Romano Chicken

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Romano chicken has to be one of my families favorite dinners. Crispy baked chicken with a crust flavored with pecorino romano cheese served on top of creamy lemon pasta, simply delicious!

Romano Chicken

My oven baked romano chicken is easy to prepare. I start by coating the chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs, then while the chicken is baking, and the pasta cooking, I whip up a quick lemon and garlic pasta sauce. With this quick pasta recipe the entire meal can be cooked and on the table in just 30 minutes.

Chicken romano pasta is one of those easy pasta recipes that we all need to have in our repertoire. Quick family dinner recipes like this are essential during the week, when we are pushed for time, but still want to feed our families delicious and nutritious meals.

You can serve this romano chicken recipe with any vegetable sides you like, some of you might opt for potatoes and some roasted vegetables. I like to serve lemon chicken romano pasta as I think the crispy, crunchy coated chicken works perfectly with the creamy and slightly acidic lemony pasta sauce.

Romano chicken recipe ingredients

Romano chicken ingredients

• CHICKEN: I used chicken cutlets which are sliced thinly so they cook real quick.
• FLOUR: I use regular all purpose flour to coat the chicken, this helps the eggs to adhere to the chicken.
• EGGS & MILK: I use free range eggs and whisk with any variety of milk, whatever you have in your fridge. The eggs and milk help the breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken.
• BREADCRUMBS: I opt for Italian style breadcrumbs which have a crispy, crunchy texture.
• FLAVORINGS: I flavor the breadcrumbs with freshly grated romano cheese, lemon zest, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• OIL: I use non-stick cooking spray to coat the breaded chicken cutlets before baking in the hot oven.

Lemon and garlic pasta ingredients

• PASTA: I’ve used angel hair pasta for this easy pasta recipe.
• BUTTER: I use butter to sauté the garlic as it has the best flavor for the base sauce.
• GARLIC: for the best flavor, I opt to use fresh garlic, but garlic puree or frozen garlic can work in a pinch.
• LEMON: I use both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to flavor the sauce.
• CREAM: I opt for heavy cream which gives the pasta sauce a rich and velvety texture.
• CHEESE: I use shredded parmesan cheese to flavor the sauce, and also add a little extra to garnish the dish before serving.
• SEASONING: I keep the seasoning simple with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

How to cook Romano chicken

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.

In a third bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, parmesan Romano cheese, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

Dip each chicken cutlet in the flour

Then the egg mixture

Then the breadcrumbs.

Place the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the lemon garlic sauce by heating the butter in a large skillet.

When the butter is melted, add the garlic and saute until fragrant, around 1 minute.

Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and heavy cream. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the heavy cream begins to simmer.

Remove the pan from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the parmesan cheese until melted.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat.

Slice the cooked chicken and serve over the top of the lemon garlic pasta.

Flavor variations

• Chicken – I’ve used chicken cutlets in this recipe, but if you can’t find cutlets in your store, this can be easily prepared by carefully splitting a chicken breast horizontally through the middle to form 2 smaller, thinner cutlets of chicken. You could also swap chicken breast for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, adjusting cooking times to suit.
• Cheese – this recipe is traditionally made with pecorino romano, but if you can’t find romano cheese, parmesan is a great substitute.
• Pasta – I’ve used angel hair pasta in this recipe, but you can use any shape of pasta or pasta noodle.
• Cream – I use heavy cream in my pasta sauce as it gives it a rich and velvety texture. You can swap heavy cream for half and half if you prefer a lighter sauce, however note that it will make the sauce thinner.
• Fresh herbs – add some fresh herb flavor to the lemon pasta sauce with some freshly chopped parsley or basil.

Serving suggestions

I serve the romano chicken on top of the lemon and garlic pasta, garnishing with some freshly chopped parsley. There is so much flavor in this dish that I like to keep the sides simple. Some garlic bread or a dressed green salad are the sides I’d serve. Then voila – dinner is served!

However, if you want to add a few extra vegetable sides, try these great recipes, my Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Carrots, Roasted Carrots & Mushrooms, Oven Roasted Garlic Parmesan Asparagus, or my Roasted Broccoli.

Recipe hints & tips

• When coating the chicken, use one hand for dipping the chicken in the egg, the other for dipping in the seasoned flour and breadcrumbs. This stops the crumb sticking to your hand, it makes the job a whole lot easier, as it keeps one hand dry.
• Batch cook the chicken and don’t be tempted to overload the skillet. Overloading causes the cutlets to steam rather than fry, leaving you with a soggy coating and not the crispy you are looking for.
• To avoid under cooked chicken, I recommend checking the temperature with a food thermometer. Place the thermometer into the thickest part of the tenderloin. When cooked, chicken should have an internal temperature of 165F+.
• Always cook pasta in salted water as this really improves the flavor of the finished dish.
• Feeding a crowd, no problem. This recipe can be easily doubled or trebled depending on the numbers you are catering for.

FAQs

Try some of my favorite chicken pasta recipes here at When is Dinner

• Chicken Tenderloins & Garlic Pasta
• Chicken Fajita Pasta
• Chicken Carbonara
• Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta Casserole
• Chicken Alfredo
• Tuscan Chicken
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Bake