This Crusted Chicken Romano is a delicious, easy family dinner any night of the week! Thin chicken breasts are coated in Romano Cheese, pan fried and served over pasta and creamy Marinara Sauce!
Why You Will Love Crusted Chicken Romano
- COPYCAT RECIPE – Believe it or not, my wife met and fell in love while working at The Cheesecake Factory. One of my favorite dishes there was the Chicken Romano! Now, you can make this Copycat Chicken Romano whenever you want in your own kitchen!
- EASY, QUICK RECIPE – You can make this whole recipe from start to finish in under 30 minutes. And you just need a few common pantry staples! Ingredients that I’d bet you already have in your kitchen!
- DELICIOUS – Crispy, cheesy crust is surrounding, tender, juicy chicken breasts. And the creamy marinara sauce that holds it all together is out of this world!
How To Make Crusted Chicken Romano
There are really only a couple steps to making homemade Chicken Romano. Prepare your chicken, dredge your chicken, prepare your pasta, pan fry your chicken and then throw it all together! For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started:
- CHICKEN BREASTS – The main key to the success of this recipe is to get the chicken breasts thin. They shouldn’t be more than 1/4 inch thick. You can pound chicken breasts, or even buy thinner chicken cutlets. Sometimes you can even find thin chicken breasts at your local butcher.
- EGGS – For the breadcrumbs to adhere to when we dredge our chicken.
- WATER –
- FLOUR – Helps give the chicken it’s crispy breading. For a gluten free version, you can use Almond Flour (and a gluten-free pasta option).
- PANKO BREADCRUMBS – We suggest sticking with Panko because it will give your chicken that extra crisp. Regular breadcrumbs will work but may not result is as crispy of a coating. In fact, make sure to check out our Panko Chicken too!
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ROMANO CHEESE – The star of the show! Use freshly grated parmesan cheese. Not the pre-shredded stuff. Trust us.
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PARMESAN CHEESE – Works great with the Romano Cheese!
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VEGETABLE OIL – For frying. Or you can use any oil you’d like.
- salt and pepper
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PASTA – 1 lb spaghetti pasta, cooked, tossed with 1 jar marinara sauce and 1/3 cup half and half and kept warm for serving
Can You Make Chicken Romano Ahead Of Time?
Not really. This is one of those dishes best served freshly made. You can reheat it. But pasta is never that great reheated. And the yummy crispy coating on the chicken will get softer the longer it sits.
Storage, Leftovers and Freezing
As I mentioned above, we don’t think leftovers will as delicious. But if you have some leftover, and you just can’t throw it away (why would you!?!?!), then just keep it in an airtight container in your refrigerator. It should be good for about 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
I would not freeze this Chicken Romano.
Notes, Tips and FAQs
- USE A FORK FOR DREDGING – It can be a messy proposition to dip the chicken into your eggs, flour and breadcrumb mixture. No way around that. But I’ve found using a fork to work the chicken with helps keep my fingers as clean as possible.
- MAKE IT A MEAL – Round out this family dinner by serving Chicken Romano with a side salad and some bread!
- DO I NEED TO USE A MARINARA SAUCE FOR CHICKEN ROMANO? – Nope! Although we haven’t tried it, we’ve heard numerous rumors that this chicken tastes delicious!
- HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE CHICKEN ROMANO IS DONE? – Look for the outer coating of chicken to be a golden brown. If you’ve gotten your chicken thin enough and they are all equal thickness, that should cook them perfectly.
- CAN YOU USE BONELESS PORK CHOPS? – Yep! You sure can! Pound them thin just like you would your chicken!
- WHAT CAN YOU USE FOR BREADING BESIDES BREAD CRUMBS? – I’ve heard of people using Ritz Crackers or even Corn Flakes to coat their chicken in before frying!
- CREAMIER MARINARA – We used half and half to mix with our Marinara. But for an even richer tomato sauce, you can substitute for Heavy Cream.
We hope you enjoy this Crusty Chicken Romano Recipe. Let us know how it turns out in the comment section. Happy eating!
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN RECIPES? CHECK OUT OUR:
- BISQUICK CHICKEN FINGERS
- CHICKEN LOMBARDY
- COPYCAT CHEESECAKE FACTORY PASTA DA VINCI
- CHICKEN AND STUFFING CASSEROLE
- CHICKEN PARMESAN SLIDERS
- CHICKEN VESUVIO
Crusted Chicken Romano
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated Romano cheese
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- vegetable oil for frying
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and place each piece between plastic wrap. Use a meat tenderizer to flatten the chicken breasts to 1/4" thick. Season with salt and pepper
- In a shallow dish, add eggs and water and beat well. In a separate shallow dish, add flour. In a third shallow dish, add breadcrumbs and cheeses and mix well.
- Dredge chicken into the flour mixture, coating on each side and shaking off excess flour.
- Dredge chicken into the egg wash, coating both sides, and finally dredging into the panko and cheese mixture coating both sides. Let stand.
- Heat 1/4" vegetable oil over medium high heat in a skillet until hot. Add chicken, keeping a single layer and frying on both sides, about 4-5 minutes each or until crispy and browned.
- Divide spaghetti onto six plates and top each plate with a chicken breast. Served topped with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Nutrition
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