Chicken Milanese with Asparagus and Olive Herb Salad

Apr 17, 2023 · 78 Comments

Crispy, Parmesan-crusted chicken milanese gets a fresh spring makeover with light and tangy asparagus, herb and olive salad. A dreamy weeknight dinner for warmer weather!

When I walked into the grocery store and saw rows of jubilant green asparagus poking out of the main produce display, it was like the heavens opened up. Seasonal depression? Airlifted out of my body. Don’t know her. Never heard of her. I’ve been cured by the power of spring vegetables.

And the moment I put a big bunch of asparagus in my cart, I knew exactly what job I needed it to do. Light, fresh spring produce is the perfect foil for heavier proteins like fried chicken cutlets. When you bring the two together, it’s like mid-April on a plate: the embodiment of warm days and chilly evenings. A cool spring breeze made edible.

But maybe I’m just waxing poetic, because it’s also just really good. Those asparagus spears get shaved into ribbony strips, then tossed together with spritely spring herbs, twangy olives and tons of lemon. Spoon it all over a Parmesan-crusted chicken cutlet and you’ve got yourself a truly patio-worthy meal.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions and Variations
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
Chicken Milanese with Asparagus and Olive Herb Salad

Ingredients

Chicken milanese is, at its core, just chicken pounded thin and coated in a crisp breadcrumb crust. It’s typically served with a light, fresh salad of some kind, along with a lemon wedge or two to squeeze over the top. Here, we’re making a slightly modified version of the classic. Be sure to scroll all the way down for the full list of ingredients with measurements!

To make this chicken milanese with asparagus, you’ll need…

Chicken. Of course! A boneless cut. I used chicken breasts this time around, but boneless skinless chicken thighs would work well too.
Basic dredging ingredients: flour, egg and breadcrumbs. This is how we’ll get that gorgeous, golden-brown crust on our chicken. I used Italian breadcrumbs, but Panko will also work.
Parmesan cheese. I like to add a bit of grated Parm to my breadcrumbs to add a salty, cheesy twist to my chicken. It’s optional, but is it really?
Red onion. A few slices of quick-pickled red onion add salty, tangy pops to the asparagus salad. They only take about 10 minutes to pickle in some fresh lemon juice!
Asparagus. If you’d like to shave the asparagus like I did, I recommend opting for thicker spears, as they’re easier to peel. But if you’d rather skip the shave, you can use skinny asparagus and chop it into small pieces instead.
Olives. Castelvetranos are always my go-to — they’re mild and buttery, so they play nicely with other ingredients instead of overpowering them. And I always make sure to buy pre-pitted olives, because who wants to spend all that time pitting olives???
Herbs! Feel free to get creative here. I used a mixture of parsley and dill, but any of your favorite soft herbs will do just fine.
Lemon. No chicken milanese is complete without a little wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top. We’ll also use it to pickle the onions and bring plenty of bright, citrusy flavor to our salad.
Olive oil. You can forego it if you’d like, but I always add a little drizzle of good-quality olive oil to my herb salad. I find it just brings it all together and makes those flavors pop.
Oil for frying. I shallow-fry my chicken milanese in a neutral oil like vegetable or canola.

Instructions

There are just two components to this dish: the chicken and the salad. I like to make my salad first so the flavors have time to meld while I fry the chicken. Be sure to scroll all the way down for the full written recipe with temperatures and cooking times!

Here’s how to make this chicken milanese with asparagus:

Prep your salad ingredients: Quick-pickle the onions in a bit of lemon juice and salt. Shave or chop the asparagus, then roughly chop the olives and herbs.
Toss the salad together: Place all your salad ingredients in a small bowl and toss them together with a generous squeeze of lemon, a little drizzle of olive oil, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside while you focus on the chicken.
Pound the chicken: A good milanese relies on chicken that’s been pounded nice and thin. To do this, I place my chicken in a large Ziploc bag and go to town with a rolling pin (you could also use a meat mallet, but for some reason I still don’t own one) until it’s uniformly about ½ inch thick. This takes some elbow grease, but the effort is worth it!
Heat the oil: I like to start heating my oil before I dredge my chicken so it’s nice and hot by the time I’m ready to fry. Place a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and add a couple inches of neutral oil.
Dredge the chicken: Set up a dredging station with three shallow bowls — one with flour, one with beaten egg, and another with breadcrumbs. Stir the Parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs, and be sure to season the flour and crumbs with some salt and pepper. Now dredge your chicken by coating it in a light, even layer of flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
Fry: Once the oil is nice and hot, carefully add the breaded chicken. Fry until golden-brown on both sides and 165°F inside. This usually takes about 8–10 minutes total. Remove the chicken and drain excess oil on a plate lined with paper towels.
Serve! Serve the chicken milanese topped with a generous heap of shaved asparagus salad, along with a little lemon wedge to squeeze over the top.

Substitutions and Variations

Breadcrumbs: You can use Italian or Panko breadcrumbs for this recipe.
Seasonings: I keep my seasonings minimal (just plenty of salt and pepper, plus some Parmesan cheese) to let the flavors of the salad really sing. But you can season your chicken with whatever you’d like! Try adding some ground sumac to the asparagus salad if you’ve got it.
Salad: Not feeling the asparagus or olives? You can use this recipe as a jumping-off point for just about any combo. Try a salad with celery, dates and walnuts, or a simple version with ripe tomatoes and spicy greens.

Make-Ahead and Storage Tips

This chicken milanese with asparagus keeps well in the fridge for a day or two. Store the chicken and salad in separate airtight containers. Reheat any leftover chicken in a 350°F oven, or try my favorite method for reheating chicken: the air fryer!

More springy dinner recipes:
Harissa Roasted Carrot Soup
Blackened Salmon Burgers
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Gnocchi with Broccoli

Did you make this recipe? If you loved it, please leave a ⭐5-star rating⭐ and/or leave a comment below the recipe card! And don’t forget to share a photo and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok — I love seeing you recreate my recipes.