the chicken ahead to use in salads, bowls, sandwiches, etc for the week.
- Company worthy: This giant cutlet looks impressive. Plus, you can do all the prep before your guests arrive.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s everything you need to make this easy ground chicken Milanese. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Ground Chicken: Classic Milanese uses chicken breasts, but for this sheet pan cutlet, we’re using 93% lean ground chicken.
- Seasoning: Garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt
- Parmesan: Grated Parm for the meat mixture and shaved for the arugula salad
- All-purpose flour prevents the chicken from sticking to the parchment paper.
- Eggs help the panko stick to the chicken.
- Seasoned Panko: We’re using panko to coat the chicken, which will give it a crispy crust.
- Olive oil spray helps the panko get crispy in the oven.
- Arugula has a peppery flavor.
- Vegetables: For a summer twist, add cherry tomatoes and corn to the salad.
- Olive oil and lemon juice create a simple vinaigrette.
How to Make Ground Chicken Cutlet
If you don’t want to flip the sheet pan chicken cutlet, you can skip breading the other side, which is also great if you want to reduce carbs and calories. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Season the ground chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and grated Parmesan.
- Make the giant cutlet: Sprinkle a parchment-lined sheet pan with flour, then press the chicken into a disc shape. Sprinkle the top with the remaining flour and cover with parchment. Flatten the chicken with a rolling pin until it’s a quarter-inch thick.
- Add the panko: Brush the chicken with the whisked eggs and sprinkle with panko. Press to ensure they stick.
- Flip the cutlet: Spray another baking sheet with olive oil, then flip the cutlet onto it. Coat with the remaining egg and panko, then spray with olive oil. The more you spray, the crispier it’ll get.
- Bake the chicken cutlet at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Then, increase the heat to 425°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Top with arugula: Baby arugula, shaved Parmesan and fresh lemon juice is perfect here!
Customize It
- Ground Chicken: Substitute ground turkey.
- Make it gluten-free: Use GF flour and panko.
- No seasoned panko? You can use plain panko or add dried herbs like parsley or oregano to the mix.
- Dairy-free: Skip the Parmesan.
- Salad options: Swap arugula with baby spinach or mixed greens.
Serving Suggestions
I love this giant ground chicken cutlet topped with arugula salad, but you can also en with another side dish.
Storage
- Refrigerate the chicken for 4 days. The salad with dressing won’t hold, so it’s best to make only what you plan to eat that day.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Microwaving the breaded cutlet will make it soggy, so it’s better to reheat it in the air fryer, oven, or skillet. Air fry or bake the chicken at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes, or warm it up on the stove over medium heat.
More Ground Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner inspiration, check out these five healthy ground chicken recipes!
- Chicken Crust Pizza
- Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken Romano Meatballs
- Homemade Italian Chicken Sausage
- Chicken Burger
Giant Chicken Milanese
Equipment
- sheet pan large
Ingredients
- 1 lb 93% ground chicken, not breast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons Parmesan, grated and shaved
- ¼ cup all purpose flour, divided
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1¼ cup seasoned panko crumbs , or gluten-free panko
- 3 cups baby arugula
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges, or more if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a medium bowl combine ground chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and ¼ cup of grated parmesan. Reserve.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour; place chicken in the center and slightly press into a disc shape (I did this on the counter). Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour and cover with an additional piece of parchment paper.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the chicken into a giant cutlet, about ¼” thick.
- Gently remove the top layer of parchment (if any chicken sticks to the parchment, take it off and press it back on to the top of the cutlet).
- Brush the top of the cutlet with ½ of the whisked egg (1 egg per side). Sprinkle the cutlet with ¾ cup of panko breadcrumb and press the crumbs in well so they don’t move out of place.
- Prepare an additional baking sheet with olive oil spray* and flip the cutlet, breaded side down, onto the sheet.
- Repeat the egg and panko step with the top of the cutlet and then spray with more cooking spray. Bake, 25-30 minutes until you can pick the bottom of the cutlet up and see it becoming a golden brown. Raise the oven to 425°F and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- While the cutlet is cooking, prepare the salad: In a medium bowl, combine arugula and remaining 2 tablespoons shaved parmesan with 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice. Reserve.
- Serve giant chicken cutlet with arugula and shaved parm on top and lots of lemon juice
This is beyond amazing. I only needed one egg total. Everything else I followed to a T. My family loved it. Thank you for sharing!
Sad to see you took a recipe from another chef and put it on your own website
This was so good. I was stressing about the “flip,” but if you’ve ever turned out an upside down cake or something similar it’s exactly the same – easy peasy. Huge hit at our house, will definitely make again.
I’ve made another version of this “viral” recipe this was better! So good. Thanks!
This was great! Way easier than I expected and I love how crispy it got! I baked it on a pizza pan since that’s what I had and it worked great. This is definitely going on a regular rotation. The options are endless with varying spices and sauces/salad dressings!
My family LOVED this recipe! This was quick and easy to assemble on a busy weeknight and had excellent flavor! My college-aged son even asked for the recipe!
Awesome!
Fantastic recipe, and we discovered the Milanese is very versatile. My son added marinara and mozzarella and made it more Italian.
Perfect!
This was absolutely amazing. I can see doing different variations of it, using different spices.
Delicious. The crunch is amazing!
Gina has done it again!! I only breaded one side and not only is it easier, but I think even better. I used 3 cups of arugula for 2 generous portions because we love it! I did add a bit of honey to the lemon vinaigrette. I would serve this with a side of angel hair pasta and a simple tomato sauce for guests!
Right! One side is just as good and so much easier!
Gina has done it again! I only breaded one side and I think it’s better that way.
I used 3 cups of arugula salad for 2 generous servings because we love it. I also added a bit of honey to the olive oil and lemon vinaigrette. I would like to serve with a side of angel with a simple tomato sauce for guests as well.
Delicious so easy to make
What a great recipe! I thought I would have a problem flipping the chicken but it was easier than I thought. My husband’s first words when he tasted the dish were “wow, delish.” Since there were only two of us, I served leftovers with bruschetta instead of the arugula salad. Tasted great!
Bruschetta is a great idea!
Everyone seemed to like it. I made sure to flip it over the sink to avoid falling excess panko and flour. It doesn’t say it but I put a second piece of parchment on top before flipping and that seemed to help with mess.
The “dressing” on the arugula was too much for me but I think the chicken needed the topping.
This would make an awesome chicken Parmesan! My son even called it chicken pizza.
I made this with gluten free Italian breadcrumbs and avocado oil for the salad to use up some of the ingredients in my kitchen and it was a hit at my house. I will be making this again soon!
Great!
This was absolutely delicious. It was a little messy to make but so worth it. I baked mine for 25 minutes and didn’t have to add anymore time than that. I might even consider baking a minute or two less. I did splash a little balsamic glaze over the salad after serving.
This is easy and delicious! I love this idea. I think I would copy it with ground pork to make katsudon. I will be putting this in the dinner rotation
Omg was that delicious! A bit of work but it was worth it!
We loved this recipe and it’s very easy to make. I added a drizzle of balsamic glaze at the end with a few cherry tomatoes and burrata. Perfect summer dish!!
i just made this, expected to really like it. however I did not. . i didnt modify anything except for the salad alongside rather than on top.. my husband said it tasted like chicken fried steak. he has memories of from the military. the recipe ‘worked” i did not like the texture at all. Sorry, i usually like your recipes but this failed for me.
This was very tasty and easy to make. I did, however, need to add salt. Next time I would add salt to the chicken mixture. Also, 3 cups of arugula is only enough for 2 servings. Overall, this was delicious and I would make it again.
the recipe does call for 1 tsp of salt. perhaps you overlooked that?
What type of olive oil spray do you use
Olive oil like Bertolli
If you are not flipping, should you just spray parchment with olive oil, lay chicken on top, and then flour egg panko? Or does it need flour on the bottom regardless?
Going to make this tonight
Question.. unless I am more tired then not.. the flipping .. is only done to coat both sides? Not flip in middle of the cooking
Correct, you can cook it same time and not flip it just won’t brown and crisp on the bottom.
This turned out great! My only change would be a light balsamic glaze and a teaspoon of truffle oil after the salad is put on. It’s definitely going into my saved file!
So good. Dinner party worthy. We made a few changes because we could. We added sun dried tomatoes and additional cheese when we flipped it. Added basil, capers and lemon zest to the greens (we used a mix from the garden) and topped it off with a little balsamic reduction. So good!
So good! We added a little additional cheese to the chicken and 3d ls of sun dried tomatoes. Added lemon zest and capers to the greens and drizzled it with a little balsamic reduction when. Assembled. Dinner party worth! Free and tasty.
It came out so crunchy-really good! Just a little messy to make but I would do it again! Love your recipes
I was excited to try this and it was quite easy. The only issue is it didn’t brown for me in the oven and I used plenty of olive oil spray. Maybe my oven wasn’t hot enough or I didn’t to cook at 425 the whole time? I ended up finishing it in the air fryer for 6 min and that worked fine. I will try again at higher temperature and perhaps doing in individual pieces in case I need to air fry at the end. Flavors were all delicious.
Sounds great! Is there any reason why this can’t be made with four 1/4 pound patties rather than using the entire pound as one large piece? Seems as though it would be much easier to flip single portions.
Your idea sounds great with individual servings. I think the recipe is just a fun way to serve it family style at the table in my opinion.
Trying this as we speak
Very easy to make individual, probably easier!
I made four 1/4 lb individual patties for my kiddos. Worked great and kids loved
Can you do this on aluminum foil. Also, how would this work if you used regular bread crumbs or cracker crumbs