Cacio e Pepe with Chicken Cutlets

Cacio e pepe with chicken cutlets is a sure-shot winner for a great dinner. And if you pre-bread your chicken cutlets this can be a great weeknight dinner to serve up!

Both my kids are angel hair pasta fanatics, and while I have no problem heating up a box of pasta roni, I wanted to get a home made pasta dish put on the table.

And I mean, cacio e pepe is almost as quick and easy to make as a box of pasta roni.

And to serve this up with some home made chicken cutlets, really turns this into a hearty well rounded meal. Only thing its missing is some veggies.

Wait. Basil is green. that’s a veggie right?!

Like it said earlier, if you want to make this a quicker to make meal, prepare your chicken cutlets the night before so that they’re ready to fry up.

I also like to set my oven to the lowest temp (140-160F if possible) and use as a warmer and place each chicken cutlet in there while everything else is getting prepped.

The crispy crust on the chicken cutlets with Italian seasoning, really complements the cacio e pepe. It’s almost like they were meant to be eaten together all along!

Cacio e Pepe With Chicken Cutlets

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 759kcal

Cacio e pepe with pecorino Romano cheese topped with Italian seasoning breaded chicken cutlets – Italian comfort food at its best!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN CUTLETS

• 2 chicken breasts butterflied
• 1 tsp salt pepper
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• 2 cups peanut oil

FOR THE CACIO E PEPE

• 8 oz pasta
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 oz pecorino Romano cheese finely grated
• 1 tsp coarse ground pepper more to taste
• 4 tbsp pasta water

Instructions

FOR THE CHICKEN CUTLETS

• Preheat skillet with oil to 350F. butterfly and cut your chicken in half so you have 4 thinly sliced breast. Pound each so they're about 1/4 inch thick.
• Place flour, eggs and Italian seasoned breading (with the parmesan cheese) in 3 separate bowls.
• Thinly coat each cutlet in flour, egg wash, then bread with Italian breading. Make sure chicken cutlet is completely covered in the breading. Fry until internal temperature reaches 160F; about 5-7 minutes.
• Store in oven at 160F until cacio e pepe is done.

FOR THE CACIO E PEPE

• Boil a pot of water with salt and cook pasta until done; while the pasta is boiling, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil and pepper in a pan over medium heat.
• Add a couple tablespoons of pasta water over to the pan with oil and pepper and add butter. Drain pasta, and place in the to pan with oil and pepper; stir in butter.
• Add finely grated pecorina Romano cheese and turn off heat; stir until cheese is complete melted. season with a little more salt and pepper to taste and add some freshly chopped basil.
• Portion pasta out, and top with sliced chicken cutlets; garnish with more Romano and fresh basil and enjoy!

Nutrition

Sodium: 1802mg | Calcium: 396mg | Vitamin C: 6mg | Vitamin A: 859IU | Sugar: 4g | Fiber: 2g | Potassium: 720mg | Cholesterol: 165mg | Calories: 759kcal | Trans Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Fat: 55g | Protein: 40g | Carbohydrates: 26g | Iron: 3mg