Today we serve up an Easy Chicken Romano recipe with a lemon butter sauce that can be on the table in under 30 minutes. This has quickly become a regular favorite in our family meal rotation! Gets even better served with a white wine from Sicily. Disclosure: The suggested wine pairing was provided as a complimentary sample.

Whether you came to this Chicken romano recipe because you’ve enjoyed it at the Cheesecake Factory, or you are simply on lookout for more easy chicken recipes, you’ve come to the right place. (I’m in the latter category!)

You can easily have this Chicken Romano on the table in under 30 minutes, along with a simple lemon butter sauce. We enjoy it served with some pasta, green vegetable and a crips Italian wine.

One quick note about our version of Chicken Romano. The dish is often made with eggs to help make the coating stick. But we make our Chicken Romano without eggs, using a combination of olive oil and a bit of mustard. This is a great option for those of us with a serious egg allergy in the family!

Ingredients

Let’s take a look at the ingredients you will need for our easy Chicken Romano recipe.

Chicken is of course the primary ingredient. You want to get thin sliced chicken breasts for this recipe. It might also come labeled as chicken cutlets.

I am able to fit four thinly sliced chicken breasts into my skillet. That typically leaves me with one extra chicken breast when I get the package from Wegman’s as shown above.

I prepare the extra piece with the breading, then cook that the next day in the air fryer. The four pieces is enough for our family of three, so that is easier. You could cook the whole package in two batches if you prefer.

Cheese: Pecorino Romano cheese is the preferred option, seeing as this is Chicken Romano. You could use Parmesan if you like or have it on hand.

Panko bread crumbs are the lead ingredient in the breading. We like to use whole wheat bread crumbs, which give the finished chicken a rich brown color. Using regular bread crumbs will give you more of a golden brown color.

Flour: a small amount of flour is used to balance the dry ingredients and help make things stick.

Garlic powder and dried basil add some flavor to the mixture.

Lemon, butter and parsley are the key ingredients for the lemon butter sauce. You will also need a bit of white wine.

Recipe tips and overview

Here’s a visual overview of the recipes steps. Head down to the recipe card for more details.

Preparing the chicken

Make the breading: Start by mixing the dry ingredients to make the breading for the Chicken Romano

Combine the panko bread crumbs, grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan), flour, garlic powder and basil. We use paper plates as we prep this dish, so that there are less items we need to wash that come into contact with the raw chicken. A precaution we take as we don’t have a dishwasher!

Prepare the liquid: Combine olive oil and mustard in a large shallow bowl. As noted earlier, we use this olive oil mixture instead of an egg wash.

Coat the chicken cutlets: Arrange the bowl with the olive oil so that it is close to the dry breading mixture, as well as a plate on which to put the breaded chicken.

After opening the package of chicken, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Then dip both sides of the chicken cutlet in the olive oil mixture. Hold the chicken over the olive oil bowl to let any excess liquid drip back into the bowl.

Then dredge one side of the chicken into the breadcrumb and cheese mixture, followed by the other side. Placed the breaded chicken on a plate, and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.

If you have extra of the breading mixture on the plate after prepping all the chicken, you can sprinkle the extra on the breaded chicken if they look like they could use a little more coating.

Cooking Chicken Romano

Once the chicken is breaded, you are just about ready to start cooking the chicken. But first, have the sauce ingredients ready! You will want to make the sauce as soon as the chicken is done, and the thin chicken cooks quickly.

Start cooking the chicken by heating the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Note – you could use canola oil here if you want, I gravitate toward evoo except for high heat cooking.

When the skillet is hot, arrange the chicken cutlets in the skillet so that there is no overlap. i.e. you want each piece of chicken to directly cook on the hot skillet.

Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on one side, then use tongs or a spatula to turn the chicken over. The chicken should cook another 4 to 6 minutes, until it is cooked through.

Ours tends to come out just right with about 9 minutes total cooking time. But timing will vary a bit based on your stove and skillet. The chicken should be at 165 degrees internal temperature when done.

When done, the chicken has a nice crispy coating.

Remove the cooked chicken to a platter, and get ready to make the sauce.

Make the sauce

Deglaze the skillet: After removing the cooked chicken to a platter to rest, put the skillet back on the stove, on medium low heat.

Pour in the cooking wine, and use a spatula or spoon to scrape up the various bits of breading and chicken, to incorporate into the sauce.

Add the butter to the skillet, and let it melt. Next, add the chicken broth and simmer for a few minutes so that it gets reduced.

Finish the sauce by removing the skillet from the heat. Stir the lemon juice, parsley and olives, if using. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce into a bowl.

Serving the Chicken Romano

We like to serve Chicken Romano with long pasta such as spaghetti, bucatini, or angel hair pasta. Toss the cooked pasta with a bit of salt and olive oil, or garlic evoo if you have it.

Plate a bit of the pasta, then place a piece of the Chicken Romano alongside it. Scoop a bit of the lemon butter sauce over the chicken and pasta, and offer additional sauce and shredded cheese at the table. Enjoy!

To me, the lemon butter sauce really makes the dish! But our son tends to like things plainer, and enjoys the Chicken Romano without the sauce. So you might let kids or others that aren’t as keen on sauces start with the plain chicken and add the sauce if they want to try it.

A side salad can round out the meal nicely. Or we have also served it with broccoli, steamed or roasted. Our sautéed arugula with red bell peppers is another great side dish for this Italian meal.

Chicken Romano FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Wine Pairing

Well, it’s certainly natural to choose an Italian wine to serve with this Chicken Romano recipe!

Our featured pairing for this recipe is the 2022 Anthilia Sicilia DOC Bianco ($19, 12.5% ABV) from Donnafugata, sent to me as a complimentary sample. Yellow straw color in the glass. On the nose, chalky seashells and a bit of citrus. On the palate, peach fruit and floral notes, and a bit of acidity. This is a light bodied wine, making for pleasant sipping.

The primary grape in the Anthilia is Lucido (dialect for Catarratto), and the blend is complemented by other indigenous Sicilian and international varieties. The grapes come from the Contessa Entellina estate and nearby properties.

This Sicilia Bianco was a good pairing for the Chicken Romano. It is also a good pairing for shellfish and other light seafood, and would pair nicely with a Caesar salad as well.

About Donnafugata

Donnafugata was founded in 1983 by Giacomo Rallo along with his wife Gabriella. The estate is located on a family property in rural Sicily that has a winemaking history going back to the late 19th century. Today their children, Jose and Antonio, lead the company.

Donnafugata vineyards have terroir that varies from seaside locations to hilly and mountainous areas. The company has a strong commitment to sustainability, and in 2021 joined SOStain Sicilia. They follow 9 sustainable development goals aligned with the UN 20230 agenda. Visit the Donnafugata website for more information.

Pietro Russo, Donnafugata’s Winemaker, was recently named the Third Italian Master of Wine.

Other wine pairing options

We have also paired this Chicken Romano with Pinot Grigio and other light to medium bodied white wines. Those are good options if you don’t have the Donnafugata Etna Bianco available.

Recipe Card

Recipe card