Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach

Chicken Milanese is an easy chicken recipe that is packed with flavour. Breaded and pan fried chicken breast topped with roasted cherry tomatoes and spinach. Perfect for a weeknight meal. I just love adding fresh, new and flavourful recipes to my collection and Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach is all those things and more. It’s not complicated at all…lightly breaded chicken breast with herbs and homemade bread crumbs, pan fried very lightly in olive oil, served with some oven-roasted tomatoes, fresh spinach and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. That’s it! But don’t the simplest flavours always come together to create the best dishes?? Trust me, you’re going to love this one pan chicken dinner, and you’ll probably find yourself making it again and again.  

Looking for more easy chicken recipes? Make some Easy One Pan Orange Ginger Chicken or a crock of Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup!

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What is Milanese style?

The herb-crust on the chicken gives a flavourful nod to the Italian roots of this dish. Chicken Milanese, or ‘Milanesa’ as the Italians call it, originated in Milan and is Italy’s answer to the German or Austrian Schnitzel. A milanesa consists of a thin slice of beef, chicken, veal, or sometimes pork. The fresh roasted tomatoes and spinach give it an even more flavourful modern, healthy flair.

I’ve been making different versions of chicken Milanese for years, but the inspiration for this latest creation is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Chicken Milanese recipe from her My Father’s Daughter cookbook. If you don’t own it, it’s definitely a cookbook worth having if you like fresh, simple, and healthy food. It’s full of absolutely stellar recipes that are sure to inspire you in the kitchen. No, I’m not being paid to say that…it’s just one home cook’s opinion!

Ingredients in Chicken Milanese

• 1 pound or cherry grape tomatoes (I use the Concerto grape tomatoes by Windset Farms)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 cups whole grain breadcrumbs, or whichever variety you prefer
• 2 eggs
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approximately 4 oz each when cooked)
• 3/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 or 3 large handfuls of fresh organic spinach
• 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

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How to Make Chicken Milanese

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the tomatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toss them in 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch or two of salt and pepper.

Let the tomatoes roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish… Add the breadcrumbs to a bowl, along with the oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Toss these ingredients together and set them aside.

Add the two eggs to a bowl and whisk them with a fork for about a minute to combine the yolks with the whites.

Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally, creating two thin pieces from each chicken breast (8 in total). Thinner pieces of chicken cook much more quickly than a whole chicken breast, making them perfect for pan frying. Dip each piece of chicken breast in the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture one at a time, making sure each chicken piece is well coated.

Add a little olive oil to a skillet over medium-low heat on the stove top. I use only about 2-3 tbsp of oil in total, so about 1 tsp per piece should suffice. Pan-fry each chicken piece for about 6-7 minutes per side, or until they’re cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature). The breadcrumbs will become nice and crispy and the chicken will remain tender and juicy. Be sure to pan-fry these on a fairly low heat. If the heat is too high, the breadcrumbs will burn instead of brown and the chicken won’t cook through.

As you’re almost done pan-frying the chicken pieces the tomatoes will probably reach their 40 minute mark, so remove them from the oven. They should look like this:

Oh. My. Goodness. How good do those look? That’s a pan full of flavour right there. Add a few handfuls of fresh organic spinach to the pan with the tomatoes and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the whole thing. Toss the hot tomatoes, the spinach and the balsamic together. The heat and the juice from the tomatoes will cause the spinach to wilt slightly and everything will soak up the flavour of the balsamic.  

Yum! Once the chicken pieces have all been pan-fried, you’re ready to serve! Place two chicken pieces on a plate, top them with a heaping spoonful of the spinach and tomatoes, and you’ve got a dinner that looks like it hopped off the page of a cookbook and onto your table! Don’t you love it when that happens!?!

Serving Suggestions

To round out the meal, you can serve chicken Milanese on a bed of whole grain pasta tossed in some garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese if you wish, but I like to enjoy it just as it is! Delicious dessert options would be Italian-inspired desserts like my tiramisu icebox cake, cannoli, or a dish of gelato.

I hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know if you give it a try!  

Looking for more easy Italian recipes? Make some Rustic Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup or One-Pot Ricotta Pasta Primavera with Chicken!

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Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach

This easy weeknight dinner recipe for Chicken Milanese creates a flavour-packed meal! Breaded, pan fried chicken breast with roasted tomatoes and spinach.

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By Chrissie at thebusybaker.ca

Yield 4

Prep 10 mins

Cook 40 mins

Total 50 mins

Recipe: Ingredients 

0.5x1x2x

• ▢ 1 pound  cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ a pinch of salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 3/4 cups whole grain breadcrumbs or whichever variety you prefer
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 1/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts 4 breasts, 4 oz each when cooked
• ▢ 3/4 tsp oregano
• ▢ 1 tsp dried basil
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tsp dried parsley
• ▢ 1 pinch salt and pepper
• ▢ 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2-3 handfuls fresh organic spinach
• ▢ 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Recipe: Instructions 

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the tomatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toss them in 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
• Let the tomatoes roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish...
• Add the breadcrumbs to a bowl, along with the oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Toss these ingredients together and set them aside.
• Add the two eggs to a bowl and whisk them with a fork for about a minute to combine the yolks with the whites.
• Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally, creating two thin pieces from each chicken breast (8 in total). Thinner pieces of chicken cook much more quickly than a whole chicken breast, making them perfect for pan frying.
• Dip each piece of chicken breast in the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture one at a time, making sure each chicken piece is well coated.
• Add a little olive oil to a skillet over medium-low heat, about 1 tsp per piece should suffice. Pan-fry each chicken piece on medium-low heat for 6-7 minutes per side, or until they're cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature). The breadcrumbs will become nice and crispy and the chicken will remain tender and juicy.
• As you're almost done pan-frying the chicken pieces the tomatoes will reach their 40 minute mark, so remove the pan from the oven.
• Add a few handfuls of fresh organic spinach to the pan with the tomatoes and drizzle balsamic vinegar over the whole thing. Toss the hot tomatoes, the spinach and the balsamic together until the spinach wilts slightly.
• Serve and enjoy!

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: chicken milanese, one pan chicken dinners

Recipe: Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Milanese with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 465 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 173mg58%

Sodium 485mg21%

Potassium 904mg26%

Carbohydrates 45g15%

Fiber 6g25%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 39g78%

Vitamin A 2122IU42%

Vitamin C 41mg50%

Calcium 58mg6%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.